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 One of three inmates who died in an "altercation" at a maximum security prison in Nevada was a white supremacist leader. The fight took place around 9 a.m. on July 30 at the Ely State Prison. The White Pine County Sheriff's Office said that along with the deaths, nine inmates required hospital treatment from injuries sustained in the fight. Detectives identified two of the inmates who died. They were Zackaria Luz, 43, and Connor Brown, 22. The third was not immediately named because his next of kin had not been notified. Aryan Warriors Gang Luz, 43, was previously convicted as a leading member of a violent white supremacist prison gang in the state. He was indicted in 2019 on racketeering charges for his connection to the Aryan Warriors, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. He went by the gang name "lil Dog" and was known as the gang's street captain, or second in command. He was serving seven to 18 years on the racketeering conviction. The cause of the fight was not released but the Department of Corrections said the prison lockdown had been lifted. 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: Spectra-adapted vision sensor for imaging and classifying spectrally distinctive features. a. Schematic illustration of the application scenario of the spectra-adapted vision sensors. b, Operational scheme of the spectra-adapted vision system. Panels (i) and (ii) demonstrate the imaging of typical type-I and type-II features by the spectra-adapted vision sensor, and panel (iii) shows the architecture of the two-channel artificial neural network. c, Recognition accuracies of the 10 classes in the two types of spectrally distinctive features. Credit: Nature Electronics (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41928-024-01208-x. The ability to detect objects in settings with unfavorable lighting, for example at night, in shadowed locations or in foggy conditions, could greatly improve the reliability of autonomous vehicles and mobile robotic systems. Most widely employed computer vision methods, however, have been found to perform under poor lighting. Researchers at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University recently introduced a new bio-inspired vision sensor that can adapt to the spectral features of the environments it captures, thus successfully detecting objects in a wider range of lighting conditions. This newly developed sensor, introduced in a paper published in Nature Electronics, is based on an array of photodiodes arranged back-to-back. "In a previous paper in Nature Electronics, we presented a simple in-sensor light intensity adaptation approach to improve the recognition accuracy of machine vision systems," Bangsen Ouyang, co-author of the paper, told Tech Xplore. "Building on our past research efforts, we have expanded this strategy from the intensity dimension to the spectra dimension of light." The primary objective of this recent work by Ouyang and their colleagues was to design a vision sensor that is better than other sensors at recognizing objects in an environment marked by strong light interference and when there is smoke or fog in the air. The sensor they planned to develop would also collect data with minimal time latency, consuming very little power. "We aimed to achieve this without relying on optical accessories or complex algorithm resources, which can increase system bulkiness, power consumption and time latency," Ouyang explained. "The vision sensor we designed is based on back-to-back photodiodes, which consist of switchable junctions with different spectral sensitivities. "Specifically, the shallow junction is composed of TiO 2 /Sb 2 Se 3 , while the deep junction is made up of Sb 2 Se 3 /Si. The selection of these two junctions can be controlled through an external bias voltage." Selecting the shallow junction in the sensor enhances the sensor's sensitivity to short-wavelength light, while selecting the deep junction boosts its sensitivity to long-wavelength light. The sensor's unique design thus allows its photodiodes to be adjusted to match either the broadband visible spectrum or a narrowband near-infrared spectrum. "The process of spectra adaptation takes tens of microseconds, which is comparable to the frame rate (around 100 kHz) in state-of-the-art high-speed cameras," Ouyang said. "This spectral adaptation effectively increases the Weber contrast of the scene, leading to improved recognition accuracy of features when exposed to intense visible-light glare." In initial tests, the in-sensor spectral adaptation approach introduced by Ouyang and his colleagues attained highly promising results. When applied to the vision system of an autonomous vehicle, the approach was found to enable anti-glare capabilities with low time latency and low power consumption, without requiring additional optical accessories or complex computational algorithms. "Our study introduces an innovative in-sensor spectral adaptation technology," Ouyang said. "The process of spectra adaptation is very fast, which is comparable to the frame rate (about 100 kHz) in state-of-the-art high-speed cameras. The practical implications of this in-sensor spectral adaptation approach are significant, as it eliminates the need for optical accessories or complex algorithm resources." The new sensor developed by this team of researchers could advance the capabilities of robotic systems, specifically improving their ability to recognize objects in different lighting conditions without increasing their power consumption. The sensor could be integrated in a wide range of technologies, including autonomous vehicles, medical devices, industrial or manufacturing robots and surveillance systems. "Our future research plans in this area include advancing the performance of the vision sensor in terms of responsivity, dynamic range, response speed, and other key factors," Ouyang added. "We are also keen on exploring the integration of additional sensing functions in the vision sensors, such as polarization and 3D depth. "Finally, our next studies will concentrate on fabricating a large-scale array of these vision sensors, along with the corresponding peripheral circuits and software, to develop a mature artificial vision chip for practical applications." More information: Bangsen Ouyang et al, Bioinspired in-sensor spectral adaptation for perceiving spectrally distinctive features, Nature Electronics (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41928-024-01208-x. Journal information: Nature Electronics 2024 Science X Network This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Mosquito dosing and quality from the automated release mechanism. Credit: Ya-Hsun Lin et al, Science Robotics (2024). DOI: 10.1126/scirobotics.adk7913 An international team of infectious disease researchers with the World Mosquito Program, working with colleagues from WeRobotics, has developed a way to release large numbers of mosquitoes infected with a mosquito-killing bacteria into the wild much more efficiently than current methods. In their paper published in the journal Science Robotics, the group describes the container that was designed to hold and carry the mosquitoes and then to release them slowly over a wide parcel of land. Jacob Crawford, with Verily Life Sciences LLC, has published a Focus piece in the same journal issue outlining the requirements necessary for effective aerial release devices and pointing out the benefits that automation could provide. Mosquitoes carry a variety of viruses such as those that cause dengue fever. Scientists and health officials have been working to find ways to reduce their population numbers in places that are vulnerable to such infections. One such approach has been finding bacteria that infect and disable or kill the types of mosquitoes that cause disease and then finding ways to infect the mosquitoes with the bacteria. The most common approach is to breed large numbers of the mosquitoes, infect them and then manually release them into the wild. But such an approach, it has been found, is inefficient, difficult, and oftentimes dangerous. In this new effort, the research team has found a way to use drones to get the job done. The work by the team involved designing a container that could hold multiple small loads of infected mosquitoes and then release them at desired intervals. It also had to be small and lightweight enough to be carried by a drone. The result was a small white box capable of holding 160,000 mosquitoes, divided into multiple compartments with a release mechanism that could be used to release the mosquitoes held in a given compartment on-demand. The drone can fly to a given spot, release approximately 150 infected mosquitoes and then move to another spotover and over until all the mosquitoes have been released. The box also has a climate control feature and a means for sedating the mosquitoes until it is time for their release. In field trials conducted in Fiji, the team found that the system worked well in uniform distribution compared to manual release. In a second field test, they found that use of the drone to distribute infected mosquitoes effectively spread the disease and greatly reduced mosquito numbers in the given area. More information: Ya-Hsun Lin et al, Field deployment of Wolbachia -infected Aedes aegypti using uncrewed aerial vehicle, Science Robotics (2024). DOI: 10.1126/scirobotics.adk7913 Jacob E. Crawford, Virus-blocking mosquitoes take flight in the fight against dengue, Science Robotics (2024). DOI: 10.1126/scirobotics.adr0224 Journal information: Science Robotics 2024 Science X Network This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Schematic illustration of the design strategy and preparation process of the 3D-CACT-based filter capacitor. Credit: Chen Gan A research team has constructed high-density three-dimensional carbon tube nanoarray electrodes for use in line-filtering capacitors, showcasing immense potential as high-performance miniaturized filter devices. The research results were published in Nano-Micro Letters. Filter capacitors are essential for turning fluctuating voltage signals into steady direct current. Aluminum electrolytic capacitors (AECs) are commonly used but are quite large and have limited capacitance, which makes it hard to shrink modern electronics. Electric double-layer capacitors (EDLCs) have much higher energy density, making them a promising alternative for smaller filter capacitor applications. However, traditional carbon-based EDLCs have slow ion transport, making it difficult for them to achieve both high energy density and quick frequency response needed for line-filtering. The team, led by Prof. Meng Guowen and Prof. Han Fangming from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, along with Prof. Wei Bingqing from the University of Delaware and Prof. Li Xiaoyan from Tsinghua University, conducted a systematic study aimed at precisely manipulating the pore structure of three-dimensional interconnected porous anodized aluminum oxide (3D-AAO) templates. They achieved a remarkable feat by continuously tuning the vertical pore diameter of 3D-AAO from 70 to 250 nm and the inter-pore spacing from 100 to 450 nm. Leveraging these tunable templates, they fabricated 3D compactly arranged carbon tube (3D-CACT) nanoarray electrodes via chemical vapor deposition. Specific surface area tests revealed that reducing both the pore diameter and inter-spacing significantly augmented the electrode's surface area. The resultant 3D-CACT electrode-based device exhibited exceptional frequency response performance characterized by a phase angle of -80.2 at 120 Hz, an ultra-low equivalent series resistance of less than 0.07 cm2, and a rapid resistance-capacitance time constant of 0.25 ms. Notably, its specific areal capacitance at 120 Hz reached 3.23 mF cm-2, far surpassing that of commercial AECs (~0.08 mF cm-2) and previously reported aqueous sandwich-type line-filtering EDLCs. This underscores the 3D-CACT nanoarray's ability to facilitate efficient ion transport and offer abundant charge adsorption sites. Furthermore, researchers demonstrated the scalability of their approach by connecting six and 10 sets of identical 3D-CACT-based EDLCs in series, successfully extending the capacitors' operating voltage while preserving their rapid frequency response and low loss characteristics. To showcase the practicality of their invention, they employed 10 series-connected devices as filters, effectively converting various alternating current inputs (including sinusoidal, square, triangular, noisy waves, and pulsed signals from a rotating triboelectric nanogenerator) into smooth direct current signals, with filtering performance comparable to commercial AECs. "The high-density 3D-CT nanoarray electrodes offer promising solutions for high-performance filter capacitors, advancing miniaturized power systems and electronics," said Prof. Meng, "and the structure-tunable template-assisted method enables the size customization of nanomaterials and promotes innovative integrable microdevices development." More information: Gan Chen et al, High Density 3D Carbon Tube Nanoarray Electrode Boosting the Capacitance of Filter Capacitor, Nano-Micro Letters (2024). DOI: 10.1007/s40820-024-01458-6 A judge sentenced a Texas man who pleaded guilty to decapitating and dismembering his 21-year-old wife to 40 years in prison this week. Jared James Dicus, 23, agreed to a plea deal in which he waived his right to appeal the verdict, the sentence and the possibility to raise an insanity defense in exchange for the sentence, the district attorney announced. A court-ordered examination found Dicus competent to stand trial. Dicus was charged with the January 2023 murder of Anggy Diaz, 21, his wife of three months. Sheriff deputies found Diaz's remains in their home. Her body was found on the floor near a bed in a pool of blood with numerous stab wounds in her back and "what appeared to be the head of the victim to be in the shower," KRIV-TV reported, citing court documents. Waller County Sheriff Troy Guidry said Dicus used a kitchen knife to kill his wife. "Everything happened on the property. And all parts and pieces were recovered and submitted for evidence," he said, KRIV-TV reported. A GoFundMe to pay for a funeral for Diaz said she was "always with a smile, and cheerful personality." The District Attorneys Office said it discussed the 40-year prison sentence agreement her family prior to the plea and sentencing. "Heinous crimes like this one will not go unanswered, we will seek justice for the victims of domestic violence and send a message to the perpetrators that here, we fight for our victims," Waller County Criminal District Attorney Sean Whittmore said. Dicus will be eligible for parole in 2043. A firefighter in Kansas was injured in the line of duty while battling a fire on Thursday, and later died of their injuries, fire officials said. The Wichita Fire Department on Thursday night said firefighters were providing mutual aid at a fire in nearby Haysville when a Wichita firefighter was injured at around 3:22 p.m. The firefighter "later succumbed to their injury," the fire department said. The name of the firefighter was not released pending family notification. The nature of their injuries was not released. Later Thursday night, the fire department posted a video showing colleagues lined up at the hospital for the dignified transfer of the fallen firefighter. "This is a loss that deeply weighs heavily on all of us. All of the dedicated individuals who serve our fire department do so knowing the immense risk they are undertaking and do it with noble, selfless regard. It does not make their sacrifice any less immense. Nor the sacrifice of their loved ones and family any easier," the fire department said. "Please keep this firefighters family and crew in your prayers," the fire department said. "We will update the community on any additional information as it becomes available." -With TMX Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. In a historic prisoner exchange between Belarus, Germany, Norway, Russia, Slovenia, and the U.S., two Russian nationals serving time for cybercrime activities have been freed and repatriated to their country. This includes Roman Valerevich Seleznev and Vladislav Klyushin, who are part of a group of eight people who have been swapped back to Russia in exchange for the release of 16 people who were held in detention, counting four Americans, five Germans and seven Russians citizens who were held as political prisoners. U.S. President Joe Biden called the deal a "feat of diplomacy," adding "some of these women and men have been unjustly held for years." Other nations that played a role in the swap include Poland and Turkey. Among those released from Russia are former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, Vladimir Kara-Murza, a green-card holder and a prominent critic of Russian president Vladimir Putin, and Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva. Seleznev, also known by the aliases Track2, Bulba, and nCux, was sentenced in 2017 to 27 years in prison for payment card fraud, causing nearly $170 million in damages to small businesses and financial institutions in the U.S. He was subsequently handed another 14-year jail term for his role in a $50 million cyber fraud ring and for defrauding banks of $9 million through a hacking scheme. The other Russian national going home is Klyushin, the owner of security penetration testing firm M-13 who was sentenced in the U.S. last September for stealing confidential financial information from U.S. companies in a $93 million insider-trading scheme. "Not since the Cold War has there been a similar number of individuals exchanged in this way and there has never, so far as we know, been an exchange involving so many countries, so many close U.S. partners and allies working together," National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan was quoted as saying. The development comes as the U.K. National Crime Agency (NCA) announced the shutdown of a fraud platform called Russian Coms ("russiancoms[.]cm") that allowed its customers to make over 1.3 million anonymous calls between 2021 and 2024 by masquerading as banks and law enforcement agencies. Three individuals allegedly linked to the creation and development of the platform have been arrested and subsequently released on conditional bail. The caller ID spoofing solution, marketed through Snapchat, Instagram and Telegram, cost anywhere from 350 to 1,000 and was available as a bespoke handset and, later, as a web app. "The platform allowed criminals to hide their identity by appearing to call from pre-selected numbers, most commonly of financial institutions, telecommunications companies, and law enforcement agencies," the NCA said. "This enabled them to gain the trust of victims before stealing their money and personal details." A swimmer from Slovakia collapsed poolside Friday at the Paris Olympics after having an asthma attack. Tamara Potocka, 21, had just competed in the qualifying heat in the women's 200-meter individual medley when she became ill, ESPN reported. Medical crews came to her aid and carried her away on a stretcher. She was seen wearing an oxygen mask. Slovakian officials said Potocka had an asthma attack, and that she did not have her asthma inhaler with her to counteract shortness of breath. "Tamara has asthma," Slovakia team leader Ivana Lange said in a statement, ESPN reported. "This whole combination of nervous and physical tension while she did not have her inhaler immediately available to use contributed to the creation of this problem." Lange said Potocka received oxygen and her condition is being monitored. "A few minutes ago, the doctor told me that she must be monitored for several more hours," she added. Israeli swimmer Lea Polonsky said swimmers know their sport has risks. "Of course that's something in the back of your mind, but we do every day push ourselves to the limit," Polonsky told the Associated Press. "You always know something like that can happen. It's not something you think about during the race, but it's always there." Potocka finished seventh in the third heat and was eliminated from competition. An artists impression of what the Acute Referral Hospital could look like. Another step towards beginning the construction of the Acute Referral Hospital at Arnos Vale was taken here recently, July 26, when Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves signed an agreement with the Taiwanese Company, Overseas Engineering and Construction Company (OECC), the OECC. The Hospital will be constructed on the northern side of the runway on the decommissioned E.T. Joshua, and the agreement referenced will allow the OECC to take control of that site as of July 31, 2024, so as to, it is assumed, begin preparation of the site and commence construction before year end. The estimated total cost to construct and equip the hospital is said to be approximately US$110 million, and the estimated construction time is 32 months. Funding will be provided by the World Bank under the Regional Disaster Vulnerability Reduction Project, for 80% of the cost, and the remainder will be sourced through a soft loan from the OPEC Fund for International Development. In excess of US$80 is expected to be spent on the construction of the hospital and purchasing of necessary equipment. Some of the remainder will be set aside for strengthening healthcare resilience through a system of reforms across the sector and project management and consultancy fees, the Prime Minister said. THE VINCENTIAN understands that Pinearq, an award-winning international company based in Barcelona, Spain, and which specializes in the development of complex facilities for the health sciences, together with Mallol Arquitectos, is designing the new Hospital. Pinearq has assured that the design of the new hospital will take into account all the necessary measures to withstand possible natural disasters, very frequent on the island. The Acute Referral Hospital is expected, according to official documentation, to allow "the Government to be better able to respond to public health emergencies and build resilience. Health services would be expanded, while there would be the introduction of new services such as Cardiology, Neurology including enhanced acute stroke care, Thyroid services, Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases, enhanced Ophthalmology as well as major invasive surgeries. This is in keeping, according to Health Minister St. Clair Prince, with Governments ongoing thrust towards modernising the health sector, especially considering the fact, he added, that the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital has many challenges in terms of layout and functionality and its inability to expand. The Milton Cato Memorial Hospital will be transformed into a Maternal Child and Health Centre of Excellence once the state-of-the-art Acute Care Hospital is opened. Earlier indications from the Unity Labour Party government spoke of future urban development of this area, i.e. a new city, with the new healthcare centre as the starting point for this development. Five persons who were initially denied bail on six charges stemming from the July 16 botched robbery of the South Rivers branch of the Government Employees Cooperative Credit Union (GECCU), were granted bail on their return to court on Monday. The five - Erasto Da Silva, a 26-year-old bartender of Canouan; Esroy Pirate Jeffers, 28, of Buccament, Lemar Chak Isaacs, 22 of Mckies Hill, Sharome Dopwell, 21, of Pauls Avenue and lone female Rakiesha Bim Bim Joseph, 24, of Layou - were jointly charged with Enrique John, 27, of Layou. When Da Silva, Isaacs, Dopwell, Jeffers and Joseph made their first appearance at the Serious Offenses Court on July 19, Senior Magistrate Colin John remanded them until Monday for bail review, after Prosecutor Renrick Cato informed the Court that investigations into the matter were ongoing. The police feared that they would impede or obstruct the investigation if granted bail. Cato asked the Court for one week to allow the police to complete their investigations. However, when they returned to court on Monday, the Prosecutor indicated that the Prosecution was no longer objecting to bail, and the Court offered the defendants bail in the sum of $25,000 each, with one surety. John who had appeared in the same Court on July 24, five days after the others made their first appearance, was also placed on $25,000 bail with one surety. Prosecutor Cato did not object to his bail for John, as he was initially granted bail at the Police Station to return to that Police Station, and he complied. The six are charged jointly with robbing Charissa Pitt, the administrative clerk at the GECCU South Rivers branch, of a purse with her personal items valued at EC$250; the attempted murder of Police Constable Joron Samuel, by shooting at him; possession of a firearm to aid in the commission of an offense, to wit robbery; possession of a .9mm pistol without license and 8 rounds of ammunition without license; and damaging two metal and glass doors valued at EC$2,800, one deadbolt lock valued at EC$270 and one skylight valued at EC$300, the property of GECCU. The defendants were not required to plea to the charges as they were laid indictable. Attorney Grant Connell represented Dopwell, Isaacs, and Jeffers. John was represented by Kay Bacchus-Baptiste. Joseph and Da Silva were unrepresented. Up to press time Wednesday, THE VINCENTIAN was not able to ascertain how many of the defendants were able to find sureties, as most of them were taken away, in police custody, following the bail hearing on Monday. The matter was adjourned to September 30. They will report to their nearest police stations pending the disposal of the matter. A police release, dated July 22, stated that around 3:05pm on July 16, armed masked bandits entered the GECCU building at South Rivers. While in the building they encountered prompt police action, and the suspects retaliated by firing shots at the police. The officers returned fire, and the assailants fled but were later apprehended with the help of vigilant community members. Graduates and officials at the Graduation Ceremony for persons trained in chainsaw operations, etc. As part of the April 2021 volcanic eruptions recovery efforts, the Economic Planning Division (Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning and Information Technology), the Forestry Department (Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries, Rural Transformation, Industry and Labour) and the National Qualification Department (Ministry of Education) has certified 41 persons in chainsaw operations here in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The graduates received their certification on Wednesday, July 24, at Frenchs House during a graduation Ceremony hosted by the aforementioned Divisions and Departments. The 41 graduates comprised 13 forestry officers and 28 trainees, including one female. Their training began in late April and was completed in June 2024 with trainees completing 75 hours of training. During remarks at the graduation Director of Forestry Fitzgerald Providence encouraged more females to be involved in using chainsaws, sentiments that were echoed by the Volcanic Eruption Emergency Project (VEEP) Project Coordinator Roxanne John; Director of the National Qualification Department, Endall Johnson; and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Nerissa Gittens. Endall Johnson highlighted the importance of skilled workers. He remarked that, "Academics are going out the door, and noted that the certification "is portable across the region, In her featured remarks, Nerissa Gittens encouraged the graduates to cooperate with each other, practise safety and to continue to educate themselves. She also called on the graduates to avail their newly certified skills to assist with the cleaning programme following the destruction left by Hurricane Beryl. Arising out of the recent training, and using the PLAR (Prior Learning Assessment Recognition) tool, 13 chainsaw operators/officers were evaluated and assessed in Use, Operation and Maintenance of Chainsaw, with focus on: preparing for servicing and repairs of agriculture machinery and equipment, performing routine checks and inspection and servicing agricultural equipment and repairing agricultural machinery. Twenty-eight (28) persons were certified in Level 2 National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) in Chainsaw and Repairs. In addition, 5 forestry officers were identified and selected out of the 13 trainers by the NQD to undergo assessor training in the sector of agriculture. These officers began training on May 14, 2024, and completed training in June over a 3-week period. Assessors will subsequently be certified at a Level 4 Caribbean Vocational Qualification (CVQ) in Agriculture. This certification programme was created as part of VEEPs Component 2 - Restoration and "Building Back Better of critical services and strengthening of emergency preparedness and response capacity. (Source: VEEP) Two farmers cooperatives, Women in Agriculture Langley Park (WALCO) and the Windward Irrigation Initiative Cooperative (WiiCoop), which collectively represent 60 small farmers operating in the Langley Park area were the recipients of support from the Government of Australia, through its Direct Aid Program (DAP), administered by the Australian High Commission in Trinidad and Tobago. The support was given as part of a project titled, Supporting Sustainable Agricultural Practices on Small Farms in Langley Park. According to a release from the local delegation of Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), the project implementing agency, the goal of the project is to promote the adoption of sustainable farming practices among farmers by encouraging the adoption of mechanical weed control and the utilisation of vegetative and animal farm waste for composting. Towards that end, the project provided for: (1) the procurement of weed trimmers and shredders for weed control operations, and the shredding of vegetative farm waste in preparation for composting and nursery and field use; 2) provision of a generator to provide power to assist with farm operations requiring power; 3) provision of training in the use of purchased equipment and composting for beneficiary farmers; and 4) procurement of water tanks to support seedling nursery operations. Speaking on behalf of WALCO, Chair for the Board of Directors, Mrs. Louise Sampson expressed her thanks to the DAP and the Government of Australia for the support to her cooperative, saying inter alia, "The group is very grateful for the donation of items received from the Australian Government, which will go a long way in supporting the farming activities of our members. Mr. Conrad Simon, Chairman of the Board of Directors of WiiCoop also expressed his appreciation on behalf of his organisation for the support received through the project. Michael Dalton, the Technical Specialist at the IICA Delegation in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, also provided a brief background on the project which, he said was conceptualised in September 2023 after discussions with representatives of both farmers cooperatives and IICA. It was decided that a project of this nature was necessary to encourage farmers into more natural methods of farming, to encourage composting and the increased use of organic matter to restore the health of the soil, particularly after the volcanic eruptions of 2021, and the excessive ash deposits and its adverse effects on the production of some crops. According to Mr. Dalton, all activities are the result of a collaborative effort between the five parties the two farmers cooperatives, the DAP as funder, IICA as the project implementing agency and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries, Rural Transformation, Industry and Labour who has provided technical and material support to the activities. The project will close at the end of August, but Dalton he indicated that IICA has a mandate to support farmers organisations in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Cole Oliver has spent close to a year not knowing if he is going or coming. An Arnos Vale youngster - Cole Oliver - will soon know whether he will have to face a High Court trial for the July 20, 2023 murder of Golden Vale resident Kemon Orlando Roberts. The Prosecution closed its case at the Preliminary Inquiry (P.I) on Tuesday, and Olivers lawyer Grant Connell is expected to make a no-case submission when the matter resumes on Monday, August 5. Roberts, 28, was shot several times during an incident at Golden Vale on July 20, 2023. Oliver was 18 at the time. Several witnesses testified for the Prosecution, including the key witness, who gave evidence, on camera, via live link, under the Witness (Special Measures) Act, and the investigator, Corporal Henry Hoyte. Prosecutor Renrick Cato leads the case for the Prosecution. Even as the RSVGPF urges persons concerned to turn in their illegal guns/ammunition, they continue their hunt for and seizure of illegal firearms. The Royal Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force (RSVGPF) is intensifying its efforts to eliminate illegal firearms from the streets of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Following the high commands latest press conference on July 17, 2024, led by Commissioner of Police (Ag) Mr. Envill Williams, which presented an overview of the recently concluded National Firearm Amnesty, the RSVGPF has taken decisive steps to ensure that holders of illegal firearms are identified and brought to justice. Through a series of targeted operations, the Force has successfully seized three additional illegal firearms and thirty-five rounds of ammunition in five days, demonstrating our unwavering commitment to public safety and law enforcement. Arrest of Jamal Hutchins On July 19, 2024, police arrested and charged Jamal Hutchins, a 33-year-old laborer from Bequia, with possession of a Glock pistol and 16 rounds of ammunition. This intelligence-led operation took place on July 18, 2024. Hutchins appeared in court on July 21, 2024, where he pleaded not guilty to the offense. He was granted bail in the sum of $10,000 ECC, with the condition that he reports to the Port Elizabeth Police Station every Monday between 8:00 AM and 8:00 PM. Arrest of Kesroy Williams On July 21, 2024, police arrested and charged Kesroy Williams, a 26-year-old laborer from Belair, with possession of a .38 pistol and three rounds of .38 ammunition. Williams appeared before the Serious Offences Court and pleaded guilty to the offence, and was ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation. His sentencing is scheduled for August 6, 2024. Arrest of Olando Burgin On July 22, 2024, police officers arrested and charged Olando Burgin, a 40-year-old laborer from Lowmans Leeward, with possession of a 9mm pistol and 17 rounds of ammunition in Sandy Bay. Burgin appeared before the Serious Offences Court on July 24, 2024. He pleaded guilty to the offence and was remanded in custody pending sentencing on Thursday, July 25, 2024. UPDATE: On July 25, 2024, Burgin was sentenced to six years in prison for the possession of an illegal firearm and one year in prison for the possession of ammunition. The sentences are to run concurrently. Guns turned in/seized During a recent media briefing hosted by the police top brass, it was disclosed that from January to June this year, the police recovered 34 firearms and 3,025 rounds of ammunition. This included 18 firearms and 327 rounds of ammunition surrendered during the 92-day National Firearms Amnesty which concluded on May 01, and 16 firearms and 2,700 rounds of ammunition that were seized and/or recovered in stop and search and other operations by the police. THE VINCENTIAN recognizes and commends the intensified effort by the Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force to rid our streets of illegal firearms. Abdon Whyte, community activist/teacher on Union island, is not convinced that objection to having the students relocated to St. Vincent id a well-founded one. Although clean-up operations are well underway on Union Island, which bore the brunt of the wrath of Hurricane Beryl, July 01, 2024, the island is still not the best place for students to be schooled. Community activist and teacher, Abdon Whyte made the point while speaking on radio on July 28. According to Whyte, the Union Island Secondary School was the least affected by the passage of Hurricane Beryl. However, the Mary Hutchinson and Stephanie Browne Primary Schools needed much repair, with the Mary Hutchinson Primary School requiring a new building and the roof of Stephanie Browne needing to be repaired. Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves proposed that the former Teachers Training College at Arnos Vale be converted to house the Union Island students who will be accompanied by one parent and teachers from all three schools, for a period of about 10 months. He also proposed that rooms at various guest houses be made available to temporarily accommodate the students, their parents and the teachers. However, during consultations held on the island with residents of Union Island, some residents of Union Island did not approve of the proposal. Some expressed concerns regarding work commitments and what it would mean having a child attend school on the mainland. Whyte said that some residents from Union Island expressed the fear of having the students lose their cultural identity. "I dont think we have had any culture issues over the years, Whyte said adding that there was a lot of pushback from Union Island residents to having students temporarily schooled on the mainland. He admitted that at first, he had some issues with what was being proposed, however when it was announced that about 95 percent of the buildings including houses on Union Island were either partially or totally damaged, he had to reflct. He admitted that it would be an uphill task to repair at least half of the number of damaged homes by the time school reopens, so, the question remained, where would the students live on Union Island? Getting the schools ready for early to mid September could be achieved, but there still would be a problem as far as accommodations for the students. White acknowledged that living in a shelter was not an ideal environment for students, especially those preparing for external exams such as the Caribbean Primary Exit Assessment (CPEA) and the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC). (DD) Former President Donald Trump floated a new job-creating energy proposal during a Fox Business appearance Friday morning: building an oil pipeline through a poor New York neighborhood. Trump sat with Fox host Maria Bartiromo on her show "Mornings With Maria" to discuss his economic policies and how they are different from Vice President Kamala Harris' policies. Despite claiming he didn't have enough time in the day to go over all the differences between their plans, Trump emphasized "we're going to lower our prices of energy." "We have more liquid gold, as I call it, under our feet than Saudi Arabia," Trump said. "We're going to be energy dominant. We're going to make a fortune. We're going to supply it all over Europe, all over the world. We're going to be double, triple what they're doing. We're going to have tremendous energy." Trump went on to claim "people in New England pay some of the highest prices in the world because we don't have a pipeline," and blamed New York. "We don't have a pipeline because New York won't let a pipeline go through a very poor section of New York where they need the jobs." Trump tells Bartiromo he wants to put a pipeline "through a very poor section of New York where they need the jobs." pic.twitter.com/ALUk2HLz2C Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 2, 2024 The interview also included Trump discussing using crypto to pay off the US debt with China and Trump echoing past claims that his White House COVID-19 policies saved "a hundred million lives" worldwide. Euro Auctions continues its global expansion with the first sale in the new corporate HQ in Abu Dhabi attracting a global audience of buyers and sellers to participate in this record-breaking sale. Euro Auctions continues to go from strength to strength with the new corporate HQ sale site in Abu Dhabi. This most recent auction showed the interest that Euro Auctions have created in the in the Middle East producing a magnificent result. With the hammer total doubling the revenue over the same sale in June 2023 and increasing the number of vendors by 95%, the number of consignors doubling, increasing the number of first-time registered bidders for a Euro Auctions sale in the UAE, and increasing vendor countries by 300%. With the appetite to be the number one auction facility in the Middle East this sale indicates that Euro Auctions is firmly on that trajectory. Average lot price doubles With nearly five hundred lots for sale, the average lot price was double that of the same sale in June 2023, indicating that through the Abu Dhabi auction, Euro Auctions is selling more big-ticket items than in the previous 12 months. This Euro Auctions sale attracted vendors from across the Gulf, India, China, Africa and East Asia, and while online buying is strong at all Euro Auctions sales, it is still the preference of Middle East buyers to attend live sales and bid in person on the day, with 47% of buyers transacting bidding online. First time registrations to buy with Euro Auctions increased by 20%. The top buying countries were: UAE, UK, India, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Norway, Nigeria, Morocco, Kenya and Jordon. The top buying regions were: Middle East 82%, Africa 6%, UK 5%, Asia 3.6%, Europe 2.25% and North America 1%. Four to six sales a year Richard Sweatt, General Manager for Euro Auctions Middle East and Asia, comments: We welcomed the world to our new Gulf HQ in Abu Dhabi and this resulted in a record sale. This new site in the Khalifa Economic Zone is pivotal to our expansion in EMEA and East Asia and we plan to host 4 to 6 live sales per year on this site. Specialising in the sale of high value construction machinery and commercial vehicles, our new facility in Abu Dhabi provides us with the opportunity and the appetite to further develop within the region. This was a record sale for Euro Auctions in Abu Dhabi and in all statistics we saw substantial growth. The sales total was a 12-month high, with a 20% increase in the number registering, with bidders from Scandinavia to the Far East including the Gulf, East West and North Africa, every country in central and eastern Europe, the USA, Canada and Australasia. Euro Auctions does have extraordinary global reach and once a seller or buyer trades with us, there is a loyalty and this is a real testimony to the like and faith that buyers have in the Euro Auctions brand. The value of individual lots is increasing at each sale, selling higher value, quality units, and we are attracting many new consignors as our customers see the benefits of selling with us. We are also seeing good consignments coming from outside of the UAE to meet the demand for fresh and low hours machines that buyers in the Gulf want. Euro Auctions strength is in its network of sale sites and our teams of sales managers who are globally connected. We attract good consignors and vendors because of our ability to sell to a large global audience, with over 250,000 unique clients and selling into over 100 countries, we are able to attract a very serious buying audience. Increase in vendor numbers In the Gulf, in the last 6 months, we have seen an increase in the number of vendors using Euro Auctions who have never previously sold at auction, coming to us for the first time. So, this is a real testimony to the trust that sellers put in us to achieve the best price possible and Euro Auctions always achieves true market value for the sellers machinery. We want sellers to sell with us, and we want buyers to buy from us because, not only do we offer some of the most competitive rates of commission in our sector, but we have one of the best facilities thus attracting the best machines and the best inventory for our buyers. Euro Auctions continues to expand globally with the acquisition of the Michener Allen group in Canada, Euro Auctions now spans 4 continents, with auction sites in 8 countries, operating 12 sites and selling over 150,000 lots each year.--TradeArabia News Service A 17-year-old missing Michigan girl has been found living with a 44-year-old man. Penelope "Penny" Wise went missing from her Cedar Grove home on May 31 and was found living with the man in Rockford, just north of Grand Rapids. The Kent County Sheriff's Office, said investigators learned that Wise had been living with the man - described as a "stranger" - in Rockford since June 1 and that they were engaged, according to WWJ-TV. Authorities believe the girl left her family home voluntarily and was later spotted in the vicinity of Rockford. One of the last sightings put her near the Corner Bar in Rockford around midnight on June 1, the Kent County Sheriff's Office reported. Authorities found Wise at the man's home on Sunday after neighbors reported seeing her riding her bike. "As I stopped at the stop sign, I saw a girl with her bike and she was crouched down," a woman who lives down the street from man told WXMI-TV. "She's looking at me, I'm looking at her, and as we were driving, I was like, 'Mom, that's the missing girl from Cedar Springs,'" the neighbor told the station. The man has not been charged with any crime. "You'd think there'd be some sort of law that would prevent this, but we looked at it," Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker told WXMI-TV. "It's clearly troubling, but we can't just charge things that we find troubling. We have to follow the law, and that's what we did." Wise is being held on an unrelated warrant, according to her mother and they had not been able to see her yet. On a Facebook page she set up during the search, Michael Wise said, "We are thankful she's been found. She's alive and ok.Thank you all for praying, searching, and spreading the word." A few weeks into last school year, 30% of teacher positions in Arizona remained unfilled. The shortage persists, but there are signs of improvement. Tucson Unified School District currently has 164 classroom openings down from 300 at the same time last year. Deer Valley Unified School District is close to fully staffed. Tempe Union High School District has just one opening to fill compared to five at this time last year. We have been more successful this year than we were last year, said Dawn Anderson, director of human resources at Flagstaff Unified School District, which employs about 600 certified teachers and has only eight openings still to be filled. Low pay is one of the many challenges when recruiting teachers. The starting salary for teachers in Arizona is $44,124, according to the National Education Association. Thats 21st in the nation above average. But the average salary is $60,275, which is 32nd. Thats $9,000 below the national average and far below the minimum living wage in much of the state. In Maricopa County, for instance, thats $79,147 for a single parent with one child, as calculated by the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute. Were getting paid so little and asked to do a lot, said Rikki Acosta, the social-emotional learning coordinator at Maryvale Preparatory Academy, a charter school in Phoenix. One of the ways Arizona schools cope with teacher shortages is to take away planning periods that is, adding another class to a teachers workload. Educators call that a Band-Aid that accelerates burnout and robs teachers of unpaid family time. Its hard, because they dont get a break in their day and they dont have time to plan, said Gretchen Hann, the principal at Desert Edge High School in Goodyear. Then they have to take everything home and theyre spending their nights and weekends getting prepared. At the start of last school year, there were 2,229 teaching vacancies across 131 districts in Arizona, according to a survey by the Arizona School Personnel Administration Association (ASPAA). Its scary. Weve started the year without teachers, said Hann. Arizona has implemented a number of programs to mitigate shortages and boost retention. The Arizona Teachers Academy created by the Arizona Board of Regents, which oversees the states public universities, forgives student loans in exchange for a commitment to teach in K-12 schools. The 2023 annual report showed 3,255 students enrolled in the program, up 14-fold since 2018. But the state slashed the budget in half for the 2025 fiscal year. The cuts will make the program harder to access and will increase the waitlist. Districts also use alternative educator programs to fill teaching positions. These programs let college graduates teach for two years while preparing to obtain an Arizona teaching certificate. The districts that are doing that are building a teacher pipeline that we would not have had without it, said Justin Wing, data analyst at ASPAA and assistant superintendent of human resources at Mesa Public Schools, the states largest school district. Arizona State University has the Next Education Workforce project, which promotes alternatives to the traditional one teacher, one classroom staffing model. Instead, it uses a team approach, with teachers dividing duties based on their strengths. For example, one teacher might handle parent-teacher conferences, while another would focus on data-driven lessons. Districts are also addressing vacancies by recruiting foreign teachers. A J1 visa allows people who hold a teaching certification to teach in the United States for three years, with an option to extend for two more years. Processing time can complicate this approach, though, and there is often a lag between when a teacher is hired and when they can start. A group of Iowa teenagers who traveled to Wyoming to summit Cloud Peak in the Bighorn Mountains had to be rescued this week after failing pack enough food, water and clothing, officials said. South Big Horn County Search and Rescue said the Big Horn County Sheriff's Department received a 911 text from the teen boys and men, who ranged in age from 15 to 18, at around 7:40 p.m. on Monday. The hikers said they were attempting to summit Cloud Peak in the late afternoon, and were unable to descend without assistance. The group had separated when some of the teens tried to continue to the summit, while others stayed behind at an elevation of approximately 11,400 feet. They eventually became split into three groups. As South Big Horn County Search and Rescue members were staging nearby, they received word that one member of the party had collapsed and was unresponsive. A short time later, they learned that one member of the party was alone and could not find his companions. "Because of the deteriorating situation," rescuers requested assistance from Guardian Air Medical to fly rescuers up the mountain. At around 9:30 p.m., the first rescue team was flown to the base of Cloud Peak, and they proceeded to hike up the mountain while the second rescue team was flown in. The Wyoming Army National Guard was also called in to assist with a hoist-capable Blackhawk helicopter. At around 11:30 p.m., the upper group of hikers located the middle group at around 11,400 feet, and they were told by rescuers to remain at that location until crews could reach them. The first rescue team located the first group of five at around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday. The second rescue team located the last hiker at around 2:30 a.m. Because two of the hikers appeared to be suffering from possible altitude sickness and were unable to travel, the decision was made for rescuers to remain with the hikers overnight while waiting for the National Guard helicopter, which arrived at around 9:30 a.m. Tuesday. The helicopter hoisted five hikers from the first group and transported them to their base camp at Misty Moon Lake. The helicopter then returned to pick up the sixth hiker and the rescuers with him by performing a one-wheel landing at an elevation of around 10,800 feet. They were dropped at Misty Moon Lake at approximately 10:15 a.m. The helicopter then refueled at the Greybull Airport and returned to Misty Moon Lake to transport all the hikers and rescuers to the West Ten Sleep trailhead. None of the hikers required transport to hospitals, and were treated at the scene by rescuers. "Please do your homework prior to traveling to the mountains, remember to always bring the 10 essentials in your pack, don't travel alone, set a realistic turn around time and stick to it and if possible have a way to communicate via satellite and know how to use it," South Big Horn County Search and Rescue said. "Without good weather, communication between stranded subjects and use of two helicopter services, this mission could have had a very different outcome." With TMX Andrea Eger Tulsa World Staff Writer Follow Andrea Eger 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 Two days after State Superintendent Ryan Walters lashed out at Bixby Public Schools superintendent, the Tulsa-area suburban school district issued a demand for a public apology and retraction of an inaccurate and malicious statement related to our districts finances. Rob Miller, Bixbys superintendent drew Walters ire this week for going public about a significant delay in notices to schools about their federal funding allocations. Miller tweeted about the issue on Sunday, questioning when his district would receive its initial Title I allocation. After a Tuesday state board of education meeting, Walters lashed out, calling Miller a clown and a liar. He knows every year when he gets the Title I funds, and were dealing with all kinds of financial problems with his district that were hoping to address right now, Walters said, among other things. A Friday afternoon press release by BPS cited its most recent annual audit, with no material findings, and its AA-Stable bond rating. In conclusion, Bixby Schools unequivocally refutes Superintendent Walters false and reckless claims about our districts financial status. His baseless defamation of the dedicated professionals at Bixby Schools is unacceptable and intolerable. On behalf of the BPS community, we demand an immediate public apology and retraction of Mr. Walterss defamatory comments. We urge our community and stakeholders to stand with us in this demand. We are resolute in defending our reputation and will not rest until justice is served. The local school board president also told the Tulsa World Walters owes the entire district an apology for making false claims about its fiscal position and management. I am extremely disappointed in Mr. Walters name-calling and false accusations on Bixbys financials. In my opinion, he owes our district an apology, said Tristy Fryer, president of the Bixby Public Schools board of education. As a former Bixby educator and parent, and now the current BPS board president, I take our financial responsibility very seriously. The board is diligent in ensuring that we are good stewards of taxpayer dollars. Ultimately, this is about the kids. In BPS, we aim to meet the needs of each student to set them up for success. A Tulsa World review of Bixbys most recent annual audit report includes only one recommendation: That a payroll clerk be covered by a surety bond to protect the district, although not required by statute. The Tulsa World has verified with a half dozen other districts that the states public schools have yet to receive any notice from the Oklahoma State Department of Education about their federal Title I allocations for the fiscal year that began July 1. A few other superintendents have taken to social media and even contacted the Tulsa World to back up Millers claim and share their concerns for how the delay is affecting their school districts preparation for the upcoming school year. Each year, the federal government distributes billions of dollars in Title I grants for school districts based on the number of low-income children they serve. The funding is intended to help address those students extraordinary academic needs, with such things as more teachers, tutors and school counselors. School officials from across the Tulsa area not just Miller said the lack of official notice has affected their ability to budget, plan and hire for the academic year beginning in the next few weeks. Walters claimed that his staff had told him for over a decade the timing of the initial allocation notices in question has been the Same time every year at least late August. Miller has since told the Tulsa World what Walters seems to be referring to is the actual funding going out in late July or August, not the initial Title I funding allocation notices that serve as the basis for budget building and planning and hiring of employees for which school districts need assurances of funding sources for their salaries. We are adding a third Title I school site here in Bixby, that now meets that threshold (for the percentage of low-income students). Its new to us and its a complicated process we have to bring all of the principals in and talk about the best use of those resources. The deadline for submitting your plan is Sept. 30, then were a month into school, and youre talking about maybe we need to bring in additional people. Miller has also followed up on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, by posting a link to Walters own state agency website, which still has the final notice of initial Title I allocations sent out to school districts under Walters predecessor, Joy Hofmeister. It is dated May 5, 2022. The pressure seems to be working. As on Friday afternoon, the states Office of Title Service sent an email to districts promising that all federal allocations not just Title I will be published on or before August 16, 2024. The Office of Title Services is in the process of calculating and verifying in-state allocations for the 2024-2025 school year. These calculations are extremely complex and the process is painstaking. OTS is making every effort to ensure accuracy prior to public release, states the email. All things being equal, (school districts) can expect a similar percentage change to their allocations. The Tulsa World is where your story lives Deadlines for voters in Tulsa Friday is the deadline for new voter registrations ahead of the Aug. 27 elections. That election features the first round of Tulsa mayoral and City Council voting, as well as several runoffs from the June 18 primaries. Registration may be completed on-line at oklahoma.gov/elections, in person at county election boards or by mail. Mailed applications must be postmarked no later than 5 p.m. Friday. Late applications will be processed, but registrations won't be valid for the Aug. 27 elections. The absentee ballot request deadline is 5 p.m. Aug. 12. To register to vote or request an absentee ballot, go to okvoterportal.okelections.us. Randy Krehbiel Tulsa World Staff Writer Follow Randy Krehbiel Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today In announcing the formation of a commission to develop a plan for reparations in Tulsa, Mayor G.T. Bynum asked citizens to keep an open mind. When the term reparations is used, we jump to the end of the conversation without hearing our neighbors out, Bynum said Thursday. If youre looking for reparations, people opposed think youre just looking for a handout. And if youre opposed to reparations, people in favor of them think youre heartless. City Councilor Vanessa Hall-Harper, who announced formation of the commission with Bynum at a noon press conference, said it was yet another day of progress and celebration, filled with uplifting news not only for the survivors of the massacre, but also the descendants of the 1921 Race Massacre and the Greenwood community. The Beyond Apology Commission is the product of a similarly named initiative led by Hall-Harper and others to collect input from Tulsans across the city about repercussions from Tulsas 1921 Race Massacre and how to address inequities Hall-Harper and others believe still exist, wholly or in part, because of it. The commission will consist of 13 members serving staggered three-year terms. One member will be directly appointed by the mayor and another by the city councilor whose district includes historical Greenwood. The other 11 members will be recommended by city staff and community members from among applicants fitting one of eight categories: youth (18-24), elder (60+), massacre descendant, north Tulsa community leader, policy and legislative expert, housing equity expert, health equity expert, and at-large (four positions). A press release said the commissions first task will be a plan for a housing equity program. One of the most challenging issues to navigate during my time as mayor has been the issue of reparations for the victims of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, Bynum said at Thursdays press conference. This is what made the issue of reparations so difficult, he said. The preconceived notions around that one word reparations has prevented us from doing what I am confident most Tulsans would agree we should do. Bynum acknowledged that he and Hall-Harper have often been at odds, especially concerning cash payments, which he opposes. She strongly disagrees with me on that, he said. The easiest thing in the world would be for her to write me off and ignore me because of that disagreement. But she hasnt. She has instead chosen to work with me toward what we both believe is an important step in the right direction. Apparently in reference to the word equitable in the press release, Harper said it is essential to differentiate and understand the difference between a reparations program and equitable policy. While the city of Tulsa should strive to have equitable policies, and I believe we do, reparations specifically addresses the past harms inflicted on a specific group, namely Black Tulsans suffering for over 100 years after the repercussions following the 1921 Race Massacre. We cant go back, said Bynum. And we can never repair all that was lost. But we can acknowledge the tragedy that occurred. And we can recognize the impact that such a loss has happened. And we can do more out of compassion for our neighbors. Weve made so much progress in the last decade in Tulsa when it comes to racial reconciliation. Sometimes I know it doesnt feel like it. But growth is usually hard. It usually hurts. My heartfelt request of my fellow Tulsans is that, before you make any assumptions about this issue, let your fellow Tulsans on the commission do their work, the mayor said, asking Tulsans to keep an open mind. My hope is that we will allow ... compassion, reason and dialogue to help heal a hurt that has plagued our city for over a century. Tulsa World is where your story lives Tulsa Race Massacre: This is what happened in Tulsa in 1921 In 1921, white mobs invaded Greenwood and burned it down A growing but divided city had tensions rising. How World War I influenced residents. Key figures in 1921 Greenwood was defined by freedom and opportunity An encounter on an elevator and concerns about a lynching Tulsa Tribune article cited for sparking massacre Dick Rowland's life threatened while jailed as crowd gathers outside Tulsans take up arms and there are issues with special deputies Fighting begins in Greenwood and the neighborhood is soon overrun Mobs won't let firefighters douse the flames Airplanes flew over Greenwood as it was attacked National Guard called in, denies report that machine guns were used to kill dozens Dr. A.C. Jackson was killed as he tried to surrender in his front yard Death toll remains unknown; search for graves continues today Black Tulsans were marched through the streets and detained at camps throughout city Red Cross reports the massive devastation in Greenwood Key locations in Tulsa during the 1921 Race Massacre Mount Zion Baptist Church was burned down but, like Greenwood, persevered and rebuilt Tulsa Race Massacre: Quotes from survivors, officials and others Tulsa Race Massacre: Recommended reading Tulsa Race Massacre / The Tulsa World Library The Tulsa World is where your story lives A veterinarian examines a dog. The cost of pet insurance, like other forms of insurance, has been rising. Mark Mulligan, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer As Houstonians battle rising premiums for home and auto insurance, some have noticed that the cost of covering their dogs and cats has risen. The cost of premiums for pet health insurance have increased significantly, according to data from the North American Pet Health Insurance Association, the trade association representing most pet insurance providers in the United States and Canada. As of 2023, according to NAPHIAs data, the average annual premium for a policy covering dogs for accidents and illnesses costs $675.61, up from $594.64 in 2019, a roughly 14% increase over the four years. One reason: The cost of veterinarian services has been on the rise, jumping 6.4% nationwide in June from the same month in 2023, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, after even larger increases in the several preceding years. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Premiums can vary greatly based on the age of a pet and on coverages, according to providers such as Healthy Paws, Lemonade or Embrace. And insurance for cats is generally less expensive than for dogs. Healthy Paws tells the story on its website of Vito, an insured Yorkie who developed blood poisoning after swallowing 10 pennies and a dime. The pups pilfering of 20 cents, according to the company, resulted in a $2,147 claim. Kristen Lynch, executive director of NAPHIA, said pet insurance companies consider several factors in setting premiums for cats and dogs, including the breed, the companys claims experience over the previous year and the cost of veterinary care in the ZIP code where the pet lives. Despite the increase in premiums, the number of pet owners holding policies has soared in recent years; there were about 5.7 million pet insurance policies in place in the United States in 2023, mostly for dogs, up from about 2.5 million in 2019. The industry is considered a growing one, even though pet owners in Texas arent required to carry insurance for their animal friends. Lynch posited that while Americans have always loved their pets, the human-animal bond has grown even stronger in recent years. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Coming out of the pandemic, we had spent so much time in our homes with our pets, living side by side, playing together, said Lynch. I know people who got pets for their pets, when they returned to office. Our relationship with our pets changed. That bond evolved personally, but it also evolved societally, she continued. Pet insurance is proactive. Its a way that you know that you have what you need. Firms from 20 nations and territories are participating in the Vietnam International Logistics Exhibition 2024 (VILOG 2024) in Ho Chi Minh City, which kicked off on Thursday. The expo, themed Green Logistics - The Foundation for Sustainable Development, features as many as 400 booths, up over 30 percent year on year. The exhibition, held by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, wraps up on Saturday. Phan Thi Thang, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, said that the hike in the number of foreign exhibitors demonstrates the broad appeal of the industry in Vietnam. Among the participating firms are SeaRates by DP World in the United Arab Emirates, Singapores JGL Worldwide, ITL Corporation, Germanys DHL Group, and SEA Logistics Vietnam, along with other logistics companies. The exhibitors are showcasing a wide range of advanced logistics management software, automation solutions, and AI and IoT logistics platforms aimed at supporting green logistics development and reducing environmental impact. The logistics industry in Vietnam has made great strides and is attracting more foreign investors thanks to its role as one of the worlds trade and production hubs and the explosion of e-commerce, Thang affirmed. Dao Trong Khoa, chairman of the Vietnam Logistics Business Association, said that Vietnam is moving toward green and sustainable development. Green logistics is not only a trend but will also become mandatory in Vietnam to achieve sustainable growth. Alexander Olsen, director at ITL Corporation, stated that Vietnam is considered an emerging logistics market. As a result, many foreign investors are entering the local market. The 'transport and delivery' space is one of the highlights of this years exhibition, featuring around 100 exhibitors, including THACO Industries, Vina Dowell, ACT Logistics, and Russias Transit. Notably, three networking and e-commerce platform companies from China, Orange Logistics Organization, WIFFA, and Breakbulk Club, are participating in the expo. A visitor experiences a virtual reality activity at a booth at the Vietnam International Logistics Exhibition 2024 in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Nhu Binh / Tuoi Tre According to the World Bank, Vietnam's Logistics Performance Index score reached its highest-ever mark of 3.3 points in 2023, up from 3.27 in 2018. Vietnam was among the top 10 emerging logistics markets, according to transport and logistics service provider Agility's annual rankings in 2023. Thang said that the logistics industry plays a key role in economic development, helping Vietnam address global geopolitical uncertainties. Moreover, the industry is expected to beef up the countrys export revenue. Between January and July this year, Vietnams export value amounted to US$440.6 billion. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! North Korea on Tuesday appointed Ri Seung Guk as the countrys new ambassador to Vietnam after years of delay due to North Korea's COVID-19-related border shutdown. This post had remained vacant since Ris predecessor Kim Myong-gil returned to North Korea in April 2019, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing North Koreas foreign ministry. Ri has never before been mentioned in North Koreas state-run media. North Korea on Tuesday also appointed Ri Kil-song as the country's ambassador to Singapore. He appears to be a former vice-foreign minister who had handled Asian affairs until 2020. It marked the first time in about more than three years that North Korea had named new ambassadors following the appointment of Ri Ryong-nam, North Korean ambassador to China, in 2021. North Korea has allowed new top envoys from China, Mongolia, and Cuba to begin their official duty in Pyongyang since last year, as it started easing its border restrictions in August 2023. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Vietnam and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) have pledged to foster cooperation in various fields and signed eight cooperative agreements on finance, trade, investment, and aviation. Vietnamese State President To Lam and Chief Executive of HKSAR Lee Ka-chiu, made the pledge at their meeting in Hanoi on Thursday, as part of the latters three-day official visit to Vietnam starting on July 31, at the invitation of Vietnam's Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang. This has been the first official visit to Vietnam by a head of the special administrative region since its establishment in 1997, according to the Vietnam News Agency. Considering the cooperative and friendly relations with China as a strategic choice and a top priority in its foreign policy, Vietnam always respects and advocates Chinas one country, two systems principle, the Basic Law of HKSAR of the Peoples Republic of China, along with Hong Kongs related regulations, supporting the territorys prosperous and happy development, President Lam told his guest. Highlighting that Hong Kong is currently the seventh-largest trade partner and the fifth-largest foreign direct investor of Vietnam, while Vietnam is Hong Kong's second-largest trading partner in ASEAN and the seventh-biggest globally, the Vietnamese leader proposed further promoting cooperation in the fields of economics, trade, and investment. President Lam suggested that the HKSAR authorities continue to facilitate Vietnamese citizens getting entry visas for work, travel, and study in Hong Kong. Vietnamese State President To Lam (R) shakes hands with Chief Executive of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Lee Ka-chiu in Hanoi, August 1, 2024. Photo: Vietnam News Agency To strengthen the cooperative relationship between Vietnam and Hong Kong, the president suggested that the two sides increase exchanges and cooperation at all levels. Agreeing with President Lams suggestions, Lee affirmed that the Hong Kong SAR government attaches importance to developing win-win cooperative ties with Vietnam, especially in economics, trade, investment, culture, education, tourism, and aviation. The guest urged the two sides to tap cooperation in emerging fields such as science and technology, digital economy, digital transformation, and clean energy. The Hong Kong leader also affirmed support for Vietnam in successfully hosting multilateral events in the coming time, including Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Year 2027. Earlier on the same day, the executive chief of Hong Kong SAR had talks with Deputy PM Quang, focusing on deepening cooperative ties. Quang welcomed Hong Kong corporations and enterprises to actively engage in the Vietnamese market, implement high-quality investment projects, and increase the importation of Vietnamese goods. This image shows officials of Vietnam and Hong Kong exchanging one of the cooperative agreements signed between the two sides in Hanoi on August 1, 2024. Photo: Vietnam Government Portal He urged the Hong Kong administration to continue creating favorable conditions for the Vietnamese community there, providing more scholarships for Vietnamese students, and coordinating with Vietnam to prevent illegal activities. The deputy premier also recommended that the two sides foster collaboration in multilateral mechanisms and forums, especially Hong Kong's support for Vietnam to host APEC Year 2027. Agreeing with Quangs recommendations, Lee said the SAR authorities are ready to beef up multifaceted bilateral cooperation for mutual benefits of businesses and people of the two sides. Lee appreciated Vietnams plan to send representatives to attend the ninth Belt and Road Summit, to be held in Hong Kong in September this year. He suggested Vietnam continue creating favorable conditions for Hong Kong enterprises to expand investment in Vietnam. On this occasion, Lee invited Deputy PM Quang to visit Hong Kong at a convenient time. At the end of their talks, the two sides witnessed the signing and exchange of eight cooperation documents in finance, trade, investment, and aviation. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Two Chinese suspects were arrested nearly 10 hours after they broke into a villa in Ho Chi Minh City and took away many valuable assets, including Rolex watches and an LV handbag, local police reported. Police in District 7, Ho Chi Minh City on Friday said they had detained Chen Dao Hong, 45, and Nguy Vinh Diem, 39, both having Chinese nationality, on charges of theft. At around 10:00 am on July 25, police in Tan Phong Ward received a report from a local woman, N.T.B.T., about a burglary that had occurred in a villa on Hung Thai Street. T. informed investigators that she had been authorized to contact police officers by the villa's owner, who was traveling abroad at the time of the incident. According to T., the stolen assets included three Rolex watches, a gold bracelet with diamonds, four gold rings also with diamonds, an LV handbag, and various amounts of money: US$2,000, AUD3,000 ($1,950), 3,000 Japanese yen ($20), and VND210 million ($8,410). The theft was reported to the district police, who then conducted a joint investigation. After examining the scene, gathering relevant information, and searching for suspects, local police detained the two Chinese at around 7:30 pm on the same day, nearly ten hours after the theft occurred. The detainees admitted to arriving in the villa area by car and breaking into the residence to commit the theft. The district police recovered all the stolen assets and the car used in the crime. Diem informed investigators that he had illegally entered Vietnam via the northern border with China. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Police in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City detained and launched legal proceedings against three tourists of Australian nationality for fighting others and causing chaos in the central business district. The trio, including Amin Huzaifah, 24, Anthony Vu Phi Long Pham, 35, and Nguyen Michael, 29, were charged with disturbing public order. At about 1:20 am on June 29, the three and some 10 others reached Atmost Bar on Ton That Dam Street in Ben Nghe Ward, District 1 and got involved in an argument with another group of Minh Nguyen, Hai Nguyen, and Tang Tung Thanh, also of Australian nationality. Being afraid that the two groups might have a fight, security guards at the bar asked them to leave. In front of the bar, Anthony Vu Phi Long Pham and his friends attacked the other group but caused no injuries. The group of Minh Nguyen later came to Pasteur Street to pick up vehicles to go home, but Anthony Vu Phi Long Pham and his friends followed and beat them at the intersection of Pasteur and Ton That Thiep Streets, slightly injuring Minh Nguyen and his friends. Upon receiving reports from local residents, police in Ben Nghe Ward and District 1 rushed to the scene and took everyone involved to the police station. Anthony Vu Phi Long Pham and his friends claimed they were in Vietnam for travel. However, due to their intoxication, they lost control of their actions and attacked Minh Nguyen and his friends. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! What you need to know today in Vietnam: Politics -- Following a formal welcoming ceremony at the Presidential Palace in India on Thursday, Vietnam's Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh invited Indian technology billionaires to invest in Vietnam during talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported. -- On Thursday, Vietnamese State President To Lam received Lee Ka-chiu, Chief Executive of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, at the Presidential Palace during his official visit to Vietnam from Wednesday to Friday. Society -- A representative of the Ho Chi Minh City police department stated on Thursday that the collection of information and lists of gold buyers and sellers is not intended to scrutinize them or cause difficulty for their trade, but rather to protect citizens' rights and prevent speculation. -- Truong Minh Huy Vu, born in 1984, was named director of the Ho Chi Minh City Institute for Development Studies on Friday. Vu received his PhD in political economy from the University of Bonn in Germany in 2014 with a full scholarship from Germany's Federal Foreign Ministry. Dr. Vu has also been a senior fellow of the Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs since 2018. Business -- On August 1, electric vehicle maker VinFast officially delivered the VF3 electric car to Vietnamese customers. Many people gathered at the Landmark 81 skycraper in Ho Chi Minh City to see, touch, and eagerly await a test drive of the vehicle, priced between VND240 million (US$9,514) and VND322 million ($12,765). -- On Thursday, the Plant Protection Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development announced that pomelo has officially become the third fresh fruit from Vietnam permitted for import into South Korea, following dragon fruit and mango. Lifestyle -- A press conference was held in Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday for the 2024 Best Sommelier of Vietnam competition. Nguyen Thi Khanh, president of the Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Association, announced that this inaugural event aims to select a winner to represent Vietnam in international competitions. World News -- "Australian police said on Friday they seized about A$828 million ($538 million) worth of methamphetamine hidden inside industrial machinery shipped from the United States," Reuters reported. -- French taxi drivers on Thursday demanded government compensation for lost revenue during the Olympic Games as traffic disruptions and fewer regular clients weigh on demand, according to AFP. Many healthcare centers and hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City are facing a severe shortage of radiopharmaceuticals for use in PET/CT scans to detect cancer, leaving patients undiagnosed and untreated. The radioactive drug production facility of Cho Ray Hospital in District 5 is providing just a small volume of radiopharmaceuticals, while Rang Dong Medical JSC is halting its supply though it was licensed by the Ministry of Health. The PET/CT scan systems at several hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City are either operating at low capacity or have halted operations entirely, leaving cancer patients facing long waits for PET/CT tests and treatment, which poses a threat to their lives. Positron emission tomography (PET) is a technique that measures physiological function by looking at blood flow, metabolism, neurotransmitters, and radiolabeled drugs, while computed tomography (CT) is a noninvasive medical examination or procedure that uses specialized X-ray equipment to produce cross-sectional images of the body. Due to the dearth of radioactive drugs, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health, Military Hospital 175, and Ho Chi Minh City Oncology Hospital have written to the Ministry of Science and Technology asking for help to rectify the situation. Disrupted supply causes lack of radiopharmaceuticals Presently, only three hospitals in the southern metropolis, namely Cho Ray, Ho Chi Minh City Oncology Hospital, and Military Hospital 175, are operating PET/CT scanning systems that are used to diagnose and treat cancer. Dr. Diep Bao Tuan, deputy director of the Ho Chi Minh City Oncology Hospital, said that PET/CT scans provide detailed, high-resolution images to find and monitor tumors or abnormalities. This is a key technique to diagnose cancer promptly to treat patients effectively, Dr. Tuan said. To make PET/CT scans efficient, it is compulsory to use radiopharmaceutical 18F-FDG. The hospital was previously supplied with the drug by Rang Dong Medical JSC, allowing for daily PET/CT scanning. However, the disruption in supply has brought operations to a near standstill. The Ho Chi Minh City Oncology Hospital reported a high demand for PET/CT scans. While it is equipped with two PET/CT scanners, each with a capacity of 30 cases per day, the insufficient supply of 18F-FDG has hindered the equipment's operations. Although the hospital receives some radioactive drugs from Cho Ray Hospital, the quantity is minimal. The Cyclotron radioactive drug manufacturing system at Cho Ray Hospital is aging and has been in operation for nearly 15 years. Cao Van Khanh, head of the nuclear medicine department of Military Hospital 175, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that an average of seven patients undergo PET/CT scans each day at the hospital, which conducts scanning five days a week. The figures fail to meet the demand at the hospital. I hope that Ho Chi Minh City will have one or two more Cyclotron radiopharmaceutical manufacturing systems in the coming time to supply enough drugs to hospitals to save more cancer patients, Dr. Khanh said. It is urgent to produce the 18F-FDG radiopharmaceutical for use in PET/CT scans to diagnose and treat cancer patients. Photo: Duyen Phan / Tuoi Tre Obstacles in legal procedures are hindering drug production Due to the prolonged disruptions in the supply of radioactive drugs, the municipal Department of Health had previously contacted the Drug Administration of Vietnam under the Ministry of Health for support in producing the drug. The department noted that in addition to Cho Ray Hospital, Rang Dong Medical JSC is also capable of producing the radioactive drug 18F-FDG. The companys branch is located in the Research and Development Center for Radiation Technology, part of the Vietnam Atomic Energy Institute under the Ministry of Science and Technology, in Thu Duc City. A representative of the firm informed Tuoi Tre on Sunday that its Cyclotron radiopharmaceutical manufacturing system was established in 2017 at a cost of VND 200 billion (US$8 million) and has the capacity to supply drugs for 10 PET/CT scanners. Though the Ministry of Health granted a license for its operation in 2023, the system has been suspended due to obstacles over legal procedures. We spend over VND300 million [$12,000] in monthly paying maintenance fees and employee salaries, the representative lamented. The municipal health department has sent a dispatch to the Ministry of Science and Technology reporting the urgent demand for the 18F-FDG radiopharmaceutical. Dr. Nguyen Hoai Nam, deputy head of the department, said that the drug has a short lifespan at below 12 hours, so it should be used right after production. This makes the transport of the radioactive drugs from other localities to Ho Chi Minh City unfeasible. Therefore, the best way to use the drugs effectively is to produce radiopharmaceuticals in the city. The radiopharmaceutical production facility of Rang Dong is facing hindrances over public assets, so its production lines must not be put into operation, explained the municipal department. The department proposed the ministry help the firm and relevant units remove obstacles over legal procedures to put the facility into service as soon as possible, for cancer patients are in dire need of radioactive drugs for PET/CT scans. The representative of Rang Dong stated that the cooperation agreement between the firm and the center does not comply with the regulations of the 2017 law on public asset management and use, leading to the suspension of all drug production operations. The Ministry of Science and Technology has conducted an inspection of the licensing processes at the firm and is planning to gather feedback from the Ministry of Finance, the representative added. Tran Chi Thanh, head of the Vietnam Atomic Energy Institute, told Tuoi Tre that the institute had received a report from Rang Dongs Ho Chi Minh City branch regarding delays in radiopharmaceutical production. The main reason for the procrastination was related to legal procedures concerning public assets. Thanh stated that the institute had informed the Ministry of Science and Technology of proceeding with the necessary procedures in accordance with current regulations. He emphasized that producing 18F-FDG is crucial for patient treatment, and the institute is actively working to assist the firm in getting its manufacturing system operational. Abundant supply to help local patients avoid traveling abroad for treatment Amid the urgent need for radiopharmaceuticals, the municipal health department announced plans to build a Cyclotron production facility to provide the 18F-FDG drug for PET/CT scans. However, the plan remains on paper. Increasing the supply of radiopharmaceuticals is expected to stabilize drug prices, reduce wait times for PET/CT scans, and prevent local patients from traveling abroad for treatment. Some hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City are experiencing a surge in patients registering for PET/CT scans. On July 19, the Ho Chi Minh City Oncology Hospital saw long lines of patients waiting to register. A consulting employee informed families that there would be at least a 15-day wait for a PET/CT scan. T.H.H., a 36-year-old resident of Binh Thanh District, expressed concern for a family member showing signs of a cancer relapse. I waited nearly two hours to register, but well have to wait over 15 days for the scan. How anxious! H. said. Many patients at Military Hospital 175 are also frustrated by the lengthy wait times to register for PET/CT scans. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Deputy head of the Ho Chi Minh City Institute for Development Studies (HIDS) Truong Minh Huy Vu has been appointed new chief of the institute. Chairman of the municipal administration Phan Van Mai announced the appointment of Vu at a ceremony held in the city on Friday morning. As per the appointment decision, Vu will hold the post over a course of five years. Addressing the event, the municipal chairman highlighted the crucial role of HIDS in advising the southern metropolis on developing policies and implementing measures to boost the city's growth. Mai expressed his hope that Vu and the HIDS management would transform HIDS into an exemplary agency, collaborating with other centers to provide the city with strategic development recommendations. The chairman emphasized the need for HIDS to research special regimes and policies and to build a team of high-quality personnel to support the city's development. Vu thanked city authorities and HIDS for their support in helping him fulfill his assigned tasks. Officials of the Ho Chi Minh City administration and the Ho Chi Minh City Institute for Development Studies congratulate Truong Minh Huy Vu (C) on his new appointment as HIDS chief. Photo: Thao Le / Tuoi Tre The new head of HIDS pledged to join hands with relevant agencies to develop the institute into a research agency in terms of growth policies and new development models. Vu wished to receive further support from the municipal authorities in order to accomplish his duties in the years to come. Born in 1984 in Tien Giang Province, southern Vietnam, he received his PhD in political economy from the University of Bonn, Germany (magna cum laude) in 2014 with a full scholarship from Germany's Federal Foreign Ministry. He has also been a senior fellow of the Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs since 2018. He served as the director of the Information Technology Park at Vietnam National University-Ho Chi Minh City (VNU-HCM), deputy head of the Department of External Relations and Project Development at VNU-HCM, and inaugural director of the Center for International Studies at the Ho Chi Minh City University of Social Sciences and Humanities. He was vice-dean and head of the International Political Department at the Faculty of International Relations at the Ho Chi Minh City University of Social Sciences and Humanities. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Ha Giang, an upland province in northern Vietnam, has stolen the hearts of foreign travelers thanks to its stunning roads, gigantic terraced rice fields, and typical cultural characteristics. The province is rolling out measures to optimize its cultural values for tourism development and taking tourism expansion as a way to preserve and promote the local culture. In recent years, the province has become a sought-after destination for international travelers. With its breathtaking mountains, charming dew-kissed villages, rich cultural diversity, and warm, resilient locals, Ha Giang feels like a love song beckoning visitors to discover its wonders. The province is beautiful in all seasons. In the spring, it is brilliant with peach blossoms in January and cotton tree flowers in March. The simple life of people in Lao Xa Village, Ha Giang Province, northern Vietnam helps heal the souls of tourists. Photo: Nam Tran / Tuoi Tre Ha Giang transforms into a cool paradise adorned with lush greenery in the spring and a stunning display of golden terraced rice fields in the autumn. During the winter months, visitors can embrace the chill while immersing themselves in the local culture. This northern province is home to 19 ethnic minority groups, each with its own distinctive cultural traits, including festivals, folk songs, and traditional dances. Nguyen Van Son, chairman of Ha Giang, said that the province is focusing on promoting green tourism, enhancing service quality, and developing its tourism in harmony with its unique cultural heritage. A peaceful night of foreign tourists in Lao Xa Village, Ha Giang Province, northern Vietnam. Photo: Nam Tran / Tuoi Tre Trieu Thi Tinh, deputy director of the Ha Giang Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, noted that many young people from the province have started their own businesses centered around local tourism. They are dedicated to developing tourism in a way that preserves cultural heritage while leveraging local traditions to enhance the tourist experience. In the first half of this year, Ha Giang welcomed nearly 1.7 million visitors, including around 233,000 international travelers and approximately 1.4 million domestic tourists. The mountainous province generated VND4.2 trillion (US$167.7 million) in tourism revenue during this period. Cotton tree flowers bloom in the mountains in Ha Giang Province, northern Vietnam. Photo: Nam Tran / Tuoi Tre Ha Giang has consistently ranked among the worlds most attractive destinations. In 2023, The New York Times recognized it as the 25th-most appealing destination on its list of 52 places to visit. Nam Dam Village in Ha Giang earned the ASEAN Community-Based Tourism Award for the third consecutive year last year. In September, Ha Giang was honored as a Leading Emerging Tourism Destination in Asia at the World Travel Awards. This year, it has been nominated as Asia's Leading Regional Cultural Destination, providing a significant opportunity for the province to strengthen its presence on the global tourism map. The roof of a stilt house is covered with moss in Xa Phin Village, Vi Xuyen District, Ha Giang Province, northern Vietnam. Photo: Nam Tran / Tuoi Tre Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Chevron Chairman and CEO Mike Wirth will be relocating to Houston as part of the company's corporate move this year. Kirk Sides/Staff photographer A Chevron sign is photographed on Washington Avenue Tuesday, March 12, 2024 in Houston. Yi-Chin Lee/Staff photographer The nations second-largest oil company said Friday it planned to move its headquarters to Houston from San Ramon, Calif., later this year, consolidating even more big oil industry power in the nations energy capital. Chevron follows Exxon Mobil, the nations largest oil company, which last year moved its headquarters to its Houston campus from Irving. Texas offers a business-friendly environment, a more affordable cost of living, and better proximity to key counterparts in the service sector, our industry and academia, the company said in a statement. We are currently in the process of evaluating which positions will relocate, and which positions will remain in San Ramon to support our California operations. We expect to complete this evaluation before the end of the year. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Chevrons decision follows a surge of punitive policy changes for the oil industry in California following Gov. Gavin Newsoms 2022 climate commitments that promised to quicken the states shift to renewable energy. At the time, Newsom said the state was in the business of holding Big Oil accountable. The following year, California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit against Chevron, four other oil and gas majors and the American Petroleum Institute alleging a years-long climate change deception campaign in the state. We have previously stated that we believe state policy makers have pursued policies that raise costs and consumer prices, creating a hardship for all Californians, especially those who can least afford it, the Chevron statement said. These policies have also made California investment unappealing compared with opportunities elsewhere in the U.S. and globally. Andy Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates in Houston, said Chevron, which has a major refining presence in California, continues to be at odds with the California regulators and the new state legislation that is impacting all companies operating in California. The state of Texas is much friendlier to the energy business and their moving to the state reflects that. Gov. Greg Abbott welcomed Chevron in a Friday morning tweet. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Texas is your true home, it said. Drill baby drill. Houston Mayor John Whitmire said Friday its an exciting day to be the mayor of Houston. He said he got a call at 7 a.m. from Chevrons president of production and exploration informing him of the companys plans to move to downtown Houston. He told me they did that because theyre bullish on Houston, and they have confidence in my administration, that we will address challenges that I inherited, like public safety, infrastructure and also the city finances, Whitmire said. Chairman and CEO Mike Wirth and Vice Chairman Mark Nelson would be based in Houston as part of an effort to enable better collaboration and engagement with executives, employees, and business partners, the company said in a statement. Its not surprising to see Chevron officially move its headquarters and senior leadership to Houston to better align with where the bulk of their employees, plus industry partners, are located, said Andrew Dittmar, a principal analyst at Enverus Intelligence Research. Exxon had previously made a similar shift moving its executive leadership team to its Spring campus from the Dallas metroplex. Although these moves arent M&A related, consolidation broadly in the oil and gas industry has increasingly concentrated companies in Houston. Advertisement Article continues below this ad There are certainly advantages to being in the capital of the industry for working with operating partners, service companies and capital providers, plus accessing the deepest bench of local industry talent to recruit employees, Dittmar said. The announcement came as Chevron reported earnings of $4.4 billion for the quarter ended June 30, down from $6 billion in the year earlier period. It said the decline was due in large part to lower margins on refined product sales. The company said it returned $6 billion to shareholders. It said it had record production from the Permian Basin in West Texas and New Mexico and that worldwide production was 11% higher than the year earlier. Cost savings for employees Chevrons impending move comes after a string of corporate relocations to Texas from California in recent years, including Hewlett Packard Enterprises move to Houston and Teslas move to Austin. Last month, Elon Musk also announced plans to move SpaceX and X (formerly Twitter) to Texas. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Chevrons decision to relocate its headquarters underscores the compelling advantages that position Houston as the prime destination for leading energy companies today and for the future, Steve Kean, CEO of the Greater Houston Partnership, said in a statement. He said Chevron becomes the fourth Fortune 500 company to move its headquarters to the Houston area in the past five years. Chasing jobs and employers out of California is no way to run the economy, said Jim Wunderman, CEO of the Bay Area Council, a business-backed advocacy group, in a statement. Its an embarrassment for California that weve lost so many global companies because of misguided policies that make it incredibly difficult to do business here. Californias elected leaders need to take stock of the decisions theyre making that effect millions of families and workers, impact the state budget and have grave consequences for the future economic health of this state. James Gallagher, the Republican leader of the California Assembly, said the move the was an entirely predictable consequence of Gavin Newsoms constant demonization of the companies California depends on for energy, jobs and tax revenue. In response to the news, Newsoms office doubled down on Californias clean energy focus, reflected in the states draft priority climate actions released in March. This announcement is the logical culmination of a long process that has repeatedly been foreshadowed by Chevron. Were proud of Californias place as the leading creator of clean energy jobs a critical part of our diverse, innovative, and vibrant economy, said Alex Stack, a Newsom spokesperson. Advertisement Article continues below this ad There are now 53 companies on the Fortune 500 list headquartered in Texas, ranking behind Californias 56 companies, said John Boyd, principal at Boyd Co., a the national corporate site selection firm. There are significant business climate advantages in Texas with respect to taxes, business costs and an overall superior regulatory climate versus California, Boyd said. Its really a tale of two states. While California has a relatively high state personal income tax rate, Texas doesnt have a personal income tax offering a significant savings for Chevron employees who make the move. Theres additional recruiting advantages of being in the Houston market with respect to its affordability versus the Bay Area, which is amongst the most expensive places on earth to live, Boyd pointed out. For example, the median home price in San Ramon was $1.6 million in June, compared to $349,000 in Houston, according to real estate firm Redfin. The relocation could mean more high-income earners spending their paychecks in Houston, buying homes and paying property and sales taxes, too. Its a catalyst for real estate development benefits on hospitality and retail industries in Houston, and also philanthropy, Boyd added. Chevron grows Houston presence The company said it expected minimal immediate impacts to other employees currently based in San Ramon. The full transition to Houston would happen over the next five years, it said. Some operations would remain in San Ramon, about 40 miles east of San Francisco. The headquarters move comes after Chevron has gradually been shifting its focus to Texas. In 2022, the oil major offered to pay for its California employees to voluntarily relocate to Houston, then sold its 92-acre San Ramon campus and relocated to a leased space nearby. At the time, Chevron already had at least three times the employees in Houston as it did in San Ramon, where it had operated for more than 140 years. On Friday, Chevron said it still had about 2,000 employees in San Ramon and 7,000 in Houston. As of 2022, about 6,000 of its Houston employees officed in downtown Houston, where its considered the largest private employer. The energy firm then operated in roughly 3 million square feet of office space on Smith and Louisiana streets downtown. In recent years, former Noble Energy employees were relocated to Chevrons downtown headquarters after the two firms closed on a $13 billion merger in 2020. That left two former Noble Energy office buildings vacant in northwest Houston, including a 20-story tower where Chevron still had a large block of sublease space as of November 2023. The empty tower, at 1002 Noble Way, was acquired by Williamsville, N.Y.-based Acquest Development last year, which said it planned to try to fill the empty sublease space. Separately, Chevron owns 1001 Noble Energy Way, which was on the market for sale as of last fall. Although most of Chevrons office presence in downtown, the companys external innovation arm, Chevron Technology Ventures, also operates in a small leased space at the Ion, Rice Universitys innovation and tech hub in Midtown Houston. Its possible Chevrons footprint could still grow in Houston. Last year, Chevron bought 77 acres in the Bridgeland community of Cypress, about 33 miles northwest of downtown Houston. Chevron is considering building a possible upstream research and development campus on the land, the company has said. - Roland Li of the San Francisco Chronicle contributed. Rise and Fall of Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin Netanyahu had hoped to press the reset button and return to his silly theories about the irrelevance of Palestine to the Middle East, and the world. He was proven wrong, again, making him a false prophet or at best a failed leader Friday August 2, 2024 11:58 PM , Dr Ramzy Baroud Great orators in history would not have been recognized as such if their words carried no value. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is neither a great orator, nor did his speech before a joint Congressional session on July 24 have actual worth. It was an expression of his desperation, if not defeat, on all fronts. This is not new. For years, Netanyahu has served the role of a social media meme. During his United Nations General Assembly speech in September 2012, the Israeli leader displayed a bomb diagram to fan the flames for another Middle East war. His equally bizarre map of the New Middle East, which he also carried during another UNGA speech on September 22, 2023, also invited mockery. But on both occasions, as on others, Netanyahus strategy was never intended for humor. His spectacles were carried out with the knowledge that global media would not miss the opportunity to highlight his performance with much interest. His rhetoric would often go unchallenged. Moreover, until October 7, Netanyahus possible risk factors, resulting from what may seem to us as outrageous behavior and outlandish speeches, were quite minimal. To the contrary, for his Israeli constituency, appearing on the world stage with such media fanfare was always a reason for yet greater approval. To his followers, Netanyahu served the role of the ' modern-day prophet '. There are very few leaders left in Israel or around the world with the capacity to fully grasp and articulate the historical and prophetic relevance of what is happening in Israel, the Middle East and around the world today, David Lazarus wrote on October 9, 2020 almost exactly three years before the Hamas operation in southern Israel, and the most destructive Israeli war which followed. America has never been a model democracy, not a standard bearer of high political morals, but to let a war criminal, child killer like Netanyahu address Congress while he decimates Gaza, is truly a new low for US politics. pic.twitter.com/1swbxdY7cp F I R A S (@firasshams1) July 24, 2024 But the supposed visionary has failed to read all the signs, not only in the lead-up to the war, but to the disastrous impact of the genocide, which will haunt his country for many years to come. Since then, the majority of Israelis have abandoned their prophet, numerous Israeli opinion polls continue to tell us. Yet, Netanyahu appears unperturbed. He spoke at the Congress with near total lack of awareness of the new reality emanating from his failed policies and botched reading of history. For those who may not know, Netanyahu also sells himself to Israelis as an intellectual. His intellect involves exposing the deception, of the centrality of the Palestinian cause to the Middle East, or the so-called theory of Palestinian centrality. To counter that big lie, Netanyahu dedicated to the notion of the reversal of causality, as in challenging the notion that Israel namely the Israeli occupation of Palestine and other Arab lands is the main cause of problems in the Middle East. Until recently, the mans theories have garnered much traction, enough, in fact, to temporarily marginalize the Palestinian cause, and to invest in new ways of shaping a new Middle East, where Palestine simply is not on a map. These illusions, however, have and continue to crumble. Instead of pushing a reset button that would shape the Middle East according to Israeli priorities and interest, the Palestinians pushed it. This time around, Netanyahu has no theories, no actual solutions, no prophetic visions, not even a ridiculous map to save his life or career. Isolated by much of the world, he rushed to the only place where he would feel safe, where people would clap for him unconditionally, even before he spoke: The US Congress. And, indeed, they did 39 times, including 23 standing ovations, and a total of 10 minutes and 55 seconds to be exact. But even the jolly bunch of US representatives who agreed to be part of that tragic charade will not save Netanyahu. Here, a quick pause is needed, in appreciation for those who refused to attend Netanyahus speech of lies, and admiration for US-Palestinian Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, who held a sign throughout the whole event, reminding us, and the world, that Netanyahu is a war criminal and guilty of genocide. Netanyahu is not a pathological liar, as he is often accused by his enemies and detractors, in Israel and elsewhere. He lies, because, at times, not telling the truth is convenient, especially when there is no accountability for lying, time and again. In his Congress speech, however, Netanyahu did more than simply lie. He had the audacity of calling millions of Americans who protested the war Irans useful idiots, while perpetuating the right-wing language on the clash between barbarism against civilization. Still, a few were truly impressed. Even his closest allies are abandoning him. Former US Speaker, Nancy Pelosi described his speech as by far the worst presentation of any foreign dignitary invited and honored with the privilege of addressing the Congress of the United States. Many others found him insincere, including his own people. When Netanyahu mattered, his speeches often led to wars, or major regional instability. But Netanyahu no longer matters, except for a few US politicians vying for re-election. The Israeli leader had hoped to press the reset button and return to his silly theories about the irrelevance of Palestine to the Middle East, and the world. He was proven wrong, again, making him a false prophet or at best a failed leader. [Dr. Ramzy Baroud is a journalist, author and the Editor of The Palestine Chronicle. He is the author of six books. His latest book, co-edited with Ilan Pappe, is Our Vision for Liberation: Engaged Palestinian Leaders and Intellectuals Speak Out. His other books include My Father was a Freedom Fighter and The Last Earth. Baroud is a Non-resident Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Islam and Global Affairs (CIGA). His website is www.ramzybaroud.net.] Select Language To Read in Urdu, Hindi, Marathi or Arabic. HA NOI The Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety, which will take effect from January 1, 2025, stipulates that motorcycle emission testing must protect the environment. However the application of this regulation is being studied and calculated carefully before implementation. The law states that emission testing must be carried out in accordance with the law on environmental protection and at emission testing facilities that meet national technical standards. Nguyen To An, a Deputy Director of the Vietnam Register, has stated that a full roadmap, timeline, applicable standards, implementation methods and specific subjects for the motorcycle emission inspection will be issued by the Government before the regulation is implemented. The regulation, from January 1, 2025, will be implemented according to the roadmap issued by the Government. The large number of motorbikes in use in Viet Nam, including many old vehicles, needs to be carefully considered when implementing the new regulation. The implementation plan and method need to be harmonious, reasonable and feasible, according to the Deputy Director of the Vietnam Register. For newly imported and assembled vehicles, emissions have already been controlled. The focus will be on older vehicles that have not been properly inspected. New vehicles will not be inspected immediately, but will have to undergo emission testing after two to three years of use. For vehicles of different ages, specific and detailed calculations will be made to determine the appropriate emission testing requirements. Experts believe the authorities need to develop a comprehensive plan soon to inspect motorbike emissions, as this remains a popular and common mode of transport that contributes significantly to environmental pollution. Emissions from older motorbikes and mopeds (over five years old) in major cities like Ha Noi, HCM Minh City, and a Nang tend to exceed current emission standards. Vehicles over ten years old have very high emission rates and are reported to account for over 50 per cent of the total number of motorbikes and mopeds in these areas. The chairman of the Vietnam Clean Air Network, Hoang Duong Tung, has stated that the increasing number of vehicles makes emissions control more difficult. He proposes focusing emission control efforts first on the big cities where there are large numbers of vehicles and then expanding to remote mountainous areas where vehicle numbers and emissions are lower. According to the Institute of Transport Strategy and Development, the growth of motorbikes in Viet Nam has reached an average of about 9.1 per cent per year. The total number of registered motorbikes nationwide is about 69.2 million, with about 45.5 million currently in circulation. The Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety states that the Minister of Transport will set the procedures for granting, re-granting, temporarily suspending operations and revoking certificates of eligibility to operate for motorbike and moped emission testing facilities. VNS HA NOI The domestic used car market has shown a robust recovery in the first half of 2024, marking a significant turnaround from the slump experienced in 2023, according to industry insiders. The increased demand has been particularly notable for high-end cars and elite vehicles. This resurgence signals not only a revitalisation of the automotive sector overall but also underscores the promising growth prospects for the used car market in the coming months. According to the Market Research and Analysis Department of Nextgen Vietnam JSC (oto.com.vn), the first three months of 2024 witnessed a sudden growth in the used-car market, followed by a slight slowdown in April and May. Despite these fluctuations, overall it remained positive, indicating a gradual stabilisation of purchasing power and a sustainable growth trend in the market. In the mid-range segment, which includes cars priced between VN500 million and VN1 billion (US$20,000-40,000) there has been a strong increase in liquidity. Supply rates have also consistently risen over the past four quarters. This segment is particularly appealing to buyers due to its reasonable pricing, catering well to diverse consumer needs. The number of views for car advertisements has seen a significant rise of 35 per cent, compared to the same period last year, marking a 20.7 per cent increase compared to the second half of 2023. Cars under three years old are particularly popular and tend to sell quickly. SUVs and crossover vehicles are highly valued for their quality, competitive pricing and cost-effectiveness compared to purchasing new. The used car market for vehicles over five years old has generally maintained stable prices, with occasional increases observed in SUVs due to their versatility. Interestingly, the liquidity of cars aged between five to ten years has improved significantly, with the average selling time reducing to just 15 days compared to 18-20 days in 2023. This trend underscores growing consumer preference for used SUVs, particularly as fuel prices rise. The selling prices of used cars have seen a moderate increase of between five and ten per cent compared to 2023. Two primary factors contribute to this uptick, fewer users opting to exchange their cars for new ones and heightened demand pushing up prices in the used car market. Vehicles designed for off-road use and those with higher ground clearance, often referred to as 'surfing' cars, are steadily regaining popularity. Market activity in May exhibited signs of deceleration as buyers anticipated a potential 50 per cent reduction in registration fees. However, by the end of June, there were indications of renewed interest and increasing shopping demand in the market. This fluctuation reflects the sensitivity of consumer behavior to policy changes and economic conditions. In the first half of the year, the used car market saw a notable increase in the number of used car dealerships, with growth ranging from 18 per cent to 22 per cent across different provinces. Furthermore, the market witnessed an expansion in the presence of Chinese cars and 'green cars' both in new and used vehicle categories. This growth indicates a shifting consumer perception towards Chinese brands and environmentally-friendly vehicles. It also highlights new avenues for development within the used car market, potentially broadening its appeal to a more diverse customer base. These developments underscore a period of dynamic growth and diversification within Vietnam's used car industry, driven by both increased market participation from major players and evolving consumer preferences towards different vehicle types. According to Nextgen Vietnam's outlook, the used car market suggests optimism based on positive signals from the macroeconomic environment. Despite the challenges in accurately predicting market trends, they anticipate a potential boom, particularly during the year-end peak shopping season. Moreover, a policy under consideration to reduce registration fees by 50 per cent for new domestically produced and assembled cars, potentially effective from August, is likely to stimulate demand in the new car market. VNS HA NOI The Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency (APQA) of South Korea officially announced the allowance of fresh Vietnamese pomelo for export into the country. Pomelo has become the third fresh fruit from Viet Nam permitted for import into South Korea, joining dragon fruit and mango. According to the information from the Plant Protection Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, after three months of extensive consultations with relevant parties, the APQA officially published the import regulations for fresh pomelo from Viet Nam on its website on 30 July 2024. This development marks a significant milestone, opening up vast opportunities for Vietnamese agricultural products to access international markets and affirming their quality and reputation globally. The Plant Protection Department had initiated the market opening programme for Vietnamese pomelo exports to South Korea in 2018. However, the negotiation process only accelerated significantly after the COVID-19 pandemic. After two years of effort and active coordination, including information exchange to expedite the pest risk analysis process and multiple negotiation rounds, the Plant Protection Department and the APQA reached a technical agreement during a bilateral meeting in April 2024. Additionally, on 18 July 2024, the Plant Protection Department published draft requirements for plant quarantine and food safety for fresh pomelo from Viet Nam imported into South Korea on its website, enabling interested organisations and individuals to understand and familiarise themselves with these regulations. According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, in the first half of 2024, vegetable and fruit exports continued to thrive, with increased orders from major markets such as China, South Korea, and the United States, generating approximately US$3.5 billion in revenue. South Korea is the second-largest export market for Vietnamese vegetables and fruits, with exports to South Korea reaching $180 million in the past six months, up 57.9 per cent year-on-year. ang Phuc Nguyen, General Secretary of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association, noted that along with the United States, the Northeast Asian region remains a very promising market for Vietnamese fruit and vegetable exports, particularly in countries like China, South Korea and Japan. VNS HA NOI August 1, 2020, marked a significant milestone for Viet Nam and the European Union (EU) as the EU-Viet Nam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) came into effect. Four years on, Viet Nam stands tall as the leading ASEAN exporter to the EU, reaping the benefits of a thriving economic partnership that has spurred economic growth, job creation and consumer access to premium European products. According to experts, the gradual elimination of import tariffs under the EVFTA has made European goods more affordable for Vietnamese consumers. Meanwhile, export-oriented sectors like apparel, footwear, and logistics have thrived, generating new jobs and upskilling the workforce. According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), Viet Nams export value to the EU has skyrocketed by nearly 50 per cent, solidifying its position as the EUs leading trading partner in ASEAN. Conversely, imports from the EU have also surged by over 40 per cent. The General Department of Viet Nam Customs reported that in June alone, the country's exports to the EU rose by 7.85 per cent month-on-month and 19.54 per cent year-on-year, surpassing US$4.28 billion. For the first half, the figure reached over $24.69 billion, marking an annual rise of 15.37 per cent. Major export items included aquatic products, fruits and vegetables, footwear, apparel, wood and wooden furniture, with the Netherlands, Germany, Italy and Spain being the major importers. A survey by the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) found that businesses are more aware of the EVFTA than other free trade agreements, with nearly half reporting specific benefits. As a result, the country's export to the EU surged by 16.7 per cent in 2022 and around 20 per cent in 2023. Dominik Meichle, chairman of the European Chamber of Commerce (EuroCham) in Viet Nam, hailed the EVFTAs role in making the EU the sixth-largest foreign direct investment (FDI) source of Viet Nam, with 2,450 projects worth over 28 billion EUR, despite the pending ratification of the EU-Viet Nam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA). The EVFTA has also helped improve Viet Nams business environment, attracting more FDI from the EU and other countries. Leveraging the deals advantages, investment in Viet Nam has soared, particularly in high-tech manufacturing and services like finance, banking, insurance, energy, telecommunications and transportation. Hailing the EUs status as ASEAN's third largest trade partner with two-way trade of $296.87 billion in 2023, and Southeast Asias leading FDI investor, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hoang Long said as the coordinator of ASEAN-EU economic relations and the first developing country to sign and implement an FTA with the EU, Viet Nam will continue to support and advance cooperation between the two sides, especially in trade and investment, contributing to the stability and diversity of supply chains connecting the two regions and facilitating collaboration between their business communities. According to the Business Confidence Index released by EuroCham Viet Nam in early 2024, nearly 71 per cent of EU enterprises hold a positive outlook for their long-term operations in Viet Nam. VNS HA NOI Transport experts and economists discussed how preferential policies for environmentally friendly cars and double-cabin pickup trucks can create distinct competitive advantages during the green transition period. During a special seminar, Nguyen Minh Thao, who is the head of the Business Environment and Competitiveness Research Department at the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM) in Viet Nam, discussed the impact of draft revisions to the regulations on the special consumption tax (SCT) for certain vehicle types. Participants at the seminar suggested that the drafting agency should determine a suitable tax rate for vehicles and develop a clear and feasible plan for how this tax rate would be implemented and applied. Specifically, the Draft Amended Regulation on Special Consumption Tax for Automobiles includes specific proposals to maintain tax rate for double-cabin pickup trucks, offer tax reduction incentives for environmentally friendly vehicles such as externally charged hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and self-charging hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs). A representative of the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association (VAMA) said that Viet Nam is undergoing a crucial transition phase. There is a clear global shift towards electrification in the automobile industry, including here. Viet Nams growth in this sector is supported by international commitments to environmental protection and climate change mitigation. Despite the potential, the industry faces significant obstacles during this transition period. These challenges could include infrastructure development, technology adoption and market readiness. The car market is indeed facing several significant challenges in the current environment. The economic impacts of the pandemic, such as reduced consumer demand, supply chain disruptions and manufacturing slowdowns, have created difficulties for the industry. While, geopolitical uncertainties and conflicts can disrupt trade, affect access to resources and create volatility that impacts the automobile sector. In this context, tax policy adjustments can be an important lever to support the automobile industry and facilitate the transition to sustainable transportation. Appropriate tax incentives, credits or other policies can directly impact businesses, consumers and the overall economy's stability and movement towards sustainable development. The draft Law on Special Consumption Tax has several implications for the domestic automobile industry in Viet Nam. The new tax law likely aims to incentivise the production and assembly of more fuel-efficient and lower-emission vehicles to support Viet Nam's climate change goals and net-zero emission target by 2050. This could involve differential tax rates or incentives for automakers based on the fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions of their vehicle models. The policy changes need to be implemented in a synchronised and comprehensive manner, balancing the benefits of automakers, consumers and the Government. VNS HAI PHONG Industrial property developer KCN Vietnam Group broke ground for the second phase of its ready-built warehouse and factory project at DEEP C Industrial Park in Hai Phong on August 2. Once completed in the first quarter of 2025, this project will add over 80,000 sq.m (square metres) of high-quality ready-built warehouses and ready-built hybrids (mixed-use warehouse and factory), bringing the total leasable floor area of the entire project to more than 150,000 sq.m. The 23.2ha-project is expected to meet a wide range of leasing and storage needs for businesses, making Hai Phong an attractive destination for multi-sector FDI, with logistics as a key focus, the company said in a statement. Hardy Diec, Chief Operating Officer of KCN Vietnam, said that the project will help Hai Phong attract logistics businesses and create job opportunities for local workers Notably, the second phase of the KCN DEEP C-Hai Phong project is KCN Vietnam Group's pioneering project in applying green building standards and aims to obtain LEED Silver certification. LEED is among the top prestigious green building certifications in the world, developed by the US Green Building Council (USGBC). The application of LEED standards not only demonstrates the group's social responsibility but also provides advantages for client enterprises. These include improved energy efficiency, enabling tenants to save up to 25 per cent on energy costs and reduce water usage by 10 per cent, optimising operational costs. Earlier last week, KCN Vietnam Group announced its green building development agenda, endeavoring to achieve green, sustainability standards and certifications. This commitment not only proves the company's strong efforts in adopting green initiatives, Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) principles, and pursuing sustainable development goal, but also reflects its determination to accompany the Government in implementing the National Green Growth Strategy for the period 2021-30. As Viet Nam actively aims for net-zero emissions by 2050, the industrial property sector plays a crucial role in promoting a green economy. Developing green industrial parks, associated with circular economy models, cleaner production and the efficient and economical use of resources, is increasingly becoming a mainstream trend, the company said. VNS Laura Frye and Alan Brincks pose as Titania and Oberon. Houston Shakespeare Festival. July 25, 2024. Jonathan Burke / University of Houston/University of Houston Here are the top events happening around town this weekend, from the Houston Shakespeare Festival at Miller Outdoor Theatre to Houston Restaurant Weeks and Cirque Du Soleil's "Songblazers" country music and acrobatics show. Houston Restaurant Weeks Meat platter at Brett's BBQ Shop in Katy which excels at Central Texas-style barbecue. Greg Morago Houston Restaurant Weeks is back for diners to enjoy through Sept. 2. More than 350 restaurants are participating this year, offering prix fixe menus with a portion of sales going to the Houston Food Bank. Brunch and lunch prices are $25, while dinner prices are $39 to $55. Small mom and pop restaurants throughout the Houston suburbs will be also participating in area such as Katy, Cypress and The Woodlands. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Need a little help getting started? Here's where to eat during Houston Restaurant Weeks, according to Chronicle critics Advertisement Article continues below this ad When: Through Sept. 2 Where: Multiple locations National Antique Bottle & Glass Exposition The National Antique Bottle & Glass Exposition. Courtesy of Houston Museum of Natural Science The 2024 National Antique Bottle & Glass Exposition, organized by the Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors, will be held at the Houston Museum of Natural Science (HMNS) from August 1-4. Attendees can explore two exhibitions at HMNS: the "American Antique Glass Masterpieces" showcasing early American glassware and bottles, and the "Select Highlights from the David P. Wilber and Anthony Gugliotti Barber Bottle Collections," featuring decorative barber bottles from the late 19th to early 20th centuries. Advertisement Article continues below this ad When: Through Aug. 4 Where: 5555 Hermann Park Houston Shakespeare Festival Kyle Clark and Sophia Marcelle pose as Romeo and Juliet. Houston Shakespeare Festival. July 25, 2024. Jonathan Burke / University of Houston/University of Houston The Houston Shakespeare Festival will celebrate its 50th anniversary with performances of "Romeo & Juliet" and "A Midsummer Night's Dream." The free shows will be held Aug. 1-10 at Miller Outdoor Theatre. Advertisement Article continues below this ad When: 8:15 p.m. through Aug. 10 Where: 6000 Hermann Park Drive Cirque Du Soleil: Songblazers Cirque du Soleil is going country with 'Songblazers', and Houston is the second stop on the tour. Courtesy of Public Content Cirque Du Soleil's "Songblazers," in partnership with Universal Music Group Nashville, celebrates the legends and modern stars of country music. Opening this Friday, the show features acrobatics and aerial performances set to the iconic tunes of Willie Nelson, Hank Williams, George Strait, Garth Brooks, Shania Twain, The Chicks and more. Advertisement Article continues below this ad When: Aug. 2-11 Where: Smart Financial Centre at Sugar Land, 18111 Lexington Blvd, Sugar Land MORE FROM ANA KHAN: Oracle Red Bull Racing brings Formula 1 action to downtown Houston White Linen Night Attendees walk past the Heights Theater during White Linen Nights on Saturday, Aug. 5, 2023 in Houston. Elizabeth Conley/Staff Photographer 19th Street's annual White Linen Night is back, featuring a street closure, outdoor vendors, food trucks and live music. When: Aug. 3: 6-10 p.m. Where: 19th Street in The Heights HA NOI A delegation from the Ministry of Finance (MoF) led by Minister Ho uc Phoc is paying a working trip to Australia from July 31 to August 3, aiming at further deepening and concretising the Viet Nam - Australia comprehensive strategic partnership. During a working session with Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury and Assistant Minister for Employment Andrew Leigh on August 1, Phoc briefed the Australian side on the Vietnamese economic situation in the first half of the year, and expressed his hope that Leigh will pay more attention to bilateral trade so that the customs authorities of both sides could exchange commodity data as well as recognise the origin of each other's goods. Besides, he said he wishes to receive support from the Australian customs force in sharing experience and training experts in combating drug-related crimes and cross-border smuggling. He also suggested the Australian side assist the Vietnamese General Department of Taxation (GDT) in the areas of its strength, including the application of information technology, e-commerce tax management, the sharing of practical experience, as well as the training of risk management specialists and tax inspectors. Regarding the financial market, Phoc affirmed that both sides have carved out positive results in the stock market, hoping for more effective cooperation in the future. Viet Nam is developing a carbon credit market - a strength of Australia, and looking for further support from the Australian Treasury, he added. Leigh, for his part, voiced his hope for more robust cooperation in various domains between the two countries, highlighting that following the upgrade of bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership, Australia sketched out specific targets to concretise the cooperation, with an array of programmes that cover the areas of climate change response and clean energy, among others. Australia, he said, issued AUD$7 billion (US$4.55 billion) worth of green bonds to support the development of clean energy in June, adding the country stands ready to support Viet Nam in the development of a green financial market. The same day, Phoc visited and had working sessions with the Clean Energy Regulator and the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water of Australia to exchange experience in developing the carbon market, build plans to operate the carbon credit exchanges in Viet Nam and Australia, and discuss cooperation opportunities in the area. CER Chair David Parker said Australia laid foundation for the carbon credit market 12 years ago, and is ready to assist as well as step up cooperation with Viet Nam in this field. He shared CERs experience in building the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Scheme, the Renewable Energy Target, and the Australian Carbon Credit Unit Scheme, among others. On August 2, Phoc and the MoF delegation attended the Viet Nam - Australia Connecting Financial Markets Forum, during which investors, customers and enterprises of both sides presented their strengths, their interest in the green financial market, and readiness to provide financial support for green and sustainable development projects. Australia's Special Envoy for Southeast Asia Nicholas Moore held that Viet Nam has demonstrated its impressive economic growth that lures the attention of the whole world and helps the nation gain various advantages. Viet Nam is striving to upgrade its stock market into an emerging one, which is a significant move to create more favourable conditions for foreign investors to access its market, he said. He told the Vietnam News Agency on the sidelines of the forum that the Australian Government is keen on bolstering trade and investment with Southeast Asian countries, particularly Viet Nam a nation with huge potential and standout economic growth in the region. The MoF delegation also had a working session with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), during which the ASIC and the State Securities Commission of Vietnam signed a memorandum of understanding on information sharing, enhancement of dialogues and discussions, technical cooperation, and experience exchange through a programme on improving capacity between the two sides as sponsored by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The same day, GDT General Director Mai Xuan Thanh had a meeting with Kirsten Fish, Second Commissioner for Law Design and Practice under the Australian Taxation Office. Both sides shared information and experience in tax and risk management. At a working session with the Vietnamese Embassy in Australia on August 1, Minister Phoc laid stress on the importance of the new strides in the Viet Nam - Australia relations, expressing his belief that the comprehensive strategic partnership will bring about substantive results, particularly in trade - economy, finance and customs. VNS HCM CITY RX Tradex Vietnam has entered into a partnership with the Japan External Trade Organisation in HCM City, the Investment and Trade Promotion Centre of HCM City and the HCM City Centre for Supporting Industries Development to host the 2024 Supporting Industry Show along with the 2024 Metalex Vietnam in early October. The collaboration is expected to significantly contributes to the overall growth of Viet Nam's supporting industry. Through the partnership, the parties commit to sharing resources and expertise to create a conducive environment for business development. Vu Trong Tai, general manager of RX Tradex Vietnam, the organiser of Metalex Vietnam, said: Viet Nam is implementing innovative policies vigorously to accelerate production and integrate into the global supply chain." The country is becoming a focal point for new investments in sectors such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, and high-tech industries, he said. "Consequently, our Metalex Vietnam 2024 exhibition is set to continue its pivotal role as a global supply platform, featuring 350 brands from 20 countries, and showcasing the Japan Pavilion along with other national pavilions to provide advanced technologies that meet rising production standards. Nobuyuki Matsumoto, chief representative of JETRO's HCM City office, said Viet Nam remains a highly attractive destination for Japanese investments. A recent survey indicated that 56.7 per cent of Japanese companies in Viet Nam are planning to expand their operations in the next one to two years, with 47.1 per cent in the manufacturing sector. The local procurement rate by Japanese firms reached 41.9 per cent last year, up 4.6 percentage points from 2022, the second-highest growth rate among ASEAN countries. Procurement from Vietnamese suppliers was 17.2 per cent, 2.2 percentage points higher than in 2022, he said. Looking ahead, 43.2 per cent of Japanese firms expressed their intention to expand local procurement in Viet Nam, significant above the ASEAN average of 28.8 per cent. JETRO has organised many business-matching events, exhibitions and others to boost co-operation between Vietnamese and Japanese firms in supporting industries in recent years, he said. The 2024 Supporting Industry Show will feature 18 Japanese firms joining as buyers and 20 Vietnamese companies as suppliers, opening up opportunities for domestic component suppliers to connect with Japanese companies. The event also provides Vietnamese SMEs with access to advanced Japanese technologies, enhancing their production capabilities and product quality, learning from Japanese management, technical and strategic expertise, thereby increasing their competitiveness globally. Cao Thi Phi Van, deputy director of the Investment and Trade Promotion Centre of HCM City, said demand for supporting industries products is high and the potential for development these industries is huge. Within the METALEX Vietnam 2024 framework, the Supporting Industry Show 2024 is vital for businesses in manufacturing and supporting industries, she said. It offers enterprises the chance to access the latest machinery, update smart business technologies, explore metalworking solutions, and make production upgrades, she said. A direct connection and meeting programme will help businesses find potential partners and explore future business collaboration opportunities, she added. The two exhibitions will be organised from October 2 to 4 at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre and are expected to receive 15,000 visitors. VNS HA NOI Tripadvisor, the renowned travel review platform, has unveiled its list of the 25 most exciting boat tour experiences worldwide for 2024, including the basket boat, or coracle, tour in the Cam Thanh nipa palm swamps in Hoi An Ancient Town in the central province of Quang Nam. The basket boat tour in Hoi An has been ranked 19th among the top most captivating boat tours for travellers worldwide in 2024. This ranking was announced within the annual Travellers' Choice Best of the Best Things to award framework, based on ratings and feedback collected from the global user community over a 12-month period. The experience enable tourists to immerse themselves in the fresh, serene atmosphere of the countryside, far away from the bustling and chaotic urban areas. The small round bamboo boats gently ferry the visitors across the waters, navigating through the lush, verdant coconut palm groves. Along the way, they can listen to the fascinating historical stories shared by the local people. In addition, visitors also have the opportunity to witness traditional activities such as basket boat dancing, net casting, boat racing and the crafting of pina palm leaf products, as well as enjoy the indigenous folk songs. The price for the basket boat tour experience starts from just US$20 per person. Tourist Hayley from Australia commented on Tripadvisor: Amazing experience!! So much fun!!! The spinning of the boat is absolutely amazing, so much talent and catching the small crabs is fun. The palm trees are gorgeous and provide an amazing backdrop for your photos!! Highly recommend to anyone visiting Hoi An! Viet Nam also has another sailing tour among Tripadvisor's top 25 most exciting water-based experiences for travellers in 2024 Lan Ha-Ha Long Bay-au Be Island in less touristy areas. Tripadvisor described the two-day one-night cruise from Cat Ba as allowing travellers to explore numerous serene destinations with crystal clear waters, stunning limestone cliffs and fine white sand beaches. This small-group package, with breakfast, dinner and two lunches included, starts in the morning of day one and finishes in the middle of the afternoon of day two. Tourists will visit a floating fishing village, Dark Cave, Bright Cave and au Be Island along with kayaking through Ba Ham Lake. The price for this package is about $161 per person, which includes all services and meals. VNS HA NOI A new foreign-language bookstore has been opened in Ha Noi, opening the door to other literatures in the world for any true bookworm. Born with the mission of bringing to readers quality and fresh literary works from all over the world, the InBook store offers thousands of foreign-language books fiction, self-help, literature, educational and more. The InBook has been originated from the small bookstore Blue Horizon established in 2017 and located within the premises of the The Gioi (World) Publishing House. Over time, through a passion for books and persistent efforts, the bookstore have earned the trust and enthusiastic support of readers. Currently, at the time of positioning the brand as a foreign-language bookstore, InBook already has a community of over 10,000 readers, alongside a collection of 7,000 book titles in English and French, which were imported directly. According to Nguyen Huong Lan, the InBooks founder, its inauguration not only marks a new stage of development for the bookstore, but also serves as evidence for the strong increase in the demand for reading books in English and French within the Vietnamese reader community. Our book catalog will be continuously updated and expanded to bring a wide range of new and exciting foreign language books of all genres for readers to explore, Lan said. From the very beginning, the bookshop established partnerships with foreign publishers. This is not an easy task, as a small bookstore from a distant Asian country has to go through many paperwork and verification processes to be able to import books from international publishing groups, Lan said. To date, after many years of developing business relationships, Green Horizon Company has become a reputable partner of more than 40 leading publishers around the world, including major names such as HarperCollins, Hachette, Penguin, Didier, Usborne, Nathan, and Gallimard. The company also is a strategic partner of MM Publication (Europe), being the exclusive representative and distributor of all English Language Teaching, Maths & Science, Computing ICT (Information and Communication Technology) book titles in the Vietnamese market. To stay up-to-date on the international book market and catch the latest trends, Blue Horizon has actively participated in major international bookfairs such as the Frankfurt Book Fair and the Salon du Livre de Paris. The company also is a member of the International Association of French-Language Bookstores, which is sponsored by the French Ministry of Culture. Introducing VNs literature to the world In next three years, the InBook bookstore has a plan to expand their business to become a publisher and literary agent to support emerging Vietnamese writers. Lan said that at the annual international bookfairs, publishers are always actively searching for new authors and faces, especially, in recent years, a number of Vietnamese-origin authors living abroad have achieved great success with their works. Our aim is to bring Vietnamese literary works that reflect the spirit of the times to the international market, he added. During our working with foreign publishers and participating in international bookfairs, we have recognised the ever-present potential for cultural development. If given the right level of attention and promotion, these potentials can become opportunities to introduce Vietnamese authors to the international market, she said. To celebrate its inauguration, during August, any bookworm visiting InBook will be offered ten per cent discount on the list price of all books. InBook is located on the 7th Floor, Luxury Office Building, 93 Thuy Khue Street, Ha Noi. VNS SEOUL Buddhism is doing all it can to make itself more relatable and relevant. An AI chatbot that reads Buddhist scriptures and gives answers to whatever questions users enter is the latest effort by the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism to reach the nonreligious. The man behind this artificial technology creation is Kim Young-chan, a 26-year-old Buddhist, who landed a job as a public relations counsellor for Koreas largest Buddhist sect in June, four months after graduating from college. Im working on making upgrades to the chatbot. People ask so many questions and answers have to be sharper, Kim said. A college elective Kim took on Buddhist teachings led him to rediscover the power of Buddhist scriptures. Kim noted that the consolation he found in them prompted him to launch a trial chatbot last year when he was a stressed-out jobseeker. The chatbot was such a hit on Disquiet, an online community of information technology enthusiasts, that it unexpectedly made headlines in Buddhist communities. More surprising was the move by the Jogye Order to ask Kim to be a PR counselLor, a rare appointment for someone so young. The Jogye Order is serious about giving Kim the power to reshape the conversation around Buddhism, seeing him as a perfect candidate to reach out to a younger population increasingly seeking relief from the anxieties of modern living. Kims young and many can easily identify with him because he can tell his story about how Buddhism has helped and still does, a Jogye official said, adding Kim has more than his chatbot to show off. Kim, who will showcase his creation next week at the Busan International Buddhism Expo, said he is busy coming up with fancier ways to promote seon meditation on YouTube, referring to the Jogye style of meditation. It isnt easy but I like the challenge, he said. Joining Kim at the four-day Busan expo starting Thursday is Youn Sung-ho, or NewJeansNim, a Korean DJ-comedian who has been promoting Joyful Buddhism since last November when the Jogye Order officially gave him the Buddhist name to act on the mantra. Youn has since made stops at local and overseas clubs, shouting Buddhist verses to the beat of electronic dance music. Some overseas stops were cancelLed at the last minute after objections that Youns performance gave a wrong perception of Buddhist values and teachings. But the reception has been largely favourable. The Jogye Order saw a record number of visitors at its annual expo in Seoul in April, a four-day event where Youn performed. Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism President Ven. Jinwoo is determined to continue spearheading efforts for a broader and deeper outreach. He made that clear at a meeting with Youn shortly after the successful expo run. I am thankful for the work you have done in spreading a much younger Buddhism to the young generation, Jinwoo said at an April meeting with Youn, presenting him with prayer beads and a headset he had personally picked out. THE KOREAN HERALD/ANN HA NOI Viet Nams capital city of Ha Noi has ranked among the top 15 culinary destinations in the world as voted by readers of the world's largest travel guidance platform TripAdvisor. Tripadvisor introduced Ha Nois cuisine as "refined and delicate, saying that Ha Noi dishes are renowned for their natural flavours, clear broths, fresh herbs, and simple seasoning. Ha Noi, with its rich culinary quintessence, offers visitors unique dining experiences from humble street food stalls to Michelin-recognised high-end restaurants. The capital citys cuisine is renowned for its refinement, subtlety, and the diverse natural flavours of local ingredients. Many of Ha Noi's delicious dishes have gained international fame, such as pho, bun cha (rice vermicelli with grilled pork and fresh herbs), cha ca (grilled fish), and pho cuon (fresh spring rolls). Tripadvisor also suggested that visitors check out all of Ha Nois best hits by taking a street food walking tour around the Old Quarter, where they will get to try another local favourite. Among the list of worlds Top 15 must-visit food cities were Hawaii and New Orleans of the US, Jamaica of Caribbean, Paris of France, Bangkok of Thailand, Kyoto of Japan, and others. According to the municipal Department of Tourism, in 2024, the citys tourism sector will develop and promote new tourism products, focusing on exploiting cultural and historical strength, associated with rural craft villages and local cuisine. The department will build a Food Tour map, allowing visitors to explore and experience Ha Noi's cuisine. The city has also organised activities to promote and culinary cultural values to domestic and international visitors. In response to tourism promotion programmes to attract visitors in the summer and autumn of 2024, as well as the 70th anniversary of Ha Noi's Liberation Day (October 10, 2024), several units in Ha Noi are working to diversify cultural and culinary experiences for residents and visitors. VNA/VNS HA NOI Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and the Vietnamese delegation arrived in Ha Noi in the early morning of Friday, concluding a successful State visit to India at the invitation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. During the visit, the first by Chinh as Prime Minister and also the first by a Vietnamese PM to India in 10 years, PM Chinh engaged in over 20 activities in various fields. He has held talks and meetings with PM Modi, President Droupadi Murmu, Vice President and Chairman of the Indian Upper House (Rajya Sabha) Jagdeep Dhankhar and speaker of the Lok Sabha (lower house) Om Birla. The Vietnamese PM also met with leaders of some Indian political parties, attended the Viet Nam-India business forum, delivered a policy speech at the Indian Council of World Affairs, visited the Vietnamese Embassy in India and met with representatives from the Vietnamese community in the South Asian country. PM Chinh and Indian leaders reviewed bilateral ties and set orientations for the two countries to further deepen their comprehensive strategic partnership. The two sides adopted a joint statement on strengthening the Viet Nam-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership aiming for higher political-strategic trust, deeper defence-security cooperation, more substantial and effective economic-trade-investment collaboration, broader cooperation in science-technology and closer cultural-tourism and people-to-people exchange. They also proposed priorities to materialise the goals. The two sides approved a plan of action to implement their comprehensive strategic partnership in 2024-2028 and exchanged diplomatic notes on Viet Nams joining the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI). The two PMs launched a military software park in Nha Trang City in Viet Nams south central province of Khanh Hoa. Ministries, sectors and agencies of the two countries signed and exchanged 9 cooperative documents in healthcare, justice, diplomacy, human resources training, agricultural science, broadcasting, tourism, culture and agriculture. Businesses of the two sides also inked 10 deals in infrastructure, logistics, aviation, tourism, culture and pharmaceuticals. The state visit to India of PM Chinh has contributed to turning a page in the Viet Nam-India comprehensive strategic partnership with broader and more substantial cooperation, in the interest of each country and their people, and for the sake of peace, friendship and cooperation in the region and the world. VNS NEW DEHLI The 14th Viet Nam-India defence policy dialogue was held in New Delhi on Thursday, during which the two sides committed to enhancing cooperation in various areas. Co-chaired by Deputy Minister of National Defence Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien and Indian Defence Secretary Shri Giridhar Aramane, the dialogue offers an opportunity for the two sides to discuss cooperation contents in the time ahead, contributing to fostering the bilateral defence collaboration - an important, strategic pillar of the Viet Nam-India comprehensive strategic partnership, for the sake of the two countries people, and for peace and stability in the region and the world. Chien highlighted the long-standing friendship between the two countries, saying since the establishment of the comprehensive strategic partnership in 2016, the bilateral cooperation has been growing more practically and effectively across fields, including defence-security. He said the state visit to India by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh from Tuesday to Thursday shows that Viet Nam attaches importance to and wishes to deepen the mutual trust and the comprehensive strategic partnership, matching the interests and aspirations of Vietnamese and Indian people. The official also appreciated Indias support and collaboration in training and raising personnel quality for the Viet Nam Peoples Army (VPA), as well as preferential credit and aid packages, and non-refundable assistance from the Indian Government and Ministry Defence to VPA units, helping them improve capacity. The two sides highly valued defence cooperation outcomes since the 13th dialogue, and shared the view that the bilateral defence collaboration has been constantly consolidated and strengthened with high mutual trust and tangible results, especially in all-level delegation exchanges and meetings; the signing of cooperation documents; the maintenance of consultation and dialogue mechanisms, and exchange between young officers; personnel training; defence industry; and UN peacekeeping operations. They agreed to continue their close coordination and mutual support at multilateral forums and mechanisms, especially those led by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and events hosted by each country. The Vietnamese side affirmed its support for India in enhancing defence cooperation with ASEAN member countries, including the organisation of the informal meeting of defense ministers of ASEAN countries and India, as well as its support for the South Asian nation as a co-chair of the ADMM-Plus Experts' Working Group on Counter Terrorism for 2024-27 period. The two sides exchanged views on the regional and international situation, and issues of shared concern. For the maritime issue, Chien stressed that maintaining peace and stability in the East Sea (known internationally as the South China Sea) is an interest and concern of the region and the world at large, affirming Viet Nams consistent stance on resolutely and persistently protecting its national sovereignty, sovereign right, and legitimate interests at sea in line with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The two sides consented to step up the exchange of delegations at all levels, especially the high one; the implementation of reached cooperation mechanisms; cooperation in training, defence industry, cyber security, military medicine, and search and rescue operations; the implementation of credit and non-refundable aid packages; coordination at multilateral forums, especially ASEAN-led frameworks; and cooperation between research agencies; among others. Chien invited leaders of the Indian defence ministry and prestigious businesses to attend the second Viet Nam International Defence Expo in December. Aramane confirmed Indias participation at the event. At the end of the dialogue, Chien and his Indian counterpart signed a letter of intent on training cooperation. VNS A NANG The US will back a Nang in combating transnational crime, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs at the US Department of State Shelby Smith-Wilson said at a meeting with officials of the city on Thursday. During the meeting, Tran Chi Cuong, Vice Chairman of municipal People's Committee informed the US delegation that the city aims to become a growth hub in Viet Nams central key economic region. Over recent years, the central city has experienced robust development, focusing on advancing its information technology industry as a major economic driver. The Vice Chairman noted that the Vietnamese National Assembly has approved several specific policies related to financial management, investment, planning and urban development for a Nang, which are expected to create a crucial driving force to help the locality realise its goal of becoming a major socio-economic centre in Viet Nam and Southeast Asia by 2023, and a major ecological, smart city and innovation hub by 2045. Cuong thanked the US representative offices in Viet Nam and a Nang for their support, and asked them to continue assist the city in strengthening collaboration with US localities and businesses. He also emphasised the importance of ongoing support from the US Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs for projects and programmes enhancing the citys capabilities in drug prevention and law enforcement. For her part, Shelby Smith-Wilson spoke highly about the excellent relationship between the US and Viet Nam and highlighted a Nangs role as a key location for bilateral events. She noted that the US Government hopes to further enhance and deepen the relationship between the two countries with a focus on economic and trade cooperation, adding that the US will support a Nang in combating transnational crime, money laundering, terrorism, drug trafficking, as well as in law enforcement. Currently, a Nang has official cooperative ties with three US cities, namely Oakland in California State; Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania State; and Houston in Texas Sate. There are four projects funded by US ODA in a Nang, with a total funding of approximately US$46.59 million, notably the Viet Nam Urban Energy Security (VUES) project and the Plastic Waste Reduction Local Solutions Project. VNS HA NOI Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinhs State visit to India from July 31 to August 1 produced specific and practical outcomes, meeting the expectations of both countries, according to Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son. Along with issuing a joint statement on strengthening bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership and signing nine cooperation agreements in the fields of diplomacy, defence, finance, health care, culture, tourism, human resources training, and especially an action programme to implement the bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership in the 2024-28 period, the two sides concurred to bolster their cooperation in five aspects, FM Son said. Firstly, Viet Nam and India agreed to promote higher strategic and political trust. Leaders of the two countries affirmed the significance of further increasing delegation exchanges and meetings through the Party, parliament, government and locality-to-locality channels. Viet Nam's announcement of its membership in the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) and its affirmation of early completion of procedures to join the International Solar Alliance (ISA), two of Indias key global initiatives, have contributed to strengthening trust between the two countries, Son added. Secondly, the two sides will further deepen defence-security cooperation by promoting the efficient implementation of the joint statement on the Viet Nam-India defence partnership until 2030, expanding collaboration in maritime security, cyber security, and counter-terrorism. The signing of a US$500-million credit package for defence is a breakthrough made during the visit, the FM underlined. Thirdly, Viet Nam and India pledged to make bilateral economic, trade and investment more substantive, effective and breakthrough. The two sides aim for $20 billion in two-way trade by 2030, while doubling investment value. Viet Nam proposed that India remove trade barriers and open its door for Viet Nam's strong products such as electronics, garment-textiles, and agricultural products; while calling for large-scale Indian corporations to invest in Viet Nam in the fields of infrastructure, pharmaceuticals and energy. On this occasion, Vietnamese and Indian businesses signed six major contracts in aviation, airports and logistics. Vietnamese carrier Vietjet Air announced a direct air service from a Nang to Ahmedabad of India, a step further in increasing the number of direct flights between the two countries from currently 54 flights per week. Fourthly, the two countries will expand cooperation in science-technology and innovation, Son said. The FM noted that the two sides agreed to promote collaboration in research and development (R&D) and innovation in the fields of core technology, semiconductor chips, artificial intelligence, atomic energy, rare earth, while broadening cooperation in the petrochemical sector and new energy, and promoting the establishment of joint ventures to produce IT products and cooperating in training IT engineers to meet the development needs of this industry. Fifthly, the two sides will promote closer bilateral partnership in culture, tourism and people-to-people exchange. They agreed to early sign a deal on tourism cooperation, and shake hands in preserving and restoring Cham towers in My Son Sanctuary in Quang Nam Province and diversifying forms of people-to-people exchanges, Son added. Noting that PM Chinh is one of the first foreign leaders invited by Indian PM Narendra Modi after his re-election for the third term, Son held that the visit is of great significance, creating momentum for bilateral ties and opening up a new chapter of substantive, extensive and deep relationship between Viet Nam and India with more opportunities. The two sides affirmed their close friendship and traditional friendship as well as the respect and support for each other in the overall foreign policy. Indian leaders expressed their deep condolences over the passing of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, an outstanding leader of Vietnamese people and a close friend of the Indian people. During the visit, Vietnamese and Indian leaders reiterated the message of further strengthening the Viet Nam-India comprehensive strategic partnership in traditional areas such as defence - security, trade - investment, and culture education, and expanding to new areas of green economy, digital economy, knowledge-based economy. Vietnam and India also affirmed their mutual support and the will to join hands in building peace, stability, cooperation and development in the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean regions, Son stated. VNS Monk parakeets land on a wire near their nest on Pelham St. in Milford on 6/9/2005. Staff grraphic; Photo by Arnold Gold Monk parakeets have been flapping around Houston for around 50 years. Having logged just 20 years in the city myself, I feel some reticence calling them an invasive species. Yet, technically, the monk parakeet is: The bird hails from South America, where it makes its home in parts of Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay. But Houstons habitat has welcomed all sorts of us. The detrimental effect of the monk parakeet sometimes referred to as the Quaker parakeet on the city is difficult to calculate. (More on that in a moment.) But over half a century, theyve transitioned from Newstonians to just another part of a big, strange urban family. Texas A&Ms Breeding Bird Atlas refers to the monk parakeet as a chunky parrot (rude) with a long tail. Theyre about a foot tall, with green around a gray face and breast. The birds name comes from its coloring: an ashen face peeking from the green cloak. Advertisement Article continues below this ad How did they get to Houston? Plenty of birds migrate between South America and Texas. The monk parakeet is not one of them. Dan Brooks, curator of vertebrate zoology at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, says the birds likely started to find their way into the wild here in the late 1960s or early 1970s when tens of thousands of parakeets were brought to the states as pets. The trade then got very heavy in the 1980s, Brooks says. They were selling for something like $25 each. Brooks says molecular testing suggests Houstons monk parakeets are of Uruguayan origin. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Houstons climate, particularly the mild winters, agreed with the parakeets. The bird established colonies and flourished here. Ive seen a formidable colony of monk parakeets in Westbury, just off Bellfort, where they make their arresting racket from electricity poles and a nearby apartment complex. A friend spotted a colony in East End. There are also colonies in the Heights. Theyve been spotted in Seabrook and closer to the Gulf of Mexico, too. A flock of monk parakeets flies above the trees in League City. Kirk Sides/Staff photographer What are the future prospects for the parakeet? Though the monk parakeet can be found throughout the city, Brooks says their numbers may be declining. Advertisement Article continues below this ad He doesnt have a specific cause for that decline, but it could be attributable in part to the presence of other invasives competing for food. Another possibility is pet owners are more aware of the effects of releasing invasive species into a new habitat, so theyre less inclined to set their birds free. The cost of such a bird has gone up since the 1980s, so Brooks says, There arent as many in private hands, therefore fewer to set loose. Another possible cause for the decline may arise from one of the detrimental effects of the parakeets settling here: They often build their stick nests on utility lines, so nest removal is frequent and necessary to keep the lights on here. Brooks said their large nests have been known to cause transformers to blow. Parakeet nests can house a few dozen parakeets and weigh hundreds of pounds. What's bad for power lines is good for birders: Their nests are easy to spot. So, unlike other parrot species that nest in natural cavities, the monk parakeet is an architect at heart. They're just another visitor that bought into Houston's commitment to expansion. HA NOI President To Lam on August 1 hosted a banquet in honour of Timor-Leste President Jose Ramos-Horta, who is on a state visit to Viet Nam. In his speech, President Lam affirmed that President Ramos-Horta's second visit to Viet Nam in his capacity as a State leader not only reflected the warm sentiments of Timor-Leste leaders and people but also generated fresh momentum for bilateral ties to grow more effectively. He congratulated Timor-Leste on its impressive strides in national development and global integration, and moving closer to the goal of becoming a full ASEAN member. Viet Nam takes pride in being one of the first regional countries to recognise Timor-Leste's independence and establish diplomatic relations. Over more than two decades of accompanying each other, the friendship and cooperation between Viet Nam and Timor-Leste has flourished, with increasingly consolidated political trust and active economic and trade ties, he said. Amid a complex and uncertain global landscape, the Vietnamese leader stressed the importance of regional solidarity. "Viet Nam, Timor-Leste, and other countries in the region need to stand together to overcome challenges and seize development opportunities", Lam asserted. He expressed confidence that with strong political will and high determination of the two countries leaders and people, the bilateral ties will develop robustly, contributing to peace, stability, cooperation and development in Southeast Asia and globally. Admiring Viet Nam's achievements in national construction and development, President Ramos-Horta hailed Viet Nam as a role model that Timor-Leste, along with many other emerging economies, aspires to follow. Timor-Leste wishes to continue learning from Viet Nam's experiences and successes, he said, expressing his belief that the two countries will further deepen their collaboration, particularly in such promising areas as agriculture and infrastructure, for the interests of both countries' people. As Timor-Leste is looking forward to becoming an official member of ASEAN in 2025, he affirmed that this presents a valuable opportunity for Timor-Leste to learn from its neighbouring countries and join in efforts to build regional stability and progress. The Timor-Leste President expressed his gratitude to Viet Nam for its continuous support in Timor-Leste's journey toward ASEAN membership, saying that Viet Nam assistance has been crucial in its preparation process. VNS BUENOS AIRES Vietnamese Ambassador to Brazil and Suriname Bui Van Nghi has presented his credentials to Surinamese President Chandrikapersad Santokhi. At a reception for the Vietnamese diplomat following the presentation on July 26, President Santokhi offered his regards to State President To Lam and Vietnamese people. He said he hopes Ambassador Nghi will work to promote relations between the two countries in both bilateral and multilateral aspects. Ambassador Nghi extended President To Lam and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinhs regards to President Santokhi, and pledged that he will make positive contributions to the growth of ties between the two countries and deepen the traditional friendship and sound cooperation between the two governments and peoples, heading to the celebration of the 30th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic relations in 2027. He held that cooperation between Viet Nam and Surinam has yet to match the potential of the two countries, especially in the fields of agriculture, animal husbandry and cultivation, eco-tourism, aquatic farming and fisheries. President Santokhi affirmed that his country will always support and create favourable conditions for the ambassador and the Vietnamese community in this South African country. During his stay in Suriname from July 24-31, Ambassador Nghi had meetings with Surinames Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Business and International Cooperation of Albert Ramdin; Minister of Labour, Employment and Youth Affairs Steven Mac Andrew; and Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries Permanand Sewdien. At the meetings, Surinamese officials hailed Viet Nam's socio-economic achievements and the role that Viet Nam plays in the international community and the countrys positive contributions to the expansion of the traditional friendship and cooperation between the two governments and peoples. Ramdim affirmed his countrys support to Viet Nam at multilateral forums, and vowed to promote delegation exchanges at high and all levels, and collaboration among businesses and peoples of the two sides in the coming time. On the occasion, the Vietnamese Embassy coordinated with the Suriname Chamber of Commerce and Industry to organise the Viet Nam - Suriname Business Forum in the capital city of Paramaribo with the participation of 50 Surinamese and 10 Vietnamese businesses. Addressing the forum, Ambassador Nghi highlighted promising areas for Viet Nam and Suriname to promote cooperation. Participants showed their interest in cooperation in agriculture, and shared their experience and knowledge in agriculture, wooden furniture, animal feed production, aquaculture, and oil and gas exploitation services. The embassy also held a meeting with the Vietnamese community in Suriname. VNS NEW DELHI Indian scholars lauded the outcomes of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinhs visit to India from July 30 August 1 while talking with Vietnam News Agency correspondents based in New Delhi. Prof. Prabir De from the ASEAN-India Centre at the Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS) hailed the visit as highly effective and ground-breaking. India considers Viet Nam a key pillar in its Look East policy and an important partner in the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI). The discussions during the visit extensively covered various cooperation areas, including economy, national defence, development partnerships and cultural exchanges. Additionally, both sides also discussed global and regional issues, he said. Among the agreements signed during the visit, Prabir De said he was impressed by the Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in customs capacity building between the General Department of Viet Nam Customs and the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) of India, alongside Viet Nam's decision to join the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI). Nutan Kapoor Mahawar, Joint Secretary of the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA), expressed great pleasure in hosting PM Chinh at the ICWA office on August 1. She said India and Viet Nam share a comprehensive strategic partnership encompassing politics, economy, people-to-people relations, and archaeological conservation of ancient Hindu sites in Vietnam. The two countries enjoy strong trade ties and are exploring further enhancement of their defence cooperation - a strategic partnership. They are also aligned on the Indo-Pacific Vision, she said. Atul Aneja, Advisor at the Asia Vision Institute, commented that India and Viet Nam need to further promote their relationship across various sectors, ranging from economy, army and to national defence, as highlighted by PM Chinh. India believes that no single pole can determine the global order. Asia must embrace a multipolar approach, he said. Speaking highly of PM Chinh's speech at the ICWA, he noted that the India-Viet Nam relationship is growing with deep historical people-to-people relations tracing back to the introduction of Buddhism from India to Viet Nam. He also stressed that both nations share core values of equality and welfare. VNS NEW DELHI Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh hosted separate receptions in New Delhi on Thursday afternoon (local time) for Jagat Prakash Nadda, President of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and Mallikarjun Kharge, President of the Indian National Congress (INC), within the framework of his state visit to India. Receiving Jagat Prakash Nadda, Chinh expressed gratitude for the valuable support and assistance by the BJP and the people of India to the Communist Party and the people of Viet Nam during the struggle for independence in the past and in the current nation building and development cause. He proposed the BJP support the further increase of connectivity and the opening of more direct air routes between the two countries, the creation of a greater access to the Indian market for Vietnamese products, and the enhancement of cooperation with the Communist Party of Viet Nam (CPV), through increasing delegation exchanges and meetings, establishing cooperation mechanisms, and setting forth major directions for bilateral relations. The BJP President congratulated Viet Nam on its socio-economic development achievements, emphasising his commitment to maintaining the close relationship between the two peoples. He affirmed that efforts will be made to implement the agreements reached during Chinhs visit, with the aim of further developing the traditional friendship between the two countries. On this occasion, PM Chinh invited the BJP President to visit Viet Nam at an appropriate time. While receiving Mallikarjun Kharge and several other leaders of the party and former INC President Sonia Gandhi, Chinh expressed his gratitude for the contributions of the INC, including those of late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, to the development of the two countries relations. That the CPV and the INC have maintained a fine traditional friendship is a crucial element in advancing and nurturing the relationship between Viet Nam and India today. Historically, India has frequently expressed solidarity with Viet Nam's struggle for independence and reunification. Notably, this year marks the 70th anniversary of the Geneva Agreement on the Cessation of Hostilities in Viet Nam (1954-2024), with India having played an active role in promoting and achieving this agreement, he stated. The Vietnamese leader also highlighted that Viet Nam and India are not only traditional friends but also comprehensive strategic partners with huge cooperation potential, and both countries are working to leverage their strengths and enhance collaboration across various fields, including defence and security, economics and trade, science and technology, culture and education, and people-to-people exchanges. The INC President spoke highly of the outcomes of PM Chinhs visit to India and affirmed that, in any position, he will consistently support the development of Vietnam-India relations. He said he wishes to consolidate and further strengthen the traditional friendship between the INC and the CPV through information sharing and consultations, and delegation exchanges in the coming time. - VNS HA NOI The Presidential Office announced the Presidents decision on amnesty in 2024 at a press conference in Ha Noi on Friday. Decision No. 758/2024/QD-CTN on amnesty in 2024 was signed by President To Lam on July 30 on the occasion of the 79th National Day (September 2) and the 70th anniversary of the Liberation of Ha Noi (October 10), Vice Chairman of the Presidential Office Pham Thanh Ha said during the event. The time of serving for amnesty consideration will be counted until September 30, 2023, according to the decision, which clarifies that eligible prisoners include those are serving a fixed-term prison sentence, sentenced to life imprisonment that has been reduced to a fixed-term prison sentence, and those whose prison sentence is temporarily suspended. It also clarifies conditions for prisoners to be considered for amnesty, while clearly stating cases that are not eligible for consideration, including prisoners with charges of treason; conducting activities aimed at overthrowing the people's administration; espionage; violating territorial security; riots; and terrorism against the people's administration. Since 2009, Viet Nam has conducted nine amnesties on the occasion of important events and national holidays, with more than 92,000 prisoners benefiting from the leniency. Ha said that the amnesty continues to affirm the Party and States consistent policy in promoting and protecting human rights in a fair and equal manner for all citizens, including those serving prison sentences. Thanks to the Presidents amnesty decisions, tens of thousands of people have enjoyed clemency, reuniting with their families, and rebuilding their lives. Most of the amnesty recipients have returned to their places of residence, stabilising their lives, and worked honestly, while the reoffending rate is very low, stated Ha, stressing that it is the greatest humane mark of the amnesty policy, clearly reflecting the Party and States priority of ensuring and promoting human rights in all policies. According to Deputy Foreign Minister Ha Kim Ngoc, currently, there are 643 foreign prisoners serving their sentences in Vietnamese detention facilities. After reviewing their records, Vietnamese authorities will announce the specific number of foreign prisoners to be pardoned this time. He noted that 16 prisoners with foreign nationality received amnesty in 2022 and 21 in 2021. According to Deputy Minister of Public Security Le Quoc Hung, a detailed list of amnesty beneficiaries this year will be announced on the National Day. VNS HA NOI Timor-Leste President Jose Ramos-Horta, who is on a State visit to Viet Nam at the invitation of President To Lam, had an exchange session with students of the Diplomatic Academy of Viet Nam (DAV) in Ha Noi on Friday. Deputy Foreign Minister o Hung Viet said President Jose Ramos-Horta was the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996, along with Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo. He has served the Timor-Leste in many important positions, from Foreign Minister, Prime Minister and currently President, for his second term. His leadership plays an important role in leading Timor-Leste to overcome complex challenges to build the nation and move towards regional integration, Hung said. Delivering a speech at the DAV, President Jose Ramos-Horta expressed his hope that Viet Nam can help Timor-Leste develop a master plan, propose solutions, models and work with people across Timor-Leste to positively change the face of agriculture. He also expressed his desire that Viet Nam will support his country in ensuring food security and elevating children hunger and malnutrition. The President said that if his country joins ASEAN, Timor-Leste wants to attract more investment resources from member countries, especially from Viet Nam and Thailand, into tourism. The President emphasised that the youth are the future of the country. Students need to continuously study, cultivate and update their knowledge to be able to contribute and successfully solve upcoming challenges. We need to find better technology to address water security, as well as economically use water resources for agriculture, he said. DAV student o Phuong Anh said the Timor-Lestes President shared many messages, historical stories and similarities between the two countries. That helps herself understand the Timor-Lestes culture, country and people, as well as the common grounds between the two people. Truong Ngoc Lan, another DAV student, noted that she feels honored and lucky to have the opportunity to welcome the President of Timor-Leste. HA NOI The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in coordination with relevant ministries, organised a conference in Ha Noi on Friday to review 25 years since the signing of the Viet Nam-China border treaty and 15 years since the signing of three legal documents on the land border between the two countries. The three legal documents are the protocol on border demarcation and marker planting, the agreement on border management regulations, and the other on border gates and regulations on the management of border gates. In his opening remarks, Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son affirmed that the signing of these four documents was of great historical significance, opening up a new chapter in the Viet Nam-China relationship. The signing also marked a major milestone in the history of building the shared borderline, thus contributing to creating and maintaining a peaceful and stable environment in the region and the world. Additionally, the completion of border demarcation and marker planting has also promoted socio-economic development, especially in border provinces of both countries, Son said. He added that finishing the settlement of the land border issue between Viet Nam and China was a significant milestone in the bilateral relationship, which has experienced many ups and downs. It is also an achievement built on political determination, wisdom, and tireless efforts of generations of Vietnamese and Chinese people, particularly in the new era under the leadership of the two communist parties. This historical achievement has laid a legal and political foundation for the two countries to maintain a peaceful and stable environment for economic development and ensure security and defence, fulfilling the aspirations of their people, he stated. Since the three legal documents on the Viet Nam-China land border took effect and the two countries officially began managing the land border in accordance with these documents, the overall situation has been stable. The borderline and markers have been maintained, and public order and safety in the border areas have been ensured. Both sides have paid attention to opening and upgrading border gates, connecting transport infrastructure, and boosting friendship exchanges. The Viet Nam-China Land Border Joint Committee and relevant forces have closely collaborated in border management and protection, promptly detected and effectively addressed any emerging border issues, the minister added. The two sides have to date demarcated the entire 1,449.566km-long border, and planted 1,971 markers, including one at the Viet Nam - China - Laos border junction, and 1,548 main and 442 auxiliary markers. The conference was an opportunity for ministries, sectors, and localities to evaluate achievements. It also revealed shortcomings in border management and protection. The aim was to draw lessons, find solutions and contribute to maintaining a borderline of peace, friendship, and sustainable development for the two countries' people. VNS HA NOI Timor-Leste President Jose Ramos-Horta on August 2 made a field trip to the Viet Nam-Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP) in the northern province of Bac Ninh and had a working session with provincial leaders. In his remarks, the President expressed his hope that Viet Nam will help Timor-Leste better develop its agricultural sector to ensure food security and push back poverty and child malnutrition.President Ramos-Horta lauded Bac Ninhs development over the past time, especially in the development of industrial parks, and noted his hope that Viet Nam will encourage its businesses to invest in mixed industrial parks in Timor-Leste, particularly in the areas relating to fertiliser, and oil and gas. He pledged to work as a bridge between Bac Ninh and Timor-Leste partners in the time ahead. The two sides compared notes on policies and opportunities for investment and cooperation. Nguyen Anh Tuan, Secretary of the provincial Party Committee, stressed that the Presidents visit was significant to Bac Ninhs development, as well as cooperation between the two countries. The official briefed the guest on Bac Ninhs socio-economic situation, and its potential and business environment, which is among the top nationwide, saying the VSIP is an outstanding example of green, clean, modern standards, and comprehensive infrastructure. Tuan said he hoped that the leaders visit will be a milestone in helping establish cooperative ties between Bac Ninh and Timor-Leste partners, and affirmed that the province always welcomes Timor-Leste delegations that come to explore investment opportunities, promote trade, culture and tourism, and enhance people-to-people exchange. VNS HA NOI Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son on August 2 hosted a reception for Tokai Kisaburo, member of the House of Representative and Chairperson of the Policy Research Council under the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) of Japan, who is paying a visit to Viet Nam from July 31 to August 2. Son expressed his delight at the robust development of the Viet Nam Japan Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with strong political trust, and enhanced cooperation in the areas of economy, trade, investment, human resources, education-training, and cultural and people-to-people exchanges. He urged the two sides to foster political trust through the exchanges of delegations at all levels across the channels of party, government and parliament, and strengthen economic connectivity to ensure economic security while asking for the Japanese sides support for Viet Nam in the process of industrialisation and modernisation through the provision of new-generation ODA, and investment cooperation. Son also suggested Japan encourage its businesses to step up investment and technology transfer, and team up with Viet Nam in such new domains as green transition, digital transformation, and energy transition. Speaking highly of Japans recent policies to improve the living conditions of migrant workers, including the establishment of the training-working regime, Son said Viet Nam is willing to cooperate with Japan to cope with the matter of aging population and revive the Japanese semiconductor industry by sending highly skilled workers to the nation. He asked Japan to support Viet Nam in realising its target of training 50,000 semiconductor engineers by 2030, and increase the number of scholarships for Vietnamese students. Additionally, the minister suggested the Japanese Government simplify and provide visa exemptions for Vietnamese citizens to foster tourism collaboration. Kisaburo said he has been impressed by Viet Nams standout development since his first trip to Viet Nam 35 years ago, affirming that Japan stands ready to contribute to the Southeast Asian countrys development by helping it with the building of infrastructure, high-speed rail, and metro lines, among others, and sharing experience in environmental pollution response during the development process. Concurring with Sons recommendations, Kisaburo affirmed that he will continue to support and propose the Government pen policies to foster the Viet Nam Japan ties in the coming time, with the core being human resources training for new areas like green transition, digital transformation and semiconductors through specific programmes and projects. Policies to attract migrant workers, including those from Viet Nam, will continue to be put in place by the government, he added. He took this occasion to thank Viet Nam for its cooperation and support in registering Sado gold mine to the worlds heritage list, affirming close coordination with the country in regional and global issues, thus making positive contributions to peace, stability and development in the region and the world. VNS HA NOI Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and visiting Timor-Leste President Jose Ramos-Horta on Friday agreed to enhance cooperation between the two countries in various areas. Lauding the Timor-Leste Presidents second visit to Viet Nam, PM Chinh said it has contributed to consolidating political trust and creating new momentum for the bilateral ties in the time ahead. The host leader congratulated Timor-Leste on its achievements in national construction and development, and its nearing the full membership of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and expressed his belief that the country will soon materialise its national development plan for 2011-2030, and integrate into the world more intensively and extensively. President Ramos-Horta noted his admiration for Viet Nam and its people, calling the country a model in healing war wounds, national construction and economic development. He used this occasion to thank Viet Nam for supporting Timor-Leste in national construction and development, and its ASEAN integration process. The two leaders highly evaluated the positive development of the bilateral cooperation and friendship, notably the two-way trade growing nearly 30 per cent in the first five months of this year to more than US$6 million. They agreed to intensify political trust through all-level meetings, effectively implement high-level agreements, continue pushing ahead with the perfection of legal frameworks to facilitate the bilateral cooperation, and optimise their substantial cooperation potential. PM Chinh said rice remains a key product of the bilateral trade, and suggested the two sides soon extend or sign a new memorandum of understanding on rice trade, contributing to ensuring food security. He also encouraged Timor-Leste to increase the import of Vietnamese goods that suit the needs and tastes of Timor Leste consumers such as textiles-garments, footwear, beverages, dairy products, processed food, and agricultural and aquatic products. The PM suggested Timor-Leste soon handle obstacles to the operation of Vietnamese enterprises in the country, and create more optimal conditions for them to expand business, especially in telecoms, digital services, and oil and gas exploitation. The President said he backs PM Chinhs proposals, and hopes that Viet Nam will help the country in such areas as agriculture, food security, infrastructure, education training, human resources development, health care, and poverty reduction while increasing investments there. He pledged to facilitate the operation of Vietnamese firms in Timor-Leste. The two leaders consented to step up collaboration in other important spheres, including national defence-security, information and communications, and education-training; to utilise new trends like green economy, clean energy, and innovation; and to promote exchanges between residents through tourism and culture. Regarding regional and international issues, they concurred to maintain coordination and mutual support at multilateral organisations. The PM lauded Timor-Lestes resolve and effort in implementing the Roadmap for Timor-Leste's full ASEAN membership, and affirmed Viet Nams consistent support for the country in this regard. President Ramos-Horta also said Timor-Leste stands ready to back Viet Nams candidacy for posts at all multilateral, regional and international mechanisms and organisations. The two sides committed to continuing their support for ASEANs principled stance on the East Sea, efforts in maintaining peace, stability, security and safety of aviation and overflight in the East Sea, the settlement of disputes through peaceful measures on the basis of international law and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), creating an environment conducive to negotiations on the Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC), for peace, stability and development in the region. President Ramos-Horta said he hopes to welcome PM Chinh to visit Timor-Leste. The PM thanked the President, saying the visit will be arranged at an appropriate time. VNS About 70% of Americans will have high blood pressure in their lifetimes. What?s more, only 1 in 4 patients with hypertension have their blood pressure under control. And because high blood pressure usually has no symptoms, you can have it without knowing it. Prostock-Studio, Contributor / Getty Images Q: A while back, I saw my doctor and I almost broke the blood pressure machine. The nurse measured my blood pressure three times because it was so high. Of course, I tried to think of what I had done that might raise my blood pressure so much. The next day, I read the label on the Preparation H I was using and put two and two together. I do think the warning about increasing blood pressure should be clearer! A: Preparation H contains the decongestant phenylephrine, which constricts blood vessels. This action is how it shrinks the swelling of hemorrhoidal tissues, as the ads used to say. Advertisement Article continues below this ad When you constrict blood vessels, blood pressure may rise. Thats why the label warns to Ask a doctor before use if you have high blood pressure. You are not the only one to have experienced this adverse effect. Another reader wrote: I used Preparation H and had a sudden spike in blood pressure. My normal blood pressure reading is around 106 over 62. You can learn more about medications that raise blood pressure as well as ways to treat high eGuide to Blood Pressure Solutions. This online resource is located under the Health eGuides tab at PeoplesPharmacy.com. Q: Doctors are increasingly prescribing gabapentin to treat nerve pain. My wife recently showed me a column you had written on a link between gabapentin and dementia. She has taken this drug for neuropathy resulting from chemotherapy for breast cancer, so she was understandably alarmed. As a retired professor, I searched the medical literature. After I found the article you cited from Frontiers of Pharmacology, I located another one with better methodology (Journal of Affective Disorders, Aug. 1, 2024). The researchers found no significant difference in the risk of dementia between people who had taken a lot of gabapentin and those who had only a little. Isnt that a better way to determine if this is a real problem? Advertisement Article continues below this ad A: Your sleuthing has revealed a classic challenge in interpreting research. The original study we cited (Frontiers in Pharmacology, May 30, 2023) analyzed data from more than 200,000 patients in Taiwan. The authors concluded, Patients treated with gabapentin or pregabalin had an increased risk of dementia. The evaluation you found covered the same patient population but reached a completely different conclusion. As you noted, the authors determined: Long-term Gabapentin therapy for chronic pain is not associated with a differential risk of dementia across dosage levels, irrespective of age or gender. Q: Getting off venlafaxine (Effexor) was the most difficult period in my life, including stints in the emergency room for suicidal ideation. When the doctor had me go from 150 milligrams to 100 milligrams, it caused me such great distress that I thought I was going to die. A bump back up to 150 milligrams made me go ballistic. Then he had me use Prozac to bridge off the Effexor in three weeks, which was way too fast. Doctors should warn patients right at the start that these drugs could be very difficult to stop. They should also offer more useful advice. A: A review of 79 studies found that venlafaxine is one of the antidepressants that is most likely to result in severe symptoms when discontinued (Lancet Psychiatry, July 2024). Advertisement Article continues below this ad We agree that people should be warned about the potential for withdrawal problems before they start such a prescription. Some people find the online Ashton Manual gives them guidelines for discontinuation. HAU GIANG Hau Giang Province has taken measures to support the development of the collective economy, especially co-operatives. The Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta province has implemented many programmes and projects in which co-operatives are given financial and other support to develop their production. They include the Viet Nam-Sustainable Agriculture Transformation (VnSAT) Project and the project for sustainable agriculture development and climate change adaptation in 2021-25. Ky Nhu Co-operative in Phung Hiep Districts Thanh Hoa Commune is a co-operative that has been provided financial support to develop production. It breeds featherback fish and makes products from the fish such as fish paste, dried fish and snacks, and processes other seafood, vegetable and fruit products. It supplies 30 - 35 tonnes of fresh fish a month to the market and has 11 products recognised as three- and four-star products under the countrys One Commune-One Product (OCOP) programme. Nguyen Kim Thuy, its director, said the province has many support policies for co-operatives such as financial support, OCOP product registration and trade promotion. The province has supported her co-operative with part of the cost of buying a solar dryer worth VN540 million (US$21,500) and a freezer worth nearly VN1 billion ($40,000), she said. The co-operative is building a workshop, warehouse and headquarters worth a total of VN11 billion ($440,000) from the provinces financial support, she said. It earned revenue of VN14 billion ($560,000) last year and has 65 permanent workers who earn an income between VN6-9 million ($240-360) a month. Tan Tien Agriculture Service Co-operative in Vi Thanh Citys Vi Tan Commune was given financial support from the VnSAT Project in 2018 to build a 1,000sq.m warehouse and buy a rice drier and harvester. Le Van Thang, its director, said thanks to the support, the co-operative can solve the issue of storing harvested rice for its members, and can proactively harvest, process and preserve rice, which help to reduce production cost. The province has established 71 co-operatives with nearly 2,000 members since 2022, according to the provincial Co-operative Alliance. It has 271 co-operatives and four operative unions which have a total of more than 8,500 members and 13,000 workers. The alliance targets to set up 30 co-operative groups and 16 new co-operatives this year. Solving difficulties Ho Van Phu, chairman of the alliance, said most co-operatives have difficulties such as small-scale production and weak operation capacity. The biggest difficulty is the lack of investment capital, he said. Truong Canh Tuyen, permanent deputy chairman of the provincial Peoples Committee, said: To solve difficulties in developing the collective economy, the province will focus on removing the bottleneck of capital for co-operatives. It will classify co-operatives that have good, moderate or weak operational efficiency to have measures to support them, he said. It will focus on training human resources for collective economy, implement trade promotion for co-operatives, and assist them to recruit university and colleague graduates to work for a limited period, he said. Co-operatives will be supported to invest in infrastructure and facilities, expand their production and improve product quality, he said. Linkages among co-operatives and other stakeholders in producing products will be developed to improve production efficiency, and the application of advanced technologies will be prioritised, he said. The province has provided financial support to build infrastructure and processing facilities costing a total of VN144 billion ($5.7 million) for 13 co-operatives and two co-operative unions, according to the alliance. It has used more than VN40 billion ($1.6 million) from its fund to assist 50 co-operatives to buy machines, production facilities, seeds and animal food. It has given VN1.6 billion ($64,000) to 33 university and colleague graduates who work for a limited period at 13 co-operatives and three co-operative unions. It has organised 45 co-operatives to participate in trade promotion activities in HCM City, Ha Noi and other provinces, and created conditions for co-operatives to link with companies to produce and sell their products. VNS HCM CITY The police have arrested seven individuals, including the owners of G&G Restaurant, for operating a prostitution ring that catered exclusively to foreign customers. Investigations revealed that the restaurant, located in Nguyen Thai Binh Ward, District 1, HCM City, employed over 120 female hostesses, who were encouraged to engage in prostitution for a fee. Its owners, identified as Vietnamese nationals Hoang Anh Hao and Ngo Thi Ngoc Thuy, along with Korean nationals Cho Kiwan and Yu Sungho, lured customers through online advertisements promising a 'safe and fun' atmosphere with 'sexy dancing' and 'willing' female hostesses. They also offered transportation services to nearby hotels and luxury apartments where the prostitution took place. The restaurant staff were instructed to admit only foreign customers (mostly Chinese and South Koreans) and check their passports upon entry. Those without passports were required to have a guarantor for entering. With promises of high pay and commissions, the restaurant has drawn many South Korean managers and Vietnamese 'madams' to work. Security guards were constantly posted outside the restaurant, tasked with dispersing any Vietnamese individuals lingering in the area. They also frequently changed prostitution locations to evade law enforcement. The illicit business has been operating since May 2024 and is said to have lined the owners' pockets with about VN10 billion (US$400,000). During a police interrogation, Hoang Anh Hao, Yu Sungho, and Ngo Thi Ngoc Thuy confessed to instructing staff to engage in prostitution to boost revenue. Seven individuals, including the four abovementioned owners, are in police custody and expected to face charges of brokering prostitution. VNS High-end apartment buildings in Ho Chi Minh City (Photo: VNA) Hanoi Foreign investors injected more than 2.87 billion USD into the Vietnamese realty market during January-July, a year-on-year surge of 78 per cent, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI)s Foreign Investment Agency. The agency said that foreign investors funneled their money in 18 out of the 21 economic sectors, with the processing and manufacturing industry attracting the largest share of over 12.65 billion USD, or 70.3 per cent of the total. The realty industry came second. Total newly-registered capital in the property market was 1.94 billion USD while 1.14 billion USD was disbursed during the seven-month span. Experts from property consultancy firm Savills said Vietnam has opportunities to welcome the fourth wave of foreign direct investment (FDI), mainly into high-tech sectors like electronics, semiconductor, AI and renewable energy whose development has a direct impact on the industrial property on the back of an increasing demand for warehouses. Thomas Rooney, Senior Manager of Industrial Services at Savills Hanoi, said that it is necessary to handle the energy issue at industrial parks to maintain their attractiveness to foreign capital in the coming time. That the Vietnamese Government has sketched out a plan to build a 1,500 MW thermal power plant in the central province of Nghe An, which is expected to become operational in 2029-2030, is a notable effort to lure foreign investors, he added. He also suggested industrial parks pay due attention to green trend as there is an increasing number of foreign businesses focusing on the development of the circular economy while Vietnam has eyed to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. A Savills survey showed that around 80-85 per cent of the foreign investors impose requirements on environment, social and governance (ESG) responsibilities, and Vietnam has climbed on the bandwagon. According to statistics from the MPI, up to 50 per cent of cities and provinces across the nation will plan to transform their existing industrial parks into eco ones, and 8-10 per cent of the localities will develop new eco industrial zones, which are among the factors that help increase their attractiveness to foreign capital. Total registered foreign capital in Vietnam during January July amounted to more than 18 billion USD in Vietnam, a year-on-year increase of 10.9 per cent. The disbursed investment was recorded at over 12.55 billion USD, up 8.4 per cent as compared to the same time last year. Foreign investors injected 10.76 billion USD in 1,816 new projects, rising 35.6 per cent and 11.6 per cent, respectively. Meanwhile, 734 projects had their capital adjusted up with a total amount of more than 10.76 billion USD, down 0.3 per cent in the project number, and up 19.4 per cent in capital year-on-year. Capital contributions and share purchases fell 45.2 per cent to 2.27 billion USD. Registering 6.52 billion USD, Singapore was the biggest investor among the 91 countries and territories investing in the nation in the reviewed period, followed by Chinas Hong Kong, Japan, China, and the Republic of Korea. The foreign investors landed their capital in 48 cities and provinces across the nation. Bac Ninh attracted the largest amount of foreign capital with nearly 3.2 billion USD while in the second and third places were Quang Ninh and Ho Chi Minh City, luring over 1.56 billion USD and 1.55 billion USD, respectively. The foreign-invested sector enjoyed a trade surplus of around 27.9 billion USD (including crude oil), and contributed greatly to the nations trade surplus of 12.4 billion USD during the seven-month period. As of July 20, Vietnam was home to 40,777 valid foreign projects with total registered capital of 487 billion USD. Some 309.7 billion USD had been disbursed by the time. VIR and VIREA honour industrial property developers for outstanding green transformation strategies Five industrial property developers were honoured for their outstanding green transformation strategies in 2024 at the Vietnam Industrial Property Forum (VIPF) 2024, organised by Vietnam Investment Review and the Vietnam Industrial Real Estate Association. VIR and Vietnam Industrial Real Estate Association sign deal Vietnam Investment Review, the press agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, and the Vietnam Industrial Real Estate Association signed a cooperation agreement at the Vietnam Industrial Property Forum 2024 in Ho Chi Minh City on July 30. Experts delve into outlook of Vietnam's industrial real estate market at VIPF 2024 At the first panel discussion of the Vietnam Industrial Property Forum (VIPF) 2024, experts discussed the long-term prospects, growth potential, and development trends in Vietnams industrial real estate market, and the demand from multinational corporations. Industrial developers honoured for green transformation strategies 17 industrial infrastructure developers were honored for their green transformation strategies in 2024 at the Vietnam Industrial Property Forum 2024, held on July 30 in Ho Chi Minh City. At the Vietnam Industrial Property Forum 2024 on July 30, Vu Van Chung, deputy director general of the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, shared that foreign direct investment will contribute to making Vietnam one of the most attractive markets for global investors, presenting a golden opportunity for the industrial real estate market "The current trend is shifting from merely attracting investment to fostering foreign investment partnerships for mutual development. The move towards selectively attracting high-quality investment poses challenges for industrial zone management boards, requiring them to enhance quality with larger-scale projects, more modern and synchronised infrastructure, and greener environments. This is a critical issue for industrial zone developers," Chung said. Michael Piro, CEO of Indochina Capital, said at the event that substantial capital will start to flow into and prioritise green projects. Vietnam will have more diverse capital sources in the future as the government is serious about this commitment, leading to greater access to green capital. Besides loans, attracting foreign partners, especially the largest global companies committed to achieving net-zero by 2050, will become easier. Vietnam's green industrial property will also secure higher quality anchor tenants and, in the future, achieve a green premium on exit," Piro explained. Michael Piro, co-CEO of Indochina Capital Indochina Capital currently has eight projects either in operation or under development, with an investment of approximately $500 million. Research has shown that investors can earn more from their green real estate assets. Green deals command higher prices. Indochina Capital has observed that across various sectors like energy, materials, technology, and communications, green projects are priced 20 per cent higher than non-green ones. Therefore, green industrial real estate not only creates differentiation but also adds value to a company's products, added Piro. As Vietnam welcomes more multinational firms, the demand and price of sustainably designed factories and warehouses will rise, and global players are focusing on Vietnam with large loans. For instance, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank announced a commitment of approximately $5 billion in preferential loans to collaborate with Vietnam in mid-July. HSBC Vietnam and Gemadept Corporation, a Vietnamese port and logistics company, also signed a sustainability-linked loan agreement in late May. On the side of financial institutions, Vietnam is currently drafting a green classification list. This means that in the near future, financial organisations like the International Finance Corporation (IFC) will focus all of their loans on green projects. There will also be key performance indicators for banks, including commercial and state banks, with green lending quotas. The IFC's financial solutions are aimed at and provided to customers seeking access to green capital or developing green buildings. In developing countries, the IFC's loans will support businesses in the initial stages of achieving green buildings, eventually moving towards more advanced stages of the green transformation, said Do Ngoc Diep, green and resilient building programme lead for the IFC in Vietnam. Experts delve into outlook of Vietnam's industrial real estate market at VIPF 2024 At the first panel discussion of the Vietnam Industrial Property Forum (VIPF) 2024, experts discussed the long-term prospects, growth potential, and development trends in Vietnams industrial real estate market, and the demand from multinational corporations. Industrial developers honoured for green transformation strategies 17 industrial infrastructure developers were honored for their green transformation strategies in 2024 at the Vietnam Industrial Property Forum 2024, held on July 30 in Ho Chi Minh City. Hanois consumer price index increases by 5.51 per cent in the first seven months of this year. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi Hanois Consumer Price Index (CPI) in the January July period rose 5.51 per cent from the same time last year, according to the citys statistics office. During the period, among the 11 main groups of consumer goods and services, 10 saw price hikes while postal and telecommunications services experienced a decline of 0.16 per cent. Notably, in the seven months, educational services increased by 30.58 per cent; housing, electricity, water, fuel and building materials grew by 6.19 per cent; food and catering services expanded by 3.28 per cent, and medicine and medical services increased by 4.15 per cent. The total revenue from the retail sales of goods and consumer services reached 475.3 trillion VND (18.84 billion USD), up 10.3 per cent over the same period last year. The revenue of the hotel and restaurant sector stood at 62.1 trillion VND, up 10.5 per cent, while that of tourism was 15.7 trillion VND, up 46.8 per cent, and other services, 95.9 trillion VND, up 6.5 per cent. Tourism activities remained a major source of revenue for many service sectors and the local budget. In July, Hanoi attracted about 468,000 visitors, up 2.9 per cent over the previous month and 16.6 per cent year-on-year. In the first seven months, the city welcomed nearly 3.5 million visitors, a rise of 33.2 per cent over the same period last year. Particularly, the number of foreign visitors went up 43.4 per cent year-on-year. Hanoi welcomes 9,400 new firms in four months The capital city of Hanoi witnessed 9,400 enterprises enter the market with the total registered capital of 97.6 trillion VND (3.84 billion USD) during January-April, falling 6 per cent in the number of firms and rising 9 per cent in capital as compared to the same time last year, according to the municipal Statistics Office. The awards aim to establish data on sustainable development, assisting the government and relevant social organisations in formulating practical policies to support sustainable growth. This effort aligns with Vietnam's commitments made at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference to realise its net-zero emission goals by 2050. Nguyen An Duy (middle), deputy general director and chief financial officer (CFO) of Imexpharm, receives the Top 50 Corporate Sustainability Awards Additionally, it emphasises the importance of addressing climate change through initiatives in clean energy development, sustainable infrastructure, smart water management, and ecosystem resource management. With 14 award categories based on the three environmental, social, and governance (ESG) pillars, the awards acknowledge and honour companies across the FDI, listed, and unlisted sectors that contribute to sustainable development, environmental friendliness, and social equity. As a publicly listed pharmaceutical company with a significant market capitalisation in the industry, Imexpharm has effectively leveraged its sustainable development model within the sector. From the early days of its establishment, Imexpharm has pursued the goal of sustainable development for the benefit of the community. With this focus, Imexpharm stands as Vietnams largest pharmaceutical company with EU-GMP certification, boasting three EU-GMP facilities and 11 EU-GMP production lines. Nguyen An Duy receives the award which recognises Imexpharms sustainable development strategy for the benefit of the community Its early investment in high-quality manufacturing technology has facilitated continuous growth and established Imexpharm as the top provider of antibiotics in Vietnam. Imexpharm currently holds a leading competitive advantage over domestic pharmaceutical companies through its strategy of building EU-GMP certified facilities and making substantial investments in research and development. The company is leading the trend in EU-GMP factory investments and is well-positioned for a golden period of growth, having already established four manufacturing plants that meet international quality standards. We believe that pursuing sustainable development goals will enable our company to continue achieving high growth by providing the market with Vietnamese pharmaceutical products under the Imexpharm brand that meet European quality standards, said pharmacist Tran Thi Dao, general director of Imexpharm. The healthcare sector and pharmaceutical companies play a crucial role in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to foster community prosperity. Imexpharm sees green initiatives vital in its sustainable development goal With a vision of long-term growth and the motto Sharing for Sustainability, Imexpharms sustainable development strategy is built on five core pillars: people, environment, prosperity, collaboration, and building a strong, compassionate organisation. Imexpharm has achieved significant environmental milestones through its comprehensive sustainability practices, including energy savings, medical waste management, and green initiatives. All of the companys facilities are equipped with wastewater treatment systems that meet strict standards. These systems ensure that all wastewater is treated according to ISO 14001:2015 standards before being released into the environment. On the social front, the company actively fulfils its responsibilities by providing stable, sustainable employment, contributing to local economic growth, meeting tax obligations, and participating in various social welfare programmes. As a public company listed since 2006, Imexpharm is committed to becoming a leader in sustainable development across all of its operations. This dedication is evidenced by the numerous awards the company received in 2023, including Top 10 Mid-cap Companies with the Best Corporate Governance; 50 Best Listed Companies in Vietnam 2023; Top 10 Reputable Pharmaceutical Companies in 2023; Ngoi Sao Thuoc Viet Award, Top 50 Typical Sustainable Development Enterprises; Top 5 Best Workplaces in Healthcare; Board of The Year Award 2023 by the Vietnam Institute of Directors for its sound and diverse governance structures; and Imexpharm stock being ranked for the second consecutive year in the Top 20 Sustainable Development Stocks. Concurrently, the company has achieved record-breaking business results, with a 17.5 per cent annual compound growth rate in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation over the past five years, positioning it towards its goal of reaching half a billion US dollars in revenue. These achievements underscore and validate Imexpharm's corporate governance model, which is becoming increasingly scientific and professional. As a leading Vietnamese pharmaceutical company, Imexpharm meets international standards of good governance and aligns with its sustainable development strategy based on ESG criteria. Investing in ESG is an opportunity to demonstrate our company's vision and mission in addressing community issues. This foundation has enabled us to promote sustainable practices, thereby fostering innovation and operation as well as business efficiency in line with international standards, said Imexpharms leader. According to Imexpharms leadership, the company is making strides towards a more sustainable future by incorporating ESG factors into its development strategy. This holistic approach involves assessing environmental impacts from the outset of drug development and product formulation. It encompasses the use of less toxic chemicals, the pursuit of more efficient production methods, and the design of processes to minimise waste. Additionally, the company is establishing a green manufacturing foundation, aiming to reduce environmental impact during production by utilising renewable energy sources, minimising water usage, and optimising processes. At the same time, Imexpharm is committed to creating a sustainable supply chain, ensuring that raw materials are sourced responsibly and that transportation minimises emissions, which are crucial aspects of a sustainable supply chain. Imexpharm's manufacturing experience and EU-GMP certified production lines equip the company with the capability to meet international quality standards, opening opportunities to join the global pharmaceutical supply chain. With high-quality products that meet European standards, Imexpharm has successfully exported to new markets such as Mongolia and signed export contracts with markets including Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Hong Kong. These strategies lay the groundwork for the companys vision for 2030, with the expectation that revenue will triple, marking a significant step in solidifying the companys position in the global market. The achievements of leading pharmaceutical companies like Imexpharm contribute to realising the development strategy of the pharmaceutical industry for the period up to 2030 and the vision for 2045, aiming to position Vietnam as a high-value pharmaceutical production hub in the region. Integrating ESG principles requires significant investment and effort. Balancing profitability with environmental sustainability and social responsibility in the pharmaceutical sector can be challenging. Nevertheless, pharmaceutical companies that embrace ESG principles will be well-positioned for long-term success and to contribute to a prosperous and sustainable community, added Imexpharm's general director. BCI Asia Awards honour Top 10 architecture firms in Vietnam Vietnam's 10 most-active property developers, architecture firms, and contractors were awarded at the annual BCI Asia Awards ceremony on May 31 at Sheraton Saigon Grand Opera Hotel. JustMarkets wins double at 2024 UF Awards The 2024 iFX Expo International was held in Limassol, Cyprus between June 18-20, bringing together global brands, C-level professionals, startups, and fintech innovators to exchange experiences. Cherry Tran, founder of Pro-Invest Vietnam (third from left), shakes hands with a representative from Tradeco Construction VPI was founded by Cherry Tran, who brings extensive experience and support to the industrial real estate community. With over 17 years in investment promotion, management, and business development in the industrial real estate and logistics sectors across multinational companies in Vietnam, Cherry Tran leads VPI's team in driving company growth. VPI offers comprehensive solutions in the industrial real estate supply chain, including investment promotion consultancy, legal and project investment consultancy, and design and construction consultancy, facilitating business-to-business connections across various sectors nationally and internationally. "Our dynamic team has substantial experience managing and developing industrial real estate in multinational corporations. We are committed to creating economic value, promoting sustainable development, and contributing to the prosperity of the industrial real estate community. Integrated within VPI's supply chain, and aiming for resilience, we have built an all-in-one service with strategic partners such as BCCM International Law Firm and Tradeco Construction Company to enhance our capability in providing comprehensive solutions to investors," Tran noted. In early August 2024, VPI will provide investment promotion services for Protrade International Tech Park, COBI Logis Warehouse, and Lan Tran Industrial Cluster at the Vietnam International Logistics Exhibition. VPI will also organise for investor delegations to visit industrial parks from August 1 to 3, offering opportunities for them to explore the investment environment in Vietnam. For more information, please visit www.vietnamproinvest.info.vn, or phone +84 903 315 717, or email vpi@vietnamproinvest.info.vn Pro-Invest Vietnam led investor delegations to visit industrial parks E-commerce names going automated The e-commerce warehousing sector is undergoing a significant transformation with the ongoing infrastructure expansion and the application of automation technology. Industrial property event to take place in Ho Chi Minh City on July 30 The Vietnam Industrial Property Forum (VIPF) 2024, organised by Vietnam Investment Review and in coordination with the Vietnam Industrial Real Estate Association, will take place in Ho Chi Minh City on July 30. This comes at a pivotal moment for Sunrate, as the company looks to strengthen its global footprint, especially in the Asia-Pacific region. The company has appointed Li Tao as head of growth. Reporting to co-founder Joshua Bao, Li Tao will drive the companys efforts to spearhead growth initiatives and foster collaboration across business units to identify market opportunities in emerging Asia. Strategically partnering with local licensed and global financial institutions, Sunrate chose to launch its platform in Vietnam due to strong customer demand and the major challenges that fast-growing small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are facing. Sunrate offers cutting-edge global payment products and services, including international payments and global collection services, to facilitate cross-border business-to-business (B2B) payments that are fast, secure, transparent, compliant with regulations, and cost-effective for Vietnam businesses. Joshua Bao said, As the leading global cross-border B2B payment platform in emerging markets, we have been making steady progress, and by strategically appointing a senior leader with extensive experience like Li Tao, we are charting our path forward to continue empowering businesses worldwide and scaling both globally and locally. According to Vietnam's General Statistics Office, imports and exports in April 2024 reached $61.20 billion, an increase of 15 per cent from the same period in 2023, and the total trade in goods reached $238.88 billion, increasing by 15.2 per cent on-year, indicating that Vietnam is continuing to recover from 2023. "Im brimming with excitement and optimism for the incredible phase that lies ahead," Bao stated. Our technology-first approach, coupled with our business development teams, which provide the high-touch customer service, are core to empowering businesses on their cross-border B2B payment needs, and Vietnam and the Asian regions economic development is centred on digital trade," Tao said. "Our powerful proprietary tech engine and global network is an effective combination as businesses look to scale across borders or are interested in improving their cross-border business payment capabilities. I could not be more excited to partner with the talented Sunrate team and support new and existing customers as we expand our footprint in Asia. The rapid transformation of Vietnam's digital-payment landscape Vietnam's digital payment landscape is undergoing a remarkable transformation, driven by new regulations and innovative financial solutions. AI becoming increasingly prevalent for e-payments The rising risks of cashless payment fraud have led banks to accelerate implementation of AI-driven security measures and biometric authentication to enhance transaction safety and protect consumers. Surge in cryptocurrency investment indicates multi-billion-dollar opportunity, Illustrative photo (Source: baodautu.vn) Hanoi - Hundreds of billions of dollars in cryptocurrencies are estimated to have flowed into Vietnam over the past year; however, the lack of a legal framework monitoring this capital flow might lead to tax losses and risks such as money laundering. Lina Nguyen, a business development director at Exness Investment Bank, held that the dormant phase of cryptocurrencies has ended. Positive signals are increasingly evident, with more institutional investors entering the market. She predicted that investment in digital assets is forecast to continue rising. Financial institutions are showing interest in this segment, although retail investors remain cautious. In the first few months of this year alone, over 1.2 trillion USD has been invested in digital asset exchange-traded funds (ETFs). According to the US blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis, the positive trend in the cryptocurrency market observed in 2023 is expected to extend to 2024, bolstered by the US approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs and the growing participation of institutional investors. Vietnam ranks third globally in the number of cryptocurrency holders. Data from Crypto Crunch App indicates that 26 million people in the country own cryptocurrencies, five times the local number of stock trading accounts. Research by Dr. Nguyen Nhat Minh and Dr. Thai Trung Hieu from RMIT University shows that cryptocurrency owners in Vietnam are demographically perse, including young, highly skilled workers, tech enthusiasts, and small business owners seeking alternative investments. Chainalysis reports that up to 120 billion USD in cryptocurrencies entered Vietnam within a year to June 2023. Vietnamese investors netted 1.18 billion USD in profits last year, placing the nation among the top five Asian markets with the highest returns from cryptocurrency investments, alongside China, Indonesia, India, and the Republic of Korea. Dr. Pham Anh Khoi, Vice Chairman of the Fintech Application Committee at the Vietnam Blockchain Association, cited a report by Boston Consulting Group estimating that the global market for tokenised real-world assets (RWA) could reach 16 trillion USD, or 10% of global GDP, by 2030. Standard Chartered predicts this market could double to 30 trillion USD in the following four years. Offering low-cost, efficient funding channels for projects with tangible assets, digital assets, particularly RWAs, present a valuable opportunity for developing countries like Vietnam to engage in the global capital market. The influx of cryptocurrency over the past year was nearly five times greater than foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows in the country. While digital assets are an attractive investment and fundraising channel, providing portfolio persification for investors and funds, they are also high-risk, with significant volatility. The market has a high incidence of fraudulent projects, making it unsuitable for uninformed investors. Experts stressed the urgent need for a legal framework to harness the potential of the digital asset market. If appropriate management policies are enacted, these funds could be a positive force for economic growth rather than being lost to the shadow economy, Khoi assessed. As interest in owning and investing in digital assets grows, consumer protection regulations and market transparency are increasingly necessary. This includes measures to prevent fraud and combat cyber threats. Implementing strict regulations to protect consumers could help build investor confidence and encourage broader participation in the crypto asset market. Moreover, an unregulated cryptocurrency market could pose financial stability risks in Vietnam. Without proper oversight, crimes such as money laundering and terrorism financing could emerge. Vietnam crypto holders are the third biggest gainers in 2023 Vietnam accounted for a significant proportion of global crypto gains in 2023 with $1.18 billion, making it the third biggest gainer, according to data released by crypto analytics firm Chainalysis on March 14. Crypto fraudster Bankman-Fried faces sentencing Disgraced cryptocurrency wunderkind Sam Bankman-Fried is set to be sentenced Thursday following his conviction in one of the biggest financial fraud cases in history. Fallen crypto tycoon Bankman-Fried gets 25-year sentence Disgraced cryptocurrency wunderkind Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in jail on Thursday -- a stunning descent for a figure who seemed poised to lead an emerging sector less than two years ago. Thai citizens can register to receive a digital wallet with a value of 10,000 THB (approximately 282 USD) starting August 1. (Photo: The Nation) Bangkok - Thai citizens can register to receive a digital wallet with a value of 10,000 THB (approximately 282 USD) starting August 1 under a scheme announced by Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin's government. As reported by the online newspaper The Nation, Chai Watcharong, spokesperson for the Prime Minister's Office, said smartphone users can register from 8am through the government application "Thang Rat". Meanwhile, those without smartphones can register in the next round, which runs from September 16 to October 15. The locations will be announced later by the government. An inpidual must use an ID card and verify their qualifications in accordance with the house registry to be able to spend the 10,000-THB handout. To ensure that the government is well-prepared to facilitate public registration, the spokesperson said that it has worked with the Digital Economy and Society Ministry, the Finance Ministry, and other relevant agencies to establish 5,199 walk-in service points across the country to assist with registration and enquiries. The walk-in service stations will operate from August 1 to September 15. Thailand announces plans to transform into global financial hub Thailand has announced a strategic plan to support its goal of becoming a global financial hub via regulatory reforms, innovative incentives and a conducive ecosystem. In this image made from video provided by Russian Federal Security Service via RTR on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich sits inside an airplane at an airport outside Moscow, Russia. (Russian Federal Security Service/RTR via AP) AP Three American citizens freed from captivity in Russia arrived in San Antonio on Friday to be treated at a Brooke Army Medical Center facility that helps former prisoners prepare to reenter society. Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, former Marine Paul Whelan and radio journalist Alsu Kurmasheva landed at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland late Thursday before heading to BAMC. A plane carrying the trio touched down at Kelly Field on San Antonios Southwest Side early Friday morning. A U.S. official said they would spend the day resting and recuperating. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Mayor Ron Nirenberg said he was proud that BAMC, part of Joint Base San Antonio, will help in rehabilitating several freed Americans. Its standard U.S. government practice for former POWs, freed hostages and others released by hostile governments to be brought to the military hospital at Fort Sam Houston for evaluation, counseling and recovery. In this image made from video provided by Russian Federal Security Service via RTR on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, Paul Whelan, center, a former U.S. Marine who was arrested on espionage charges, is escorted by Russian Federal Security Service agents, left, as they arrive at an airport outside Moscow, Russia. (Russian Federal Security Service/RTR via AP) AP Gershkovich, Whelan and Kurmasheva, an editor for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, gained their freedom in an elaborate prisoner swap involving seven countries and the release of 24 prisoners in all, 16 held by Russia and eight by Western governments. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Gershkovich, 32, spent 16 months in a Russian prison on what the U.S. government said were sham charges of espionage. Whelan, 54, was arrested in 2018 at a friends wedding in Moscow and charged with possessing Russian military secrets. Kurmasheva, 47, was serving a 6-year sentence in a penal colony for allegedly spreading false information about the Russian Army. FILE - Alsu Kurmasheva, an editor for the U.S. government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Tatar-Bashkir service, attends a court hearing in Kazan, Russia on May 31, 2024. Kurmasheva, a dual Russia-U.S. national employed by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, was convicted July 19 of spreading false information about the Russian army and sentenced to 6 years in prison. Her family and RFE/RL have rejected the charges. AP BAMCs reintegration program is staffed by physicians, psychiatrists, physical therapists and other specialists under the command of U.S. Army South. It dates to the end of the Vietnam War, when returning POWs needed help coping with the trauma theyd endured. Former captives who have gone through the program include Hotel Rwanda hero Paul Rusesabagina, who was kidnapped and imprisoned by the Rwandan government for more than two years; WNBA star Brittney Griner, a Houston native and two-time Olympic gold medalist who was held in a Russian penal colony; and Pvt. Travis T. King, a GI who was detained by North Korea for 70 days after illegally entering that country. Paul Rusesabagina, who saved hundreds of Rwandans during the genocide by sheltering them in the hotel he managed, is detained in Rwanda after being arrested on sham terrorism charges. He was eventually freed and flown to the U.S., where he entered a program at Brooke Army Medical Center that helps ex-captives cope with their trauma and reintegrate into society. Government Handout Whats the aim of the treatment? The process seeks to help former POWs and hostages overcome the debilitating effects of captivity and isolation and return to their professional, community and family lives with as few complications as possible. Advertisement Article continues below this ad This is a very complicated joint operation involving hundreds of people, according to an Army document describing the program. Operational planners, aircrews, medical professionals, security officers, attorneys, chaplains, and specialists in finance, personnel, public affairs and logistics are involved in these operations. Family members also assist in the process, at first through phone contacts and later during family reunions. The process is about helping the returnee gain control of his emotions, a Pentagon spokesman, Army Col. Steve Warren, has said. One of the methods the psychologists use to help the returnee is to allow him to tell his story. A facility at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio helps former prisoners prepare to re-enter society. William Luther/Express-News file photo How does it work? Reporter Evan Gershkovich hugs his mother, Ella Milman, as President Joe Biden, right, looks on at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., following their release as part of a 24-person prisoner swap between Russia and the United States, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) Manuel Balce Ceneta/Associated Press Vice President Kamala Harris, from left, and President Joe Biden greet Paul Whelan at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., following his release as part of a 24-person prisoner swap between Russia and the United States, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) Alex Brandon/Associated Press Alsu Kurmasheva, center, hugs her daughters Miriam Butorin, left, and Bibi Butorin at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., following her release as part of a 24-person prisoner swap between Russia and the United States, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) Alex Brandon/Associated Press President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris greet reporter Evan Gershkovich at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., following his release as part of a 24-person prisoner swap between Russia and the United States, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) Manuel Balce Ceneta/Associated Press President Joe Biden, right, places his American flag pin on Paul Whelan at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., following Whelan's release as part of a 24-person prisoner swap between Russia and the United States, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) Alex Brandon/Associated Press Reporter Evan Gershkovich, right, is greeted by his father, Mikhail Gershkovich, center, and other family members on the tarmac at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., following his release as part of a 24-person prisoner swap between Russia and the United States, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) Manuel Balce Ceneta/Associated Press Alsu Kurmasheva, right, is greeted by family members on the tarmac at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., following her release as part of a 24-person prisoner swap between Russia and the United States, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. Behind them are Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) Manuel Balce Ceneta/Associated Press President Joe Biden, left, hugs Alsu Kurmasheva at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., following her release as part of a 24-person prisoner swap between Russia and the United States, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) Alex Brandon/Associated Press Reporter Evan Gershkovich greets colleagues at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., following his release as part of a 24-person prisoner swap between Russia and the United States, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) Alex Brandon/Associated Press Reporter Evan Gershkovich greets his collegues following his release as part of a 24-person prisoner swap between Russia and the United States on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) Manuel Balce Ceneta/Associated Press Paul Whelan, center, stands with Alsu Kurmasheva, center left, Evan Gershkovich, center right, and family as they prepare to pose for a photo upon their arrival at Kelly Field after being released by Russia, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) Eric Gay/Associated Press According to the Army, there are three phases. The first, Initial Recovery, begins when the hostage or POW is returned to U.S. custody. Theyre given a medical examination and a psychological assessment. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The second phase, Transition Location, happens once they arrive at BAMC. They undergo a more thorough medical exam, have formal debriefings and are guided through psychological decompression. In phase three, called Home Base, the former captives meet with their families to address significant closure issues that may have arisen from their captivity, according to the Army. WNBA player Brittney Griner arrives at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland on Dec. 9, 2022, after being freed in a prisoner exchange with Russia. Like many former prisoners, she went through a program at Brooke Army Medical Center that helps ex-captives cope with their trauma and prepare to re-enter society. Jerry Lara, Staff / San Antonio Express-News Who else has been treated there? Perhaps the most famous of the facilitys alumni is Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, the sole American prisoner of war held by the Taliban in Afghanistan. He was treated at BAMC in 2014. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Bergdahl was captured by the Taliban after walking off his post. He spent 1,797 days in captivity, and testimony revealed that hed been chained for long periods to a box spring. At BAMC, Bergdahl was encouraged to talk about his ordeal. He was later booted out of the Army for desertion. In 2008, Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes and Keith Stansell employees of defense contractor Northrup Grumman went to BAMC after being held captive in Colombia by a guerrilla group for more than five years. Gonsalves, Howes and Stansell were captured by the revolutionary group FARC after their plane went down in Colombias southern jungle on Feb. 13, 2003. They were constantly under guard, slept on the ground or in crude beds and ate whatever their captors fed them. After their release, they were flown to BAMC. In their book, Out of Captivity: Surviving 1,967 Days in the Colombian Jungle, the three former hostages said their caregivers at BAMC rarely allowed them to be alone. Griner also wrote a memoir about her captivity in Russia. She was convicted of drug possession after Russian authorities found cartridges of cannabis oil in her luggage. She was freed in exchange for the release of Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, known as the merchant of death, who was serving a U.S. prison sentence for crimes that included conspiracy to kill Americans. Tran Chi Cuong, Vice Chairman of Da Nang People's Committee (R) and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs at the US Department of State Shelby Smith-Wilson, Da Nang, August 1 (Photo: VNA) Da Nang The US will back Da Nang in combating transnational crime, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs at the US Department of State Shelby Smith-Wilson said at a meeting with officials of the city on August 1. During the meeting, Tran Chi Cuong, Vice Chairman of municipal People's Committee informed the US delegation that the city aims to become a growth hub in Vietnams central key economic region. Over recent years, the city has experienced robust development, focusing on advancing its information technology industry as a major economic driver. The Vice Chairman noted that the Vietnamese National Assembly has approved several specific policies related to financial management, investment, planning and urban development for Da Nang, which are expected to create a crucial driving force to help the locality realise its goal of becoming a major socio-economic centre in Vietnam and Southeast Asia by 2023, and a major ecological, smart city and innovation hub by 2045. Cuong thanked the US representative offices in Vietnam and Da Nang for their support, and asked them to continue assist the city in strengthening collaboration with US localities and businesses. He also emphasised the importance of ongoing support from the US Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs for projects and programmes enhancing the citys capabilities in drug prevention and law enforcement. For her part, Shelby Smith-Wilson spoke highly about the excellent relationship between the US and Vietnam and highlighted Da Nangs role as a key location for bilateral events. She noted that the US Government hopes to further enhance and deepen the relationship between the two countries with a focus on economic and trade cooperation, adding that the US will support Da Nang in combating transnational crime, money laundering, terrorism, drug trafficking, as well as in law enforcement. Currently, Da Nang has official cooperative ties with three US cities, namely Oakland in California State; Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania State; and Houston in Texas Sate. There are four projects funded by US ODA in Da Nang, with a total funding of approximately 46.59 million USD, notably the Vietnam Urban Energy Security (VUES) project and the Plastic Waste Reduction Local Solutions Project. Noi Bai, Da Nang named in worlds top 100 airports Hanoi capitals Noi Bai International Airport and the Da Nang International Airport in the central city of the same name have been listed among the worlds top 100 airports in 2024 by the UKbased aviation consultancy Skytrax. Hong Kong Airlines boosts Da Nang tourism with new daily flight Flight HX548, operated by Hong Kong Airlines, landed at Da Nang International Airport on July 19, bringing 152 passengers from Hong Kong (China) to explore and experience tourism services in the central city. Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang (R) and Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (China) Lee Ka-chiu (L) witness the exchange of the MoU between Vietnam Airlines and the Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA). (Photo: VNA) Hanoi National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines and the Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) (China) will work together to develop new air routes under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that the former presented to its Hong Kong partner on August 1. The MoU is a milestone that is expected to contribute to enhancing economic, trade, and investment cooperation between Vietnam and Hong Kong (China). Apart from opening new air routes, they will work together to increase flight frequency to promote trade and tourism, while studying the establishment of strategic partnerships, stimulating tourism demand to promote the transportation of passengers and cargo, and improving the competitive edge of airports and the efficacy of aviation treaties. Along with coordinating to better transport and service quality through seeking new cooperation opportunities and forms, they will share practical experience, initiatives, and advanced technologies to improve operational efficiency. Through such cooperation, the sides are working toward international standards on passenger experience and cargo logistics, and sustainable development. Particularly, they will support each other in developing human resources through training courses on air transport management, aviation security, crisis management, and air traffic control, among others, provided by the Hong Kong International Aviation Academy. Vietnam Airlines has served more than 5.7 million passengers aboard over 46,000 flights since it launched the Vietnam Hong Kong air route in November 1991. Currently, it is running seven round trips between Hanoi and Hong Kong a week. Over the past years, Vietnam and Hong Kong have enjoyed robust cooperation, with two-way trade reaching 31.3 billion USD in 2023. Vietnam is Hong Kong's second-largest trade partner in ASEAN and the seventh largest globally. Vietnam Airlines faces severe aircraft shortage, considers Chinese planes The CEO of Vietnam Airlines has disclosed that the airline's severe aircraft shortage is expected to persist until the end of 2024. To mitigate the impact, Vietnam Airlines is exploring the incorporation of Chinese-developed C919 aircraft into its fleet. Vietnam Airlines to launch Hanoi-Phnom Penh direct flight Vietnam Airlines on July 13 announced a new direct flight route between Hanoi and Phnom Penh and signed cooperation agreements with Cambodian partners to boost aviation and tourism development. Vietnam among Southeast Asia's fastest-growing economies next decade: Report, Illustrative image (Photo: VNA) Hanoi The six leading economies in Southeast Asia, including Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore, are projected to grow at an average annual rate of 5.1 per cent over the next decade. This projection was released in a report on August 1 by the Development Bank of Singapore (DBS), consulting firm Bain & Company, and the Angsana Council. In the report titled "Navigating High Winds: Southeast Asia Outlook 2024 34", analysts predict that these top Southeast Asian economies will benefit from the region's consumer market of over 600 million people and strong ties with major trading economies. However, increasing protectionism in developed markets and widespread deindustrialisation due to shifting competitive dynamics could negatively impact these economies. Specifically, the report forecast Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines to be the faster-growing countries, with Vietnam continuing to stay ahead. For Vietnam, positive drivers include a well-positioned export-oriented economy, highly diverse sources of FDI, productive inter-provincial competition, and high-quality workforce and education levels. Nevertheless, negativities remain, with the report listing them as credit weakness, energy and water shortages, and slow movement on green infrastructure, among others. Vietnam Airlines, Hong Kong International Airport cooperate to open new routes National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines and the Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) (China) will work together to develop new air routes under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that the former presented to its Hong Kong partner on August 1. Vietnam, India issue joint statement Vietnam and India issued a Joint Statement on Strengthening of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between Vietnam and India on the occasion of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinhs State visit to India from July 30-August 1. In his remarks, ASIC chairman Joseph Longo praised the strong cooperative relationship with the SSC. "This MoU exemplifies the robust relationship between our two agencies and our shared commitment to fostering the development of our capital markets," Longo stated. Longo stressed that the MoU would establish a formal information-sharing mechanism, enhance technical cooperation in market management and supervision, and promote best practices and investor protection activities. "This agreement is a testament to ASIC's commitment to supporting Vietnams capacity building and economic growth. We will continue to provide technical assistance, training, and infrastructure support to the SSC," he added. Longo also acknowledged Vietnam's recent progress, noting its emergence as a dynamic and resilient economy in the region. He expressed confidence in the continued growth and development of Vietnam's capital markets. "The signing of this MoU marks the beginning of a new chapter in our cooperative relationship, reflecting our shared vision of developing dynamic capital markets governed by robust regulatory frameworks," Longo highlighted. SSC chairwoman Vu Thi Chan Phuong echoed these sentiments, underscoring the growing importance of Vietnam's stock market as a critical medium and long-term capital channel for businesses and the economy, and as an attractive investment destination for both domestic and international investors, including those from Australia. Phuong highlighted the valuable support received from the Australian government, including funding for the World Banks Joint Capital Market Development programme, which has assisted Vietnam in addressing criteria and solutions for market upgrades, as well as training and capacity-building initiatives from ASIC. "On behalf of the SSC, I extend our gratitude to ASIC and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for their continuous support and cooperation over the years," Phuong stated. She also noted the significant growth and development of Vietnam's stock market over the past 28 years. As of July, the market capitalisation of listed stocks reached approximately $278 billion, equivalent to 65 per cent of the country's GDP in 2023, with over 1,600 listed and registered securities. "The number of investor accounts has surged to eight million, representing about 10 per cent of the adult population," Phuong stated. "In the ASEAN region, Vietnam's stock market is exceptionally dynamic, with liquidity reaching around $1 billion per day, making it the most liquid market in the region." Furthermore, Phuong shared that Vietnam's ongoing efforts to meet international standards and implement solutions to elevate the market's status. "We are committed to addressing the necessary criteria and introducing measures to upgrade our market, ensuring it aligns with global practices," she added. Promising investment sectors for second half Stocks, industrial real estate, gold, and cryptocurrency are identified as noteworthy investment opportunities in the second half in the context of Vietnam's economic landscape, which has shown positive signals in the first half of 2024. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's state visit to India from July 31 to August 1 produced practical outcomes. On August 1, Vietnam and India issued a joint statement regarding strengthening their comprehensive strategic partnership (CSP), encompassing economic and technology cooperation. Accordingly, PM Chinh and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi agreed to further elevate trade from the present level of around $15 billion. Both sides also agreed on the need for closer cooperation to remove trade barriers with a view to facilitating and enhancing bilateral trade. They concurred that the ongoing review of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement should generate a more user-friendly, simple, and trade facilitative regime for both countries. The leaders agreed to continue efforts to promote investment flows between the two countries. Vietnam welcomes Indian investment in infrastructure, high technology, source technology, clean technology, IT, the support and manufacturing industries, textiles, the cars and materials industry, green agriculture, smart agriculture, innovation and startups, semiconductors, renewable energy and energy conservation projects, electricity generation, biogas, and polyester fabrics. Meanwhile, India would welcome investment from Vietnam in agriculture, agro-processing, aquaculture, wood processing, urban development and infrastructure, production of bamboo and forestry products, hospitality and tourism, digital technology, e-vehicles, healthcare, and services. This mutual commitment aims to further strengthen economic cooperation between the two countries. In addition, India welcomed Vietnams decision to join the Coalition on the Disaster Resilient Infrastructure and decision to sign the International Solar Alliance Framework Agreement. Vietnam appreciated Indias Global Bio-fuel Alliance initiative. As two coastal countries, they agreed to bolster cooperation in oceanography, marine sciences, and the blue economy, as well as in capacity building in this area. The leaders also reiterated their mutually beneficial cooperation in the oil and gas sector, including exploration and production on Vietnams continental shelf. To strengthen their CSP, the two sides agreed to enhance sharing of experiences in building regulations and policies supporting the promotion of e-commerce and the digital economy. Businesses from both sides will take advantage of e-commerce to improve export capacity and participate in regional and global value chains sustainably. They also encouraged relevant government agencies and businesses to explore cooperation opportunities in the green economy, circular economy, digital economy, and critical industries such as rare earth elements, semiconductors, and nano materials. Regarding innovation and science and technology cooperation, both leaders reiterated the significance of digital technologies and encouraged the development of a framework to promote bilateral cooperation in financial innovation and digital payments between Vietnam and India. Recognising the needs of both countries for digital transformation and energy transition, the leaders encouraged greater exchanges and cooperation in areas such as digital public infrastructure, space technology applications, renewable energy, biotechnology, and disaster resilience technologies. The leaders noted with satisfaction the ongoing collaboration in the peaceful use of atomic energy and agreed to intensify follow-ups in various avenues emerging from the third India-Vietnam Joint Committee Meeting on atomic energy. They also welcomed the progress towards the establishment of an ASEAN-India tracking, data reception station, and data processing facility in Vietnam. India's Adani eyes numerous investment projects in Vietnam Adani Group, one of India's leading corporations, is keen on investments in Vietnam, from Lien Chieu Port to Vinh Tan 3 Thermal Power Plant and key airport projects. Vietnam welcomes major Indian pharmaceutical investments Leading Indian pharmaceutical corporations proposed significant investments in Vietnam, including a $5 billion eco-industrial park, underscoring Vietnam's attractiveness as a prime destination for foreign pharmaceutical investments. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (L) and Prime Minister Narendra Modi (Photo: VNA) New Delhi Vietnam and India issued a Joint Statement on Strengthening of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between Vietnam and India on the occasion of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinhs State visit to India from July 30-August 1. Following is the full text of the joint statement: JOINT STATEMENT ON STRENGTHENING OF THE COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIET NAM AND THE REPUBLIC OF INDIA During the State Visit of the Prime Minister of Viet Nam Pham Minh Chinh to India (New Delhi, 30 July - 01 August 2024) 1. At the invitation of the Prime Minister of India, H.E. Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of Viet Nam, H.E. Pham Minh Chinh paid a State Visit to India from 30 July - 01 August 2024. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh was accompanied by a high level official delegation including Ministers and leaders of many ministries of Viet Nam. 2. On 01 August 2024, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh was accorded a ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhavan and he visited Raj Ghat to pay floral tributes to Mahatma Gandhi. This was followed by bilateral talks between the two Prime Ministers. Thereafter, the Prime Ministers witnessed the signing and exchange of bilateral documents. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh attended the banquet hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh called on President of India H.E. Droupadi Murmu and the Vice President of India H.E. Jagdeep Dhankhar. External Affairs Minister of India H.E. S. Jaishankar called on Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh. Prime Minister Pham also delivered a policy speech at the Indian Council of World Affairs and addressed at the Viet Nam - India Business Forum and held discussions with Indian businesses. POLITICAL RELATION 3. The delegation level talks between Viet Nam and India were held in a warm, cordial and friendly atmosphere. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi on winning a historic third term and expressed his belief that India would continue strong development course and have an increasingly greater role and position in the international arena under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 4. The leaders reviewed the deep-rooted and long-standing friendship between India and Viet Nam and expressed their satisfaction with the strong development of bilateral relations since the elevation of the relationship to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2016. The leaders agreed to continue the effective implementation of the outcomes of high level talks and visits in recent years, including the India - Viet Nam Joint Vision for Peace, Prosperity and People in 2020, and the outcomes of the meetings between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on 01 August 2024 in New Delhi, among others. 5. The leaders agreed to maintain regular exchanges at all levels. The leaders agreed that the current geo-political realities call for closer cooperation between India and Viet Nam. They recognised convergence in their world view and expressed support for a greater voice and role for Global South in international affairs. The leaders agreed to further strengthen the Viet Nam - India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in all areas. 6. On the basis of the existing excellent bilateral relations, the two leaders agreed to maintain regular exchanges at all levels. 7. The leaders appreciated multi-dimensional institutional mechanisms between the two countries in the fields of foreign policy, security and maritime domain, defence cooperation, parliamentary exchanges, trade and investment, agriculture, healthcare, civil aviation, information and communication technology, science & technology including space & nuclear technology, tourism and culture. They agreed to intensify and strengthen the bilateral dialogue in various domains, including the Joint Commission for Economic, Trade, Science and Technology for mutual benefit. They welcomed the signing of the Plan of Action for the implementation of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for the period of 2024-2028. ECONOMIC, TRADE AND INVESTMENT COOPERATION 8. As two rapidly growing economies, the leaders of India and Viet Nam agreed to reinforce cooperation at the level of governments and businesses for increasing two-way trade, investment and technological partnership. The leaders agreed to further elevate trade from the present level of around US$ 15 billion. Both sides also agreed on the need for closer cooperation on removing trade barriers with a view to facilitating and enhancing bilateral trade.. They concurred that the ongoing review of ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement should generate a more user-friendly, simple and trade facilitative regime for both countries. 9. The leaders agreed to continue efforts to promote investment flows between the two countries. Viet Nam welcomed investment from India in infrastructure, high technology, source technology, clean technology, information technology, support and manufacturing industries, textile, automobile and materials industry, green agriculture, smart agriculture, innovation and startups, semi-conductors, renewable energy and energy conservation projects, electricity generation, biogas and polyester fabrics, among others, in Viet Nam. India welcomed investment from Viet Nam in agriculture, agro-processing, aquaculture, wood processing, urban development and infrastructure, production of bamboo and forestry products, hospitality and tourism, digital technology, e-vehicles, healthcare and services in India. This mutual commitment aims to further strengthen the economic cooperation between the two countries. 10. India welcomed Viet Nams decision to join the Coalition on the Disaster Resilient Infrastructure and early completion of domestic procedures to officially join the International Solar Alliance. Viet Nam appreciated Indias Global Bio-fuel Alliance initiative. 11. As two coastal countries in the region, they agreed to bolster cooperation in oceanography, marine sciences and blue economy, as well as in capacity building in this area. The leaders also reiterated their mutually beneficial cooperation in the oil and gas sector, including exploration and production in Viet Nams continental shelf. 12. The leaders agreed to enhance sharing of experiences in building regulations and policies supporting the promotion of e-commerce and digital economy. Support businesses from both sides to participate in e-commerce and digital platforms to take advantage of e-commerce in improving export capacity and participating in regional and global value chains in a sustainable way. They also encourage relevant government agencies and businesses of both sides to explore cooperation opportunities in green economy, circular economy, digital economy and critical industries such as rare earth elements, semi-conductor, nano materials. DEFENCE AND SECURITY COOPERATION 13. The leaders commended the effective implementation of the Joint Vision Statement on India-Viet Nam Defence Partnership towards 2030 and strengthening of defence cooperation between the two countries in recent years covering dialogues, training and capacity building cooperation, exchange of best practices, exercises, defence policy and industry cooperation. They agreed to further enhance defence cooperation based on mutual interest and priorities of the two countries which will also contribute to greater stability in the wider Indo-Pacific region. 14. The leaders agreed to continue enhancing cooperation in various areas including human resource development and maintaining collaboration in peace-keeping operations, hydrography, cybersecurity, information sharing, strategic research, maritime security, maritime safety, search and rescue operations, humanitarian assistance, disaster management, and emergency response and relief. 15. The leaders agreed for the early operationalisation of the Implementing Arrangement on Hydrography and forming a Joint Committee. 16. The leaders welcomed the signing of Loan Agreement under US$ 300 million Line of Credit extended by the Government of India to the Government of Viet Nam for defence procurement. INNOVATION AND SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY COOPERATION 17. The leaders reiterated the significance of digital technologies and encouraged the development of a framework to promote bilateral cooperation in financial innovation and digital payments between Viet Nam and India. 18. Recognising the national priorities of both countries for digital transformation and energy transition, the leaders decided to encourage greater exchanges and cooperation in areas such as digital public infrastructure, space technology applications, renewable energy, biotechnology and disaster resilience technologies. 19. The leaders noted with satisfaction the ongoing collaboration in the field of peaceful use of atomic energy and agreed to intensify follow-up on various avenues of further cooperation emerging from the 3rd India-Viet Nam Joint Committee Meeting on atomic energy. 20. They welcomed the progress towards the establishment of ASEAN-India tracking, data reception station and data processing facility in Viet Nam. DEVELOPMENT, CULTURE, TOURISM COOPERATION AND PEOPLE-TO-PEOPLE EXCHANGES 21. The leaders appreciated bilateral development cooperation under the framework of Mekong-Ganga Cooperation through quick impact projects, ITEC training and educational scholarships. They appreciated the establishment of Centre of Excellence for Software Development and Training at the Posts & Telecommunications Institute of Technology, Ho Chi Minh City with Indian cooperation. They also welcomed the establishment of Army Software Park at Telecommunications University, Nha Trang with support of the Government of India. 22. The leaders encouraged greater student, faculty and research exchanges between universities, think-tanks and other institutions of the two countries in the context of Viksit Bharat @ 2047 and Viet Nams vision to become a high-income developed country by 2045. They also supported collaboration among institutions on issues of interest to Global South. 23. They appreciated increase in direct flights between the two countries which have expanded two-way travel and tourism flows. They encouraged further increase in connectivity and tourism between India and Viet Nam. 24. Recalling historical and heritage bonds between the two countries, the leaders encouraged greater exchange of Buddhist scholars, monks, pilgrims, students, and in this direction welcomed the ongoing development of Buddhist and other spiritual sites and institutions. Viet Nam appreciated Indias commitment for the restoration and conservation of My Son UNESCO World Heritage Site and the work done by Archaeological Survey of India in the A, H and K Blocks as well as the forthcoming project in the F Block. 25. India appreciated Viet Nams support for the annual organisation of the International Day of Yoga in a large number of Vietnamese cities and provinces. The leaders expressed support for greater cooperation among yoga institutions of the two countries and the bilateral exchanges in the field of traditional medicine, including the field of medicinal plants. They also agreed to enhance cultural exchange and media cooperation between the two countries. REGIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION 26. The leaders agreed on the key role of ASEAN Centrality in the evolving regional architecture for regional peace, stability and prosperity. They supported further strengthening of ASEAN-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership which complements bilateral relations with respective Member States. The leaders appreciated the ASEAN-India Joint Statement on Cooperation on the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) for Peace, Stability, and Prosperity in the Region which provide opportunities for further cooperation between the AOIP and Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative. They agreed to continue strengthening cooperation and mutual support at all international fora. India appreciated Viet Nams consistent support for Indias permanent membership in the reformed United Nations Security Council. 27. Underlining the link between prosperity and security, the leaders reaffirmed the importance of maintaining peace, stability, security and freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea, while pursuing the peaceful resolution of disputes in accordance with international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), without resorting to threat or use of force. Both leaders underscored the importance of non-militarisation and self-restraint in the conduct of all activities by claimants and all other states, and avoidance of actions that could further complicate the situation or escalate disputes affecting peace and stability. Both leaders emphasized the legal framework set out by the UNCLOS within which all activities in the oceans and seas must be carried out, and that UNCLOS is the basis for determining maritime entitlements, sovereign rights, jurisdiction and legitimate interests over maritime zones. Both leaders further called for the full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) in its entirety and the substantive negotiations towards the early conclusion of a substantive and effective Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC) in accordance with international law, especially UNCLOS, that does not prejudice the legitimate rights and interests of all nations including those not party to these negotiations. 28. Both leaders unequivocally condemned terrorism in all forms and manifestations, including cross-border terrorism. They stressed the importance of international collaboration in combating this menace in accordance with international law, particularly the principles of the United Nations Charter, and reiterated their commitment to joint efforts in this endeavour. 29. The leaders welcomed the signing of various bilateral cooperation documents, which are annexed. 30. The Prime Minister of Viet Nam appreciated the arrangements for the visit and hospitality extended to him and his delegation. He extended an invitation to the Prime Minister of India to visit Viet Nam. New Delhi 01 August 2024 PM Pham Minh Chinh and PM Narendra Modi witness the exchange of cooperation documents (Photo: VNA) List of India-Vietnam Agreements/MoUs/Announcements Plan of Action to advance Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between India and Viet Nam 2024-2028. Memorandum of Understanding for Cooperation in Customs Capacity Building between CBIC, India and the General Department of Viet Nam Customs, Viet Nam. Memorandum of Understanding between Central Agricultural University, Imphal, Manipur and Viet Nam Academy of Agricultural Science, Hanoi for cooperation in Agricultural Research and Education. Memorandum of Understanding between Ministry of Law & Justice of India and Ministry of Justice of Viet Nam on cooperation in the legal field. Memorandum of Understanding between Prasar Bharati and the Voice of Viet Nam for Cooperation on Radio and Television. Dollar Credit Line Agreement of USD 120 mn between the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam represented by Ministry of Finance (MoF) and Export-Import Bank of India (EXIM) and Dollar Credit Line Agreement of USD 180 mn between the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam represented by Ministry of Finance (MoF) and Export-Import Bank of India (EXIM). Letter of Intent between India and Viet Nam for restoration and conservation of F Block at My Son UNESCO World Heritage site. Memorandum of Understanding between the Traditional Medicine Administration Ministry of Health of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the National Medicinal Plants Board Department of Ayush, Ministry of Ayush of Government of the Republic of India on Cooperation in the Field of Medicinal Plants. Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam and the Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways of the Republic of India on Cooperation and Development of the National Maritime Heritage Complex (NMHC) at Lothal, Gujarat. Virtual Inauguration of Army Software Park at Telecommunications University Nha Trang, Viet Nam. Vietnam to join the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI). India's Adani eyes numerous investment projects in Vietnam Adani Group, one of India's leading corporations, is keen on investments in Vietnam, from Lien Chieu Port to Vinh Tan 3 Thermal Power Plant and key airport projects. At the August 1 meeting between Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Ba Hoan and Deputy Chief Representative of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in Vietnam Kubo Yoshitomo. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Ba Hoan met with Kubo Yoshitomo, Deputy Chief Representative of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in Vietnam, on August 1 to accelerate a project connecting Vietnamese workers with overseas job opportunities. Hoan spoke highly of JICA's support for the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA)'s state management and highlighted its commitment to joint projects with the agency. For the project "Supporting to connect job information for Vietnamese workers to work abroad under contract", he called for closer cooperation to expedite its completion. This is to align with Japans recently-passed revised immigration law, replacing the previous technical training system for foreign workers. Once the project is operational, it will provide comprehensive and accurate labour market information, and reduce intermediary steps and costs for workers, Hoan said. He instructed the ministry's specialised units to continue working closely with JICA to agree on an optimal solution that meets the project's requirements. Yoshitomo wished that in upcoming technical meetings, the two sides will reach consensus on the solution to accelerate the project's progress. According to the MoLISA, the project is a joint effort between its Department of Overseas Labour and JICA, scheduled to run from 2023 to 2028. Japan Day event for Citi clients in Vietnam Citi organised a Japan Day client event on April 15 in Ho Chi Minh City. Vietnam - Japan enter new phase of investment ties With the latest incarnation of the Vietnam-Japan Joint Initiative in a New Era, bilateral investment ties are expected to enter a new period of stronger development. Takeo Nakajima, chief representative of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) in Hanoi, talked to VIRs Bich Thuy about future prospects. A report titled "Navigating high winds: Southeast Asia Outlook 2024-34" was released on August 1, compiled by the Development Bank of Singapore, consulting firm Bain & Company, and Angsana Council. The report forecasts the expected growth of the six largest Southeast Asian economies of Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Thailand. According to the report, over the next decade, Southeast Asia will likely grow faster than the previous decade, with higher GDP growth and higher total foreign direct investment (FDI) than China. Southeast Asias growth will be driven by stronger domestic economies and a resurgence in investment catalysed by China + 1 supply chain shifts. Specifically, Southeast Asia is predicted to grow GDP by 5.1 per cent, on average, in the next decade. Vietnam and the Philippines are expected to be the faster-growing countries, with Vietnam remaining in front. "Vietnam is forecast to maintain a GDP growth rate of 6.6 per cent in the 2024-2034 period and its export-oriented economy is well-positioned to capture China + 1 opportunities," the report said. "The country also boasts a highly diverse source of FDI, productive interprovincial competition, and high-quality workforce and education levels." To grow faster than the forecasts, Southeast Asia should invest in new growth sectors, foster tech-enabled disruptors, expand capital markets breadth and depth, and accelerate the green transition, the report added. The region should also commit to growth-friendly multilateral initiatives, including the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, the Belt and Road Initiative, and a transnational electricity grid. Strong economic fundamentals are key to fast recovery in Vietnam Vietnams economic recovery has been faster than expected and continues despite the challenges of the world's socioeconomic issues. Vietnam among ASEAN economies predicted to grow fast Vietnam is among the six ASEAN economies forecast to grow by 4.2 per cent in 2023, outpacing the global gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 2 per cent, according to Maybank Group president and chief executive officer (CEO) Datuk Khairussaleh Ramli. Vietnams fresh pomelo licensed to export to RoK. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi - The Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency (APQA) of the Republic of Korea (RoK) has officially announced regulations for importing fresh pomelos from Vietnam on its website, according to the Plant Protection Department (PPD) under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD). Thus, pomelo is the third fresh fruit from Vietnam permitted for export to the RoK, along with dragon fruit and mango, marking a significant milestone and opening up great opportunities for Vietnamese agricultural products to access international markets. This approval helps affirm the quality and reputation of Vietnamese farm produce in the global market. The department said in 2018 it initiated a programme to promote the export of pomelos to the RoK. Following active coordination and information exchange to facilitate the pest risk analysis process, and going through multiple rounds of negotiations, the PPD and the APQA reached a technical agreement in a bilateral meeting in April 2024. According to the PPD, to meet standards for exporting pomelo to the RoK, the growing areas must register annually with the department. The agency will manage and supervise these areas to ensure that the pest species of concern to the RoK are kept at low density levels through pest monitoring and control activities. Packaging facilities that sort and pack fresh pomelos for export to the RoK must also register annually with the department and undergo regular cleaning and inspections. The list of registered pomelo growing regions, export packing facilities, and vapour heat treatment facilities must be submitted to the APQA before the annual export of fresh pomelos begins. Businesses can access more detailed information on the APQA website at https://www.qia.go.kr or the unofficial Vietnamese translation available on the PPDs website at https://www.ppd.gov.vn. Chile opens door for Vietnams pomelo Chilean authorities have granted permission for Vietnam to ship pomelo to the Latin American market, according to Minister of Agriculture of Chile Antonio Walker. Noe Diaz, the incoming chief of the Houston Police Department, speaks at the podium during a press conference with Mayor John Whitmire, left, and interim HPD Chief Larry Satterwhite, right, during a press conference Diaz as the new chief Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, at Houston City Hall in Houston. Jon Shapley/Staff photographer Noe Diaz, the incoming Houston Police Department chief, listens as Interim Police Chief Larry Satterwhite speaks during a press conference Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, at Houston City Hall in Houston. Jon Shapley/Staff photographer Noe Diaz, center, the incoming chief of the Houston Police Department, speaks to a reporter during a press conference with Mayor John Whitmire, left, and interim HPD Chief Larry Satterwhite, right, during a press conference Diaz as the new chief Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, at Houston City Hall in Houston. Jon Shapley/Staff photographer Mayor John Whitmire, center, speaks during a press conference with Noe Diaz, left, and interim Houston Police Chief Larry Satterwhite, right, on Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, at Houston City Hall in Houston. Whitmire announced that Diaz will be the new HPD chief. Jon Shapley/Staff photographer Interim Houston Police Chief Larry Satterwhite speaks to reporters during a press conference to announce Noe Diaz, at right, as the new police chief Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, at Houston City Hall in Houston. Jon Shapley/Staff photographer Noe Diaz, the incoming chief of the Houston Police Department, speaks during a press conference Diaz as the new chief Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, at Houston City Hall in Houston. Jon Shapley/Staff photographer Noe Diaz introduced himself as Houstons next police chief Friday by touting his relationship to the department through his career, first from his time in state law enforcement and later as Katys top officer. The new chief offered few specifics on his plans for the law enforcement agency of the nation's fourth-largest city but said more drones and more funding might help improve conditions in the Houston Police Department, recently reeling from a scandal over 264,000 cases suspended using an internal code citing a lack of personnel. During my time there, Katy became the most modern police department for a city of its size, he said. Those are improvements I want to bring here. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Mayor John Whitmire called Diazs appointment an exciting day for the city of Houston, explaining his decision to hire the law enforcement veteran because he was the best crime fighter. I have trust and confidence in him, Whitmire said. He said he has known Diaz for 20 years during their overlapping years at the state level in Austin. Whitmire said he was looking for someone outside the HPD but with knowledge of Houstons neighborhoods when he was seeking former Chief Troy Finners full-time replacement. Diaz has served as the Katy police chief leading a department of less than 100 people since 2019. When asked how hed adjust to moving to a department with almost 6,000 employees, he said hed lean on servant leadership and a working knowledge of many aspects of law enforcement, from corruption investigations to patrol operations. Before joining Katy, Diaz spent almost 23 years with the Texas Department of Public Safety. Diaz previously worked for the Harris County Precinct 5 Constables Office starting in 1994 and began his law enforcement career as a correctional officer in 1986. Advertisement Article continues below this ad WHO IS NOE DIAZ?: A look at the man chosen to lead HPD After joining the state agency, Diaz was assigned to the Katy highway patrol office as a trooper, according to his biography on the city of Katys website. In 2001, he was promoted to the narcotics division in Houston for the state police. He became a Texas Ranger in 2008 and served in Rio Grande City and Houston. "I am very happy for Chief Diaz and the City of Houston," Fort Bend District Attorney Brian Middleton said. "Noe Diaz is a man of great integrity with a strong work ethic. These attributes will be important to his leadership of an organization as large as HPD. Chief Diazs experience as a chief administrator of Katy PD, his work at DPS, his experience as a Texas Ranger, and his experience with public integrity investigations will be assets for HPD as he works to enhance public trust and maintain morale." HPD to be a new challenge for Diaz Jay Coons, a professor at Sam Houston State University who retired from the Harris County Sheriffs Office in 2018, said he was interested to see how Diaz transitions to a big-city police department after spending the bulk of his career in state law enforcement. Advertisement Article continues below this ad HPD is a much different mindset, Coons said. DPS is enforcement-oriented. And, I think, given the current climate, is sort of at odds with the kinder, gentler face city policing is pushing. Municipal police agencies have put a focus on events such as Coffee with a Cop and interacting with the community, whereas state troopers are traffic-oriented, Coons said. But the fact that Diaz spent five years in charge in Katy speaks to the more political instincts he might have for a job like Houstons top officer. To be able to survive as a chief for five years speaks to a political skill, Coons said. Five years is uncommon for a chief, especially in a smaller town. MORE ON DROPPED CASES: Police investigating murders sidelined in suspended cases scandal. Diaz arrives in Houston at a moment of transition. The department recently released a 41-page report detailing the circumstances that gave rise to a code used to suspend more than 264,000 cases citing a lack of personnel. Acting Chief Larry Satterwhite called the scandal a systemic failure of leadership and the department. The report alleged that the code was born out of a 2014 audit, that it spread rapidly through the departments divisions with poor oversight and that an antiquated records management system has stifled efforts to contain it. Advertisement Article continues below this ad While announcing Diazs hire, Whitmire also tabbed Satterwhite to take over as the director of the Mayors Office of Public Safety and Homeland Security. Satterwhite spent 34 years at HPD and was once the departments assistant chief over homeland security issues. Diaz said he would lean on Satterwhites expertise and familiarity with department operations in his first weeks on the job. He declined to speak on the scandal, saying he would leave it to investigators to complete a look into the parties responsible for its spread. He did say the issue might require staffing changes or changes to the granular operations of police work. City officials react to hiring Houston City Council members, too, have their own opinions about Diazs hire. A few who spoke with the Houston Chronicle said the mayor had his own discretion to pick who leads the department, and a few said they didnt know much about Diaz. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Obviously the mayor knows him, and I guess that's what's the most important thing here, said Council Member Amy Peck, who chairs the citys Public Safety Committee. Council Member Tiffany D. Thomas said Diazs resume read as though hed mastered the technical sides of public safety, but she mentioned that Houston had centered on community policing. She also wondered why an internal candidate wasnt considered for the job, adding that the department had talent to choose from, considering the money the city put toward training and professional development for its officers. I am curious how his experience and training stacks up against racially diverse neighborhoods in one of the largest police departments in Texas, Thomas wrote in a text. Council Member Julian Ramirez first crossed paths with Diaz when he worked at the Harris County District Attorneys Office and Diaz was at DPS. He referred to Diaz as honest, smart and savvy. No doubt there will be a learning curve, but he's going to have help, Ramirez said, pointing out that it will be key for Diaz to choose command staff who advise him well. It's not an easy job for anyone, but I believe his personal qualities will help him succeed in that job. Ramirez said the good thing about Diaz coming to lead the department is that he wont have the same baggage as an internal candidate could possibly have as HPD works through the suspended case scandal. WATERLOO Prosecutors say a Waterloo man broke into a co-workers apartment and left behind a sexually charged letter as part of a plot to stir up trouble for her boyfriend. But the plot backfired when a web camera alerted the victims to the burglary, and the intruder was found trying to hide in a closet. Assistant County Attorney Heather Jackson told the court the crime was sexually motivated during opening statements in a bench trial Wednesday for 25-year-old Thomas Robert Connor of Waterloo. He is charged with third-degree burglary and possession of burglary tools. Connors attorney, Ray Walton, said the crime doesnt amount to burglary. This is a strange case, and because its a strange case it doesnt fit with your regular burglary, Walton said. He said Connor has autism and is arguing his diminished capacity made it impossible to form the intent to commit the crime. Louis Rosell, a forensic psychologist who used to be the director of sex offender treatment for the Iowa Department of Corrections, testified for the defense. He said he did not consider the incident sexual in nature. I have difficulty seeing the sexual motivation, Rosell testified. He said Connors condition contributed to his behavior, and he acted without considering the consequences. He noted he quit taking his medication shortly before the incident. He also said the case appears to be an isolated incident. According to testimony at trial, Connor and the woman worked together at a grocery store. She said she was nice to him, but there wasnt a relationship, and she kept her personal life to herself. When she talked to him as part of the job, he wouldnt answer, she said. Her boyfriend, who didnt know Connor, said they had earlier set up Blink security cameras that their Cobblestone Circle apartment because of recent attempted break-ins at neighboring apartments. On the morning of July 11, 2023, the boyfriend was at work when he received an alert from his camera, which showed a video of a hand opening the apartment door. Another camera caught the image of a man in a facemask and sunglasses entering and holding a plastic Target shopping bag. The woman received a similar alert and called police. It took the boyfriend about 12 minutes to arrive at the apartment. He found the intruder in the bedroom, crouching next to an open closet. Armed with a gun, the boyfriend told him to get on the ground. He said the intruder brushed past him in an attempt to escape. He forced him to the floor until police arrived. The boyfriend said he didnt know Connor. Connor told him he was looking for money, and he looked away when the woman arrived, according to testimony. She didnt see his face and didnt realize it was her co-worker until police were leading him away. Officers found a lockpicking device on Connor, according to court records. The woman said she noticed her underwear drawer was open and had been rummaged through, and then about an hour after the police left she noticed the grocery bag with an envelope next to the couch. She and the boyfriend opened it and read the contents. The printed letter purported to be a journal or blog post written by the boyfriend and contained sexual plans to commit against the victims younger minor sisters, records state. The woman said she knew immediately her boyfriend didnt write it. She said the discovery concerned her because she initially thought it was a random crime, but now she knew she had been targeted. It wasnt clear how Connor obtained the womans address and details about her personal life, including the identity of her boyfriend and her sister. The woman said she wasnt active on social media. Connor told police he wrote the letter and planned to plant it to cause problems between the woman and her boyfriend, court records state. Testimony in the trial is scheduled to resume on Monday. Nicole Hensley is a staff writer for the Houston Chronicle. She can be reached at nicole.hensley@houstonchronicle.com. She joined the Chronicle in 2018 from the New York Daily News and after writing for The Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Washington. A native of Seattle, Nicole is a graduate of Washington State University. I have been watching this process take place and as in any sensitive subject you must stay quiet about things like this. At least while they happen. This is really an exchange for innocent children vs actual spies for the west and east and as in any case involving children, thank goodness the children got home. I do not approve and or disapprove either way in this case. Just the children got home to Russia The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) has released a video showing the moment before 16 people released by Moscow to the West were about to fly to Turkiye for the planned exchange. https://www.rt.com/russia/602021-video-biggest-prisoner-swap/ Moscow and Washington have swapped a total of 26 prisoners in the biggest exchange of this type in modern history. According to the FSB, eight Russian nationals held in the US, Germany, Norway, Poland, and Slovenia, and two children returned in exchange for individuals who acted in the interests of foreign states to the detriment of the security of the Russian Federation. And vice versa Putin met the families that had been jailed by the USA WtR Former Houston police officer Gerald Goines speaks to his lawyers Nicole Degrade Hochglaube, left, and Molly Bagshaw before the start of jury selection in his felony murder trial on Monday, July 1, 2024 in Houston. The trial comes more than five years since the no-knock raid that left Dennis Tuttle and his wife, Rhogena Nicholas, dead and five officers wounded in an exchange of gunfire. The veteran officer retired from the department and was charged later that year with felony murder, tampering with a government record and engaging in organized criminal activity. Brett Coomer/Staff photographer A last ditch attempt to move former Houston police officer Gerald Goines trial elsewhere in Texas amid growing concern of an unfair judicial process failed Thursday after lawyers wrapped up about five weeks of jury selection. Goines lawyers argued to move the felony murder trial in September to another county after voicing concerns that too many of the prospective jurors who showed up to court since June 28 knew about the allegations against the former narcotics officer and had formed an opinion. The defense highlighted the accounts of several women who were interviewed at length for the trial. One professed she had researched the case and another said she discussed the case with a co-worker. One juror was so overcome with emotion about the weight of the case that she had to excuse herself because she was crying and had to reach for her inhaler to breathe, Nicole DeBorde Hochglaube, one of Goines defense attorneys, wrote in court filings. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The examples were cited in her motion to dismiss Goines case, with DeBorde Hochglaube also pegging the request to allegations of prosecutorial misconduct. The judge rejected the motion and their request to move the trial and went on Friday to sign a gag order against the district attorneys office and the defense team to prevent extrajudicial statements, court records show. The gag order, similar to what a civil court instilled for the massive Astroworld litigation, does not stop either side from discussing scheduling, the legal process or describing what happens in the public record. In the Astroworld wrongful death cases, the lawyers took the order further and declined to comment on any aspect of the case. Goines legal team aired similar worries in 2023, under a different judge, that the Harris County District Attorneys Office had saturated Houston with Harding Street-related publicity and tainted Goines' case for the jury pool. A spokesperson for District Attorney Kim Oggs office on Friday declined to discuss Goines case or answer questions about jury selection. A court employee said jury selection ended Wednesday. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The tapped jurors, including alternates, will return to court Sept. 9 for the trial. The veteran officer, charged in 2019, is accused of lying to obtain the search warrant used to carry out a drug raid at the Pecan Park home of Dennis Tuttle, 59, and Rhogena Nicholas, 58, who were killed in an exchange of gunfire. The fallout of the raid led to the charge of felony murder and other offenses against Goines, as well as legal precedent declaring him a bad actor who routinely lied in drug cases. Charges against several police officers over an alleged overtime scheme unearthed during the Harding Street raid investigation followed. Judge Veronica Nelson, who took over cases for Goines and others linked to Harding Street after the suspension of another judge, quashed the indictments against those officers in June. Ogg pledged to return their cases to a grand jury, like she did after a similar quashing for one of Goines' charges, but new indictments have not followed. Murray Newman, a lawyer who observed the hearing this week, said Judge Nelson appeared troubled by the district attorneys offices handling of the case but she did not believe a dismissal would be appropriate. The judge outlined why the arduous process of interviewing jurors individually alleviated the need to move the trial, he said. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Newman, a vocal critic of Oggs administration, expressed similar concern about the prosecution. (MUSIC INTRO) [00:00:01] Bob: This week on The Perfect Scam. [00:00:03] Daniel Kenigsberg: He said, "Oh by the way, I see they're building a house next to your old house." So the only place you can build a house next to my old house would have been on my land... This property, the last time I saw it, was like woods, big, big trees, dense woods. You couldn't walk through it. [00:00:18] Bob: Somebody cut down a dozen trees or? [00:00:20] Daniel Kenigsberg: They must have cut down hundreds of trees. (MUSIC SEGUE) [00:00:25] Bob: Welcome back to The Perfect Scam. I'm your host, Bob Sullivan. Maybe you heard the crazy story this spring about Graceland, Elvis's home, being put up for auction largely based on forged loan documents. A last-minute lawsuit put a stop to that but fake documents have been used to buy and sell real property and today's story is an example of that which is just crazy. Daniel grew up in Fairfield, Connecticut, and still owned property there. It was essentially his childhood backyard. But when he went home recently to visit a sick friend, a developer had cleared the land and was halfway through building a luxury home on it. How could something like this happen? And how would this kind of mess ever get untangled? Keep listening. [00:01:16] Bob: I went to Fairfield for college, so I have a lot of affection for Fairfield. [00:01:19] Daniel Kenigsberg: Oh, okay. So you had a Fairfield year? [00:01:21] Bob: I did, I did. [00:01:22] Daniel Kenigsberg: Well when I was a child, I don't know if you know this about Fairfield U, but when I was a child the New York Giants' summer training camp was at Fairfield University, so you could just go over there as a child and see all the New York Giants like Frank Gifford and YA Tittle, and all of those. [00:01:38] Bob: So obviously you went, right? [00:01:39] Daniel Kenigsberg: Yeah, as a kid, sure. [00:01:40] Bob: I think when people think of Fairfield now, they basically think of, it's, you know, kind of like Bronx north, right, it's big, a big part of the New York Metropolitan area, but when you grew up, it wasn't quite like that, right? [00:01:50] Daniel Kenigsberg: Towns like say Greenwich or Stanford or Darien, these I think were kind of like you know, bedroom communities of people who worked in New York City. There weren't that many people out as far as Fairfield, the town of Fairfield, that actually commuted to Manhattan every day. [00:02:13] Bob: Growing up in the 1950s, it's fair to say that Fairfield was fairly rural at the time, and even today you'll spot plenty of stone fences in what some might call the first New England town as you head up the I-95 corridor. [00:02:29] Daniel Kenigsberg: I actually moved into this home on my first birthday. [00:02:32] Bob: Um, so you lived there until you were how old? [00:02:34] Daniel Kenigsberg: I lived there until I went to uh college. [00:02:38] Bob: When his dad bought the place, it was actually two lots with plenty of space. Daniel lived in a house on one lot and the vacant lot next door was a wooded playground. [00:02:50] Daniel Kenigsberg: This whole area in 1953 was kind of undeveloped. The, this is obviously a postwar America and there were a lot of people who were young professionals, who were young business people who were starting out and starting their families in the area, and one thing about not only the town of Fairfield, but Fairfield County, is that it was somewhat restricted as to where people could live based on their religion or ethnicity. But for a lot of Jewish professionals, like my father who was a physician, he wanted to live in Fairfield and this particular plot of land was a farm and kind of a combination of a farm and an orchard, which had been in operation since 1716 believe it or not. [00:03:41] Bob: Wow. [00:03:41] Daniel Kenigsberg: That's 1-7-1-6. It belonged to the Parmlee family. And their house, that house from 1716 was kind of in our backyard, and is still there, and the Parmlee's were selling their land in the early 1950s real estate developers, and so here was a totally new uh neighborhood that was going to arise and so most of the people who were buying and building houses there were kind of Jewish professionals, be they, you know, uh, physicians or, again, business people, or there were some people on my block who were engineers. Um, uh but the neighborhood was way, way more than 50% Jewish, that's kind of the sociology of it because there were, you know there were other neighborhoods in Fairfield, Connecticut, that wouldn't sell you a house. It affected why they bought in that part of Fairfield and it also I think led to you know a lot of cohesion in that neighborhood because the majority of the fathers had served in the second World War. I was actually just thinking about this because it's almost June 6th, which is D-Day, and like you know my father went over on the third day of D-Day and you know, but that wasn't, that was pretty typical. You know almost all the fathers were veterans of the second World War. And they were all having children at about the same time, so I had this big cohort of children and many of us uh were also uh you know going through the same synagogues and uh uh, you know, obviously grammar schools, and so there was a lot of cohesion in this neighborhood and indeed, you know, a lot of people I grew up with still kind of live around there. [00:05:23] Bob: So it should be clear why that property means so much to Daniel. [00:05:29] Daniel Kenigsberg: Running around the neighborhood, going in and out of other people's houses, uh, everybody you know the dogs, dogs not being on leash, you know if you had a pet, the pet would be running all over the neighborhood with the children and yeah, it was very idyllic. [00:05:43] Bob: Of course. You know it's not just a piece of land, right? [00:05:46] Daniel Kenigsberg: Yeah, it's, it's funny. I mean this, this has really come kind of roaring back because you know I just also had my 50th college reunion and it's kind of strange to me that it's been much more emotional for me to, to see people that I was with when I was say between the ages of 5 and 10 than to see people I was with between the ages of 18 and 22. So it's a very different relationship. [00:06:11] Bob: I mean your friends who were, when you're 5 and 6, that's your whole life. [00:06:15] Daniel Kenigsberg: Yeah. [00:06:17] Bob: Daniel now lives on Long Island where he enjoys a really successful medical career. Long Island isn't far from Fairfield as the crow flies, or as the ferry sails, but it's a world apart in the New York Metro area. The family finally sold their childhood home a few years ago when Daniel's brother died, but Daniel decided to hold onto the vacant woodland next door. He planned to give the land to his children someday, so he pays his property taxes on the land once a year, but otherwise doesn't think much about it until an old childhood friend calls one day. [00:06:54] Daniel Kenigsberg: The call is about another childhood friend, also in the neighborhood, who was in hospice. So this is a friend who uh, you know had advanced cancer and he thought I might want to know that, I might want to say goodbye to him. And so in informing me about this he just said, you know, he's somebody who still lives locally, he said, "Oh by the way, I see they're building a house next to your old house." So the only place you can build a house next to my old house would have been on my land. [00:07:27] Bob: They're building a house next to your old house? How could that possibly be? Daniel hasn't sold the land. There must be some mistake. A big one. But Daniel is fairly certain it's not his friend making the mistake. [00:07:42] Bob: So this friend says they're building a house on what you know to be your land. Do you think, oh, he's got to be mistaken, doesn't remember where I was, what do you think? [00:07:50] Daniel Kenigsberg: Oh no, I, I, he's a reliable person and this is our, our neighborhood, and there's only one lot where anybody could ever build a house. And so I believed him. [00:08:02] Bob: Yeah, I cannot imagine someone saying, "You know that land you have, there's a house going up on it." What is that like? [00:08:08] Daniel Kenigsberg: Well, it's, it's surprising. [00:08:11] Bob: Daniel has to go see this for himself, and he doesn't have to wait long. [00:08:16] Bob: Um, do you, do you rush to the property to go see it? When was the first time you saw the property in its development? [00:08:21] Daniel Kenigsberg: Well, it was actually the same day because I remember it was a Wednesday, and it turns out the hospice is only, I mean it's maybe a quarter of a mile from my house. And there's a ferry that runs across Long Island Sound from Port Jefferson, which is near here to Bridgeport, which is next to Fairfield. So uh when I get done with work that day, I took the ferry to Connecticut and I went to hospice to see my friend, and then I went around the corner to see this, you know, this house under construction. [00:08:52] Bob: And what was that like? [00:08:53] Daniel Kenigsberg: Well, it's, again it's a little shocking to see it in reality. [00:09:00] Bob: Daniel, a doctor, has a bit of a gift for understatement even in the face of very bad news. But he's shocked, particularly by what's happened to that beautiful, wooded lot from his childhood. [00:09:13] Daniel Kenigsberg: This property, the last time I saw it, was like woods, big, big trees, dense woods. You couldn't walk through it; it was really dense woods and you know it was completely scorched earth. They, they completely tore, tore it down. [00:09:26] Bob: Ah, somebody cut down a dozen trees or...? [00:09:27] Daniel Kenigsberg: Oh, not a dozen trees, they must have cut down hundreds of trees. I mean... [00:09:30] Bob: Oh my God! [00:09:31] Daniel Kenigsberg: You know, if you can imagine, it's a half an acre of growth that in 1953 was kind of like a field, but in that part of the country it just grows into woods, so you, you know, in 50 years you can grow, well it's more than 50 years, 70 years, you can grow woods, and so that's what it is. Or was. [00:09:50] Bob: Wow. [00:09:50] Daniel Kenigsberg: And you know and they didn't try to save any, you know it's not like they tried to like save some of these trees for, you know, the property, the landscaping, they just did scorched earth. [00:10:00] Bob: You had spent your childhood playing in these trees, right? [00:10:03] Daniel Kenigsberg: Well, actually, when I was a young child, it was really more like a field, you know with high grass and small trees. There, on one edge of it, one edge of it there was still an apple tree, but there were, from when it was an orchard, but it still had apples on it, and I had a tree fort in that tree. But... [00:10:20] Bob: You had a tree fort in the apple tree. [00:10:21] Daniel Kenigsberg: Yeah. [00:10:22] Bob: It's jaw-dropping to see a home being built where his old tree fort was. On land he owns. And remember, Daniel has a lot to digest that day. [00:10:34] Bob: I just want to make sure people understand, this is a, a hard day for you. You, you went to go visit your friend, to say good-bye to a childhood friend, then you see this. That sounds, that's a lot to deal with in one afternoon. [00:10:44] Daniel Kenigsberg: Yeah, it, it is, although, you know, again, I'm a physician, so there's a lot of emotion involved in what I do day-to-day, so. [00:10:54] Bob: Daniel takes the ferry back to Long Island that night, and he's already started to make a plan. [00:11:00] Daniel Kenigsberg: Well, I did have a lawyer that I knew in Fairfield because my, my parents had set up estate planning, and they had an estates and trust lawyer, and then I had to deal with that lawyer when my mother died. And then I had to deal with that lawyer again when my brother died, and then when my second brother died. So the only lawyer I had in Fairfield, Connecticut, was an estates and trust lawyer, and fortunately she's still in practice. So I called her up and I said, "This just happened, and who should I go to," and, and she actually, I'm going to say it's quite remarkable. Within an hour or two she had figured the whole thing out by just, you know, just kind of calling other lawyers and looking at some town records, and uh got back to me with pretty much what happened. [00:11:51] Bob: And what did she say? [00:11:53] Daniel Kenigsberg: Well, she said that a lawyer had done a power of attorney, on my behalf, but not on my behalf. And uh had sold this land to a uh builder, and the builder was, you know, was building a house thinking that I had sold the land. [00:12:12] Bob: Someone pretended to be you and sold the property. [00:12:14] Daniel Kenigsberg: Right. [00:12:17] Bob: Somehow a criminal faked his identity and persuaded a real estate agent and a developer and who knows who else that the land was for sale. And closed the sale and got the money. And the developer got the necessary permits and razed all the trees on the land. So the fight begins. [00:12:42] Bob: I, I'm guessing there were lots of conversations between lawyers and builders. [00:12:46] Daniel Kenigsberg: Yeah, well we hired lawyers and we had to uh basically um, I'm forgetting what the term is, but you have to you know contest the title to this property. So that was done. And then you had to stop the construction, you know then you have to establish that this is really my land and that whatever is going on on my land is a matter of trespassing. You know I must say the builder didn't really have any means to kind of contest that because it, you know it was what it was. [00:13:24] Bob: And stopped construction pretty quickly, right? [00:13:26] Daniel Kenigsberg: Yeah, yeah. [00:13:27] Bob: So with--, I mean within a week? Within a month? How quickly was that construction stopped? [00:13:30] Daniel Kenigsberg: Oh it was within a week. [00:13:31] Bob: Okay. [00:13:32] Daniel Kenigsberg: Yeah. [00:13:32] Bob: The fake seller apparently used a fraudulent passport to convince everyone in the process he had the right to sell the land and the price was well below market value, a price the builder was willing to pay. [00:13:47] Daniel Kenigsberg: One of the interesting for lack of better words or outrageous things about this is that since one of my brothers died I, up until 2009, this land was owned 50/50 between my brother Bernie and me. And then when my brother Bernie died, it became 100% owned by me. So since 2009, the tax bill would come to me, and I live in the same address now that I lived in 2009, and so every June I'd get a tax bill from the town of Fairfield, and I, you know, just paid the property tax and you know I didn't think about it very much. You know like I could pay it you know quarterly, but I would just pay the whole year at once, once a year. I guess because, you know, I'm the sole owner of that land and I'm pretty easy to find, you know, every year or so you know once or twice a year I get a call or a letter from somebody saying, do you want to sell your land? The answer is no, but people were finding me, you know if you, if you had just gone to town hall and said, you know, who owns this property, it would be my name and my address. So real easy to find me, so the fact that the people involved in these transactions never did that is, it's really quite unbelievable. But that's, I guess what happened. [00:15:13] Bob: So Daniel has fairly easily established ownership and asserted his rights, but now he has to somehow figure out how the heck to undo all that damage. [00:15:26] Bob: So the immediate bleeding has been stopped, I suppose you might say, um, but as you start to figure out, okay, how do we make this right? How do you put back 70 years' worth of tree growth? [00:15:36] Daniel Kenigsberg: Well you know you, you have a basic question which is what is the outcome that you want is the outcome that, at this point in time, you'd just like to sell this land which you aren't using except for maybe emotional purposes or do you want the house torn down and do you want the land restored. And you know, our position was, I wasn't selling this land. I refused several offers to sell this land. And so you can, you know, tear down the house and restore the land. And that was the basis of the lawsuit that was filed. [00:16:11] Bob: And, and restoring the land I'm, I'm guessing meant planting a whole bunch of saplings, doing some other things to at least approximate what it was, right? [00:16:19] Daniel Kenigsberg: Right. And that would be something that would have to be monitored over a period of years because you know, that, that was the lawsuit. [00:16:28] Bob: In the end, there is no reasonable way to set things back the way they were. Months go by. Local news is fascinated by the story which seems to have no happy ending possible. So eventually, Daniel agrees to the best solution he can find. [00:16:45] Daniel Kenigsberg: I mean if I wanted to go through several years of, you know, litigation in federal court, there is probably no doubt that I could still own this property. You know, and then I guess I should jump ahead to tell you that this ultimately has resulted in a settlement, and the, the terms of the settlement are confidential, so I'm not allowed to disclose any of that, and it's also part of the settlement which is non-disparagement. So I'm not supposed to say anything bad about anybody. [00:17:19] Bob: Am I allowed to ask, you don't own the property though, right? [00:17:21] Daniel Kenigsberg: I no longer own the property. [00:17:23] Bob: Um, and I'm sure you're glad to have this behind you in some form, but also this sounds like it's a little bittersweet. [00:17:30] Daniel Kenigsberg: Well it's, it's what's known as a forced sale. [00:17:32] Bob: What is a forced sale? [00:17:34] Daniel Kenigsberg: Well, if you're going to make a settlement with all the parties involved, you have to give up the property that you didn't want to sell to begin with. I think the best example might be something like say eminent domain, like say they want to build a highway through your property and you know they can't build that highway unless it goes exactly through your property, and even though you don't want to sell your property, you know, at some point government can force you to do that because they have what's known as eminent domain. So that's forced sale. [00:18:05] Bob: Daniel is trying his best to be philosophical about it all, but... [00:18:09] Bob: I can't help but wonder listening to you, did anyone help you along the way? Was there a city official who came out and said, oh, I cant believe this happened, or a neighbor who said, you know what can I do... I mean did you, did you get help from anybody as you were figuring this out? [00:18:24] Daniel Kenigsberg: Well that's another part of the story which, which I think is somewhat important to your audience, okay? That I think the two take on messages are number one, even though you have a lot of people who have licenses who are supposed to know what they're doing and they're supposed to do a certain amount of care and due diligence, be they real estate brokers, be they lawyers, be they title companies, okay, that may not happen. And then the second part of this is that if this happens, is the town concerned? Is law enforcement concerned? And say the answer is, no. I mean it's not that I have, I want vengeance or I have a vendetta towards this fraudster wherever this person is in the world who said they were me and got a lot of money or my land that they didn't own, but if this isn't solved by law enforcement, then why isn't this person going to do it again and again? Right? [00:19:25] Bob: Of course. The fact that somebody would get permits, pile up a bunch of wood, start construction on a piece of property without double-checking is, is a, otherworldly in my head, that's just shock... [00:19:35] Daniel Kenigsberg: Not, not even, well, they didn't even single check. [00:19:39] Bob: (laugh) I don't mean to laugh, but yeah. [00:19:42] Daniel Kenigsberg: I don't know if that's a phrase, but they just did... [00:19:43] Bob: That's a great phrase. [00:19:44] Daniel Kenigsberg: They just didn't, plain didn't check. [00:19:46] Bob: Yeah, yeah. [00:19:47] Daniel Kenigsberg: Just imagine hundreds of thousands of dollars are wired from this builder who was buying the property to some fraudster who is selling the property. Why can't law enforcement track down where the money went and get to the person who received that money? Okay, to my knowledge, this has not been done. And... [00:20:08] Bob: This is $330,000. Do I have that right? [00:20:10] Daniel Kenigsberg: Yeah, it was actually, I don't know, it was $350,000. I think a small portion of it was held back for some reason, but somewhere in the $300,000 range the money is, you know, goes from one bank to another bank, okay. Well at the other bank, somebody's on the receiving end of that money. Who is it? Okay? I mean wouldn't that be the suspect? Right? I mean I'm not a, all I know about law enforcement is what I see on, you know, television and movies, but isn't that how it works? And again, if somebody gets away with it, they're just going to do it again and again. In fact, the, the person who lives next door in the actual house that I grew up in, is actually the person who, who bought that house from, my brother lived in that house when he died. And so she bought that house from my brother's estate, and although I've actually never physically met this person, I've had this kind of virtual relationship with her since I think 2011 when she bought the house. You know she'd read something, you know, in the local paper that pertains to me. She sends me an email or at one point a tree fell off my property into a neighbor's property and you know she relayed that to me, so I could let them, you know, chop down the tree. And you know, she wanted to put like "No Dumping" signs on the property. Anyway, I've been in regular touch with the person who's right next door. So that's, that's somebody else who would have been easy to say, you know, oh Dan, you know, here's his email, here's his phone number. So it's, it's not that I'm not hard to find. [00:21:45] Bob: And yet, the system let him down. [00:21:49] Daniel Kenigsberg: I think that you know we exist in a very mature society where we don't think that something like that could ever happen because all of these layers of, you know, government and, you know, bureaucracy that would prevent something like this happening. In other words, if you're, you know, if you're going to develop land, you're going to have to prove that you own the land, you're going to have to have a deed, presumably uh the town or city where that property is is going to have to be complicit with that. Uh, there have to be, whenever transactions occur, there are usually like lawyers involved and real estate agents involved, and all of those people are supposed to... [00:22:29] Bob: Fees and permits, right? [00:22:30] Daniel Kenigsberg: You know, they're supposed to confirm that what they're dealing with is in fact eligible to be, I don't know, for lack of a better word, manipulated, okay? It's kind of, you know, you... I didn't doubt that it happened, but it was like amazing to me. How could this have happened? [00:22:51] Bob: Still, Daniel maintains an admirable detachment from the madness of this situation. [00:22:57] Daniel Kenigsberg: Fortunately, it wasn't something that was going to you know threaten my health or threaten my family or threaten my career. It was just something, you know, very odd and rather big and very interesting to me. [00:23:10] Bob: You have a sense, a certain aura of detachment about it which is, I appreciate. [00:23:14] Daniel Kenigsberg: Yeah, I mean on the one hand it's something that I do have an emotional connection to if I, if I drive up Sky Top Drive in Fairfield, Connecticut, there is all kind of impulses that go through me, but on the other hand, the mechanics of this are really pretty interesting. [00:23:30] Bob: And so interesting is one word. I bet you've used a few other words along the way for it. [00:23:34] Daniel Kenigsberg: Yeah. [00:23:35] Bob: And I know this is sort of an impossible questions, but okay, so you are talking to that listener right now. Is there anything that listener should be doing? [00:23:43] Daniel Kenigsberg: I don't think you can assume that something like this won't happen. I think that you, you probably need somebody to check on what you own from time to time and make sure nothing's happening to it. [00:23:56] Bob: We started out talking about Fairfield as a very small village where everybody knew everybody, everybody's dogs played in each other's yards and so something like this couldn't happen in that world. But in the modern world where all this stuff happens, uh, automagically, uh I think we're much more vulnerable to this kind of thing. What, what do you think? [00:24:13] Daniel Kenigsberg: Well I certainly think now that we have not just a lot more virtual interactions with each other, but even now where you can have like deep fakes and AI, yeah, I think it's, something like this can only get worse. But on, on basic things like say the ownership of land, you know there are documents in places where these documents reside, I think the, maybe the thing we're really going to have to worry about some day is around personal identity. I mean you know, are we all going to have to get like retina scans or, uh or some sort of bio, biomorphic proof of who we are? I don't know. [00:24:54] Bob: Hmm. [00:24:55] Daniel Kenigsberg: But it's, it's an important issue for, you know, living in a society. It's an important issue for governing a society, but hopefully, smart people can figure out how to do it. [00:25:06] Bob: Land rights are pretty fundamental to the order of things here. So if it's this fragile, that's pretty alarming. [00:25:14] Daniel Kenigsberg: Yeah. [00:25:14] Bob: People are going to want to know and whatever you can say given your non-disparagement clause, how do you feel about this today? How, how, how are you about this? [00:25:23] Daniel Kenigsberg: I must admit that even though I haven't lived there since I went to college, I've always been kind of a, a chauvinist about the state of Connecticut. It's, you know, is I think maybe the most highly educated state in the country, certainly one of them. Fairfield County is one of the wealthiest, most educated counties in the country. I uh, I've always thought that this is a very kind of a developed part of the United States. People I know there who are professionals, you know, people who practice medicine there tend to be, you know, very good doctors. I think uh, the legal system there, in my experience, has worked like pretty darn well. And you know this is kind of disillusioned because there have been a whole bunch of people who, in this whole chain of events, kind of fell down on the job. So kind of disillusioned me about my home state, but you know, again, it's not the fault of Connecticut, it's probably something that's much more endemic in our greater society. [00:26:22] Bob: But I could see this being really troubling if something, 'cause if I were you, my brain would be searching to other places in my life where a system I assumed would protect me, won't protect me, and what, what could that mean? [00:26:33] Daniel Kenigsberg: Well you can, you can get to a pretty dark place. [00:26:37] Bob: That's why Daniel is anxious to talk about what happened to him. He wants this problem to be solved so no one else has to go through what he did. [00:26:47] Daniel Kenigsberg: No, really as, as I've thought about it, it's really those two things. Number one, that, that this can happen. Number two, I think it's the responsibility of government and specifically law enforcement to make sure that this doesn't happen, and if it does happen, to prevent it from happening again. [00:27:07] Bob: Hopefully some good comes out of you sharing your story. Maybe the right person hears it and decides it, to fix this problem. [00:27:14] Bob: Imagine, your childhood property sold, a home built on it without your knowledge. I know Daniel's story sounds crazy, but fraud around home and property sales like this isn't all that unusual. We've covered something often called mortgage wire fraud on The Perfect Scam before in which criminals impersonate people involved in real estate transactions and redirect wire payments so they can steal the money. According to one survey, fully half of realtors report someone has tried to impersonate them. So to talk about all these kinds of frauds and how to protect yourself, we have Diane Tomb on the podcast again today. She is the CEO of the American Land Title Association. [00:28:00] Diane Tomb: We are the trade association that represents the title insurance industry, which is a pretty wide group of individuals. We represent every single county. We have a member in every nick and cranny of this great country of ours. So every county in the country, we have somebody represented there. And we represent both the folks who underwrite the insurance that goes with, you know, the biggest purchase most people make in their, their lives, their home, as well as the agents that help close at the closing table and make sure everything is in order, and sort of really protect the integrity of the whole process. [00:28:36] Bob: Okay, so, you know, just to review, you were on not that long ago with us, and in that case, like I'm making up this term, but it was essentially realtor impersonation that was happening. People in the middle of a sale would get an email that looked like it was from their realtor so they would end up wiring money to a criminal. This is something else. This is seller impersonation, right? [00:28:53] Diane Tomb: Right, so the one that when we spoke a few years back, Bob, we actually refer to it as wire transfer fraud. But you're right, it's what, that's what the fraudsters do. They actually do impersonate a realtor or anyone in the transaction, they sort of follow the deal and they sit there and wait until the money gets transferred. At the 11th hour they'll send an email and give you the wrong number and have it transferred you know somewhere offshore or to another country where they can access it. So and that is something that has continued to increase because of technology and others, wire transfer fraud, but we're seeing even additional types of fraud, which is what we're talking about today, which is the seller impersonation. [00:29:34] Bob: So wire transfer fraud is still happening. In fact, it happened to a friend of one of my family members recently. The news isn't all bad though. [00:29:43] Diane Tomb: The good news is today people are more aware of it, because it was about three years ago during the pandemic, you know people were just starting to use technology more in this capacity, but now, you know, folks know what to look for most times, but to your point, sometimes it happens late on a Friday, they time these things when, you know that money's gone before they're able to recover it. [00:30:01] Bob: And it's on the rise? It's as bad as it was then? Is it not as bad as it was then? [00:30:06] Diane Tomb: It's continuing, but we're able to recover the money quicker, and people are more aware of it, but it's still something folks need to be looking for. [00:30:14] Bob: But impersonating a seller and selling a property that's not really for sale, well that's not as common, but it is happening. As I mentioned at the beginning of this episode, it almost happened to Graceland. Diane explains. [00:30:31] Diane Tomb: Graceland is, you know, Elvis Presley's home, and it is a national historic landmark, and when Lisa, Lisa Marie who was Elvis Presley's daughter, passed away last year, she left the home to her daughter, and she, a fraudulent company said that Lisa Marie had used it as collateral for like a multimillion dollar loan. And as a result, they were coming to sort of you know come back and get paid that money that they are owed, that they were going to put the house up for auction. And luckily, the granddaughter who now owns the home was able to sort of get a judge to put it, a stop to it. So they could uh recapture the actual home. So it did not move forward. But what was, there's so many things that were unusual about that particular situation, but mostly the fraudsters tend to stay away from those sort of high profile ones like that, because it's, you know, obviously it's going to draw attention and you know there are, there are people who understand how it works will be more likely to ask more questions. And that's what happened in this case, but it is, you know, for us it helps us sort of get it on people's radar screen, that this, this is really happening out there and you really need to be aware of it. [00:31:38] Bob: So Graceland was saved only days before it was put up for auction which seems incredible to me. Obviously, that was a high-profile sale, so that helped. Not so with Daniel's fraudulent sale or with others. [00:31:54] Bob: And when we say seller impersonation, that means a person pretends they have a piece of property to sell, and in my head, that seems utterly impossible. How can this be? [00:32:03] Diane Tomb: Right? So they actually oftentimes they use the real property owner's Social Security number. They get their driver's license number, and they actually have folks who will, who will help develop these notary credentials that look legitimate and they won't know. I think what makes this unique is oftentimes the uh seller, the one who's impersonating, is looking to do an all-cash deal or they want to offer this property at a much lower cost than what it really is worth. There's usually some red flags that, you know, folks need to be really savvy to, to be able to sort of anticipate that this might, there might be something wrong with this. [00:32:42] Bob: Daniel's situation was obviously emotional for him, but others lost out too. [00:32:49] Bob: And here there's one more thing that you said that I want to go back to um, which is there are victims, you know, all over the place. In this crime in Connecticut, the property was, you know, was a beautiful, wooded property. The buyer, who didn't know any different bought it, cleared it, half built a house on it. So you know the buyer was clearly a victim. The, the owner was clearly a victim. There's basically no way to make, to undo all of that, so sort of like the neighborhood, the earth was a victim too. It's a really, really messy crime. [00:33:16] Diane Tomb: Yeah, and it's very, as you know, very emotional to people because a lot of times like, you know, properties like that have been passed down through the family as well, right? So there's that piece that seems to be, you know like very violating for people. [00:33:28] Bob: What's more personal and, and more sentimental than a piece of property. [00:33:32] Diane Tomb: Right, your home, right? A place where your memories with the, your loved ones. [00:33:36] Bob: Yeah, he had put a treehouse, he had picked apples from the trees that were in that property, and he had planned, planned to give it to his kids, so. [00:33:43] Diane Tomb: Right, yeah. No, and you know we, we hear these stories and again, like the wire fraud that we talked about before, these are people's, you know that down payment is like their life savings, right? And this is the biggest purchase they're ever going to make and sometimes that's just gone quickly. [00:33:58] Bob: Okay, so I'm guessing that it's really typical that these pieces of property have no mortgage on them, so there's not a, a bank to sort of interfere with the criminal's proceedings, right? [00:34:07] Diane Tomb: I some cases, yes, but not always. You know, in places that does exist, and like I said, if they've got the, you know if they've been able to get the uh real property owner's Social Security number and driver's license, you know, and those types of things, they can get away with this. [00:34:21] Bob: What are the red flag that a crime like this might be happening? [00:34:25] Diane Tomb: You know, as I said, you know one of the things we like to say in our business, uh from romance to real estate; if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. And that's something I think we need to apply to all aspects of our life, right? But when it comes to this particular type of fraud that we're seeing a lot of, you know if a property is vacant or occupied by someone other than the owner, it's usually it's an investment property, vacation or rental. They're the ones that these fraudsters--, the fraudsters tend to sort of focus on. Today, particularly, you know, certain types of properties have a lot of equity in them, and that's what they're looking to sort of prey on, and a lot of times there's, there are folks, you know, this audience is more likely, because they tend to have, you know, maybe one or more property that they don't always see regularly or, or check in on. As I mentioned before, the property is for sale or sold below market value, the seller wants a quick sale, usually in less than three weeks and they don't want to negotiate on the fees, they're looking for a cash buyer, and this one is, you know, in today's world it doesn't seem as odd, but it's really, really important; oftentimes they'll only communicate by phone or email, and they don't want to meet via video call, or definitely not in person. [00:35:37] Bob: That's interesting. So requiring a video call, while I'm sure not perfect, is a protection. [00:35:43] Diane Tomb: Yeah, absolutely. And you know, today we also encourage people to look them up on social media, you know, to see if they're legit, because most folks who are selling property or you know are working with a realtor would, would be, you know, represented in that way. [00:35:56] Bob: Have some kind of footprint out there in the world. [00:35:58] Diane Tomb: Correct. [00:36:00] Bob: As a property owner, it's also worth getting to know a little bit more about your county which is probably the part of government that maintains property records where you live. [00:36:11] Diane Tomb: You know, as you know real estate is local, right? So um, everywhere we go, we have to make sure we, one of the biggest process, one of the most important pieces of the whole process is the records, the county records of the actual property. And that's a piece of what the title insurance agent needs to do to be able to make a suc--, successful transfer of property. [00:36:32] Bob: You know I'm going to stick up for regular people here who do this you know maybe only once in their lives or a couple of times in their life. And somewhere in my head, I know there's a government record about my property, but I wouldn't necessarily think it's at the county office or what county office that would be. Can you help me understand that a little bit better? [00:36:49] Diane Tomb: Yeah, no, that's a great question, and you're right. I mean it's a very daunting process. Any type of land transfer, but buying a home for most people, they don't, you know, they maybe they do it once, maybe twice if they're lucky. So there's a lot of moving pieces and um, the actual um, the most important piece, one of the most important piece is the actual property itself, and of course, the home on it, but in some cases, you know, people inherit land and other things. And so every county in the country keeps records of all of the property, and it's a public service that the local county does. [00:37:25] Bob: And there is another public service your county office probably provides which might be the single best way to protect yourself from having property sold without your knowledge. And it's free. [00:37:37] Diane Tomb: So one of the most important things that you can do is go to your county recorder's office, and many of them offer complimentary property alert notifications. So any time anything has been done related to your property, you will get a notice. So if someone tried to, you know, open it up or if there was some, something related to it. So when any document is filed to it pertaining to your property, you will get a notice. [00:38:04] Bob: You know what, I love this suggestion because I do think I, I wish people took advantage of these little government services much more than they did. I think they would like government more frankly and realize it actually serves a purpose. So you can call your county recorder--, is it, would it normally be the county recorder's office? [00:38:18] Diane Tomb: It would be. The county recorder's office, and I can tell you I, my, myself, one of my colleagues here told me about it a couple years back, and so every month I get a little update that says, you know, everything's fine. Nothing has been done. So every county has a different approach how they do it, but it's free. You get, you know, monthly updates and it's worth, you know, everybody's time and effort, particularly again, because if it's not the home you live in, it's a very large asset that you want to make sure that you're protecting. [00:38:47] Bob: That makes a ton of sense to me. Great. I, I love giving people specifics, the actions they can take to help themselves. [00:38:53] Bob: And on the other side, if you are someone who might be buying property, there are things you can do also. [00:39:00] Diane Tomb: First and foremost, you know, always ask questions, right? If any part of the process seems out of the ordinary and to your point, anybody in the transition, in the transaction should know that, right, ask the real estate agent if they have a personal or a verified knowledge of the seller's identity, like if the seller doesn't want to be seen. [00:39:18] Bob: What else can consumers do? [00:39:21] Diane Tomb: Yeah, well I think always, always make sure you're, you know, aware of what's going on in your, in your properties and what's happening. And in, in this case, as you know, there's really two victims, right? There's the unsuspecting buyer, like they're not, they're assuming the proper--, right? Why wouldn't they? And then there's the actual legitimate property owner and you know making sure that the emails, texts that are coming through, and all of those things that, that they're really legit. And I think there's always you know that, that trust your instinct. I think as humans, you know, we talked about that part earlier. If something seems off, it probably is off, and doing something about it. And I think one of the most important things if you do become a victim, is not to wait, like the quicker you move, the better, because they're more likely to track down, you know, again, because most of these financial institutions are aware, they can't do anything until the transaction actually happens. But now that they're aware and they're looking for these types of fraud, that there, things can be stopped, but only if you move quickly. [00:40:18] Bob: Government agencies or companies involved in real estate transactions, should they be doing anything else? [00:40:25] Diane Tomb: Yeah, I mean I think the most important thing that we're all trying to do. I know we're going to try to do it, we work very closely with you know the federal level, the consumer federal protection board and others is educate folks and make people be just really good, informed consumers. We have a bunch of one-pagers that we put together that will combat this and give people sort of like a one-pager of what to look for. We work very closely with organizations like AARP and the National Center for Law Center, and other third-party groups that can educate individuals and to know what's happening out there and prevent it. You know that's the most important thing. But you know then there's the back end of it, right? Once it happens, make sure you contact your local and state law enforcement, also the FBI gets involved, and the state attorney generals are the ones that we're also working with at that level to make them aware of these um, so they can put out alerts to make sure that folks are looking for these types of things. So there's lots of different layers to this, but it's really important that we all work together to sort of identify them. And I think in our case, our, our members tend to be on the front line because they start to see this stuff first, and that they start to work really closely with the state and local officials to make them aware of it. So that's something that we take on as sort of an additional role, but obviously it's something that needs to be done and since we have access to that information, that's something that we do. [00:41:45] Bob: I know technology has helped in a lot of ways, it's made, you know my most recent closing, which was maybe 10 years ago, was way easier than the one 25 years ago, uh so that part's good. But technology's also opened a lot of these doors for criminals, right? [00:41:58] Diane Tomb: Yeah, it did. You know, we're working really hard to with, even with the federal government and others to do things like when you transfer money that there's, you know there's no intermediaries involved, um, so it's like um, you know a quick, so to your point and, and the pandemic did accelerate a lot of that, being able to have these transactions done um, in a way where there's real time, so there's no, you know, you don't have to go through the bank, right, and so then you don't worry about those frauds, you know it will, it will bring the, the fraudsters opportunity to get involved, to make it less and less likely. So there are all kinds of things that we're moving forward, it's just not going, it's not quick enough, and you know what we see are these fraudsters just tend to be two steps ahead, right? Once, you know, we catch up to them in one area, they're moving on to some other area. [00:42:42] Bob: Once we catch up to the criminals, they're already moving on to some other area. Well we here at The Perfect Scam will be right there with them. One last thing, if you want to learn more about this kind of property crime, you can visit the American Land Title Association website at alta.org. That's a-l-t-a.org. For The Perfect Scam, I'm Bob Sullivan. (MUSIC OUTRO) [00:43:14] Bob: If you have been targeted by a scam or fraud, you are not alone. Call the AARP Fraud Watch Network Helpline at 877-908-3360. Their trained fraud specialists can provide you with free support and guidance on what to do next. Our email address at The Perfect Scam is: theperfectscampodcast@aarp.org, and we want to hear from you. If you've been the victim of a scam or you know someone who has, and you'd like us to tell their story, write to us. That address again is: theperfectscampodcast@aarp.org. Thank you to our team of scambusters; Associate Producer, Annalea Embree; Researcher, Becky Dodson; Executive Producer, Julie Getz; and our Audio Engineer and Sound Designer, Julio Gonzalez. Be sure to find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. For AARP's The Perfect Scam, I'm Bob Sullivan. END OF TRANSCRIPT Katy Police Department Chief Noe Diaz poses for a photograph before a city council meeting Monday, July 22, 2024 at Katy City Hall in Katy. Yi-Chin Lee/Staff photographer Katy Police Department Chief Noe Diaz talks to a resident while the city council members were having a closed meeting Monday, July 22, 2024 at Katy City Hall in Katy. Yi-Chin Lee/Staff photographer Katy Police Department Chief Noe Diaz talks to a resident while the city council members were having a closed meeting Monday, July 22, 2024 at Katy City Hall in Katy. Yi-Chin Lee/Staff photographer Katy Police Department Chief Noe Diaz, center, is photographed taking the the Pledge of Allegiance to the U.S. flag during the city council meeting Monday, July 22, 2024 at Katy City Hall in Katy. Yi-Chin Lee/Staff photographer Katy Police Department Chief Noe Diaz, left, greets Katy Mayor Pro Tem Chris Harris, center, and a resident before the city council meeting Monday, July 22, 2024 at Katy City Hall in Katy. Yi-Chin Lee/Staff photographer Months of searching for Houstons next full-time police chief ended with Mayor John Whitmire naming J. Noe Diaz, leader of the less than 100-person Katy Police Department, as Troy Finners replacement in charge of the nations fourth-largest citys law enforcement agency. Chief Diaz brings a wealth of experience and a proven track record of service and dedication to his new role, Whitmire said Thursday in a letter to City Council members, who must vote on appointing the next chief. The mayor praised Diazs work with the Narcotics Division of the State Police, where he was stationed in Houston. In that time, he worked with the Harris County Organized Crime Task Force, Houston police, the Drug Enforcement Agency and the FBI. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Diaz was appointed as a Texas Ranger in 2008, serving in Rio Grande City before returning to Houston. As a Ranger, he spent over a decade working on what the mayor called high-profile public corruption investigations. Diaz will now step into to run one of the largest police departments in the country, one reeling from a recent scandal that involved more than 260,000 dropped cases that toppled the former chief. The department has a budget of more than $1 billion, a staff of 6,288 and a dire need to replenish the ranks of police officers after a wave of retirements and resignations. The comments Ive gotten are that hes a fair, even-handed guy, Mike Knox, a retired Houston Police Department officer and a Republican candidate for Harris County sheriff, said of conversations hes had with Katy police officers. Hes not too political hell just follow the law and do his job. Diaz did not respond to multiple requests for comment before the announcement. Katys city administrator didnt immediately respond to a request for comment. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Gregory Fremin, a retired Houston Police Department captain and a professor at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, said it is common for a new mayor to bring in a chief that reflects his goals and aspirations. Whitmires search has been compounded by the fact that the department is reeling from a scandal over its handling of 264,000 cases suspended using an internal code citing a lack of personnel, Fremin said. They want to bring an outsider in, Fremin said. The new chief will come in and hell want to select, interview and promote an entirely new regime of command staff personnel. Hell want to surround himself with people he knows and trusts. While multiple people with knowledge of Diazs tenure in Katy praised the work hes done, Knox acknowledged theres a big adjustment in running a 70-officer department versus a department with more than 5,000 officers. Working with 70 officers as opposed to 5,100 will be a little different for him, Knox said. But I think hes a smart guy and will be able to do just fine. Diaz took over as chief of the Katy Police Department in March 2019. Before that, he spent almost 23 years with the Texas Department of Public Safety. He previously worked for the Harris County Precinct 5 Constables Office starting in 1994 and began his law enforcement career as a correctional officer in 1986. Advertisement Article continues below this ad After joining the state agency, Diaz was assigned to the Katy highway patrol office as a trooper, according to his biography on Katys website. In 2001, he was promoted to the narcotics division in Houston. He became a Texas Ranger in 2008 and served in Rio Grande City and Houston. The law enforcement veteran will take over a police department in the midst of change. Finner, a Fifth Ward native, held the role for around two years before his retirement amid the suspended cases scandal. Diaz will oversee more than 5,200 sworn officers and 900 civilians in a fast-growing city of more than 2.3 million residents. At his Katy job, Diaz said he was drawn to the community of 25,000 because he loved small town culture, according to his biography on Olson LLP. He earned a masters in criminology in 2014 at Lamar University and received an undergraduate degree in criminal justice and political science at the University of Houston-Downtown in 2011. He attended the FBIs national academy in 2016. Acting Chief Larry Satterwhite has served as Finners replacement since the former chiefs abrupt retirement. Satterwhite will take on a new assignment as the next director of the Mayors Office of Public Safety and Homeland Security. He starts Aug. 14, the same day Diaz takes over as chief. Rose Marie Kosmetatos, left, and her husband, Antonios Pagourtzis, parents of accused Santa Fe High School shooter Dimitrios Pagourtzis, await the start of the third day of the civil trial against them in Galveston County Court No. 3 Judge Jack EwingOs courtroom at the Galveston County Courthouse in Galveston, Texas on Friday, Aug. 2, 2024. The civil lawsuit was filed by families of seven of those killed and four of the 13 people wounded in the 2018 shooting. POOL/Jennifer Reynolds In the months leading up to the May 18, 2018, shooting at Santa Fe High School, the accused gunman used school computers to look up thousands of alarming subjects and wrote violent thoughts of harming his classmates in his diary, lawyers said Friday. Dimitrios Pagourtzis allegedly searched for evidence photos from the Columbine High School shooting and pictures of the dead bodies of the gunmen in that massacre. He searched for information about Virginia Tech, sawed-off shotguns, the difference between .223 and 5.56 ammunition, fuses, combat knives, tactical gas masks and the website Luckygunner, from which he would go on to buy the ammunition he used in the shooting, lawyers said. Attorneys representing Pagourtzis' parents Friday presented the searches to a jury on the third day of a civil trial over a lawsuit filed by victims of the shooting that left eight students and two teachers dead. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The list represented just a tiny handful of things in 2,700 pages of material related to searches Pagourtzis made on school computers, attorney Lori Laird said. The school district late Friday cast doubt that the search history belonged to Pagourtzis because it didnt have a way to isolate individual students' search history in 2018. Galveston County District Attorney Jack Roady issued a cautiously worded statement providing more details about the investigative files of the computer searches cited by Laird. The DAs office was ordered by County Court at Law Judge Jack Ewing to provide thousands upon thousands of electronic files and documents to the civil lawyers, Roady said. During the investigation, some of this information was organized in various electronic folders and subfolders, including a subfolder entitled, SFHS Computer Dump, Roady said. That subdirectory folder and its contents were among the electronic evidence produced to the attorneys in the civil case as ordered by the trial court. The DAs office hasnt attributed the folder to a confirmed source, Roady said. Its unclear which investigative agency added the label to the file shown by Laird. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Violent thoughts in diary One excerpt from the diary showed Pagourtzis wrote The idea of pumping my classmates full of buckshot and seeing them writhing on the ground is exhilarating. After he was arrested, Pagourtzis told police that he began wearing a trench coat and combat boots and drinking alcohol in a bid to get attention from other people, said former Santa Fe police Capt. Phillip Meadows, who conducted the post-shooting interview. He said no one cares about him, Meadows said. The evidence added new details about signs adults in Pagourtzis' life might have missed ahead of the shooting. In the lawsuit, victims and their families have argued that Pagourtzis' parents, Antonios Pagourtzis and Rose Mary Kosmetatos, didnt do enough to stop him from accessing the guns used in the shooting or address his deteriorating mental health. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The parents have denied the charges and pointed at the school districts supposed failures to notice his activity as an example of his ability to conceal his plans. The families' attorneys introduced their own long list of material that Pagourtzis bought online including samurai swords, bear spray, knives, bandolier, counterattack tools, body armor, lighter fluid and zip ties that he had delivered to the their home ahead of the shooting. Parents are supposed to know their child more than anyone, plaintiffs attorney Clint McGuire said. Later in the day, McGuire showed video of Pagourtzis' interview with police following his arrest on the day of the shooting. Pagourtzis told police about buying dozens of rounds of ammunition online and taking other ammo from the gun cabinet. Attorneys have alleged he used Visa gift cards to buy the ammunition. Families last year settled with Luckygunner over claims it failed to properly verify Pagourtzis' age when he was purchasing the ammo. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The defense revealed evidence lawyers said came from from school computers while Laird was cross-examining former Santa Fe ISD Police Officer John Barnes, who was seriously wounded in the shooting. Barnes testified that school district police routinely investigated students who posted threatening or worrisome information online, but said he was not aware of anyone in the department being alerted to the online searches made by Pagourtzis, then a junior. Barnes said the number of searches shown to him by the defense was a problem. I wouldnt want to work at a school that did not notify us about that volume of searches, Barnes said. 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The Southwest Airlines flight attendant union has tried for years to address the threat of soda cans bursting on planes, said union president Bill Bernal. The unions safety team and airline began working together toward a solution at the beginning of this year, he said in an email. There is now a "short-term and long-term plan and associated timeline that Southwest has committed to implementing." Advertisement Article continues below this ad An airline spokesperson said in an email the company is working to keep onboard beverages cooler, especially at airports in cities with high temperatures such as Las Vegas, Phoenix and some Texas cities. "It's a cross-functional effort between our airport teams and those in the air," the spokesperson said. The plan includes refrigerating carbonated drinks during transport and storage and using temperature guns to check soft drinks before loading them onto the planes. Airline officials said the company will also educate employees about heat-related hazards. Advertisement Article continues below this ad "Both the short-term and long-term fixes are actual engineered fixes that should eventually all but eradicate the exploding can issues at Southwest Airlines," Bernal said in a statement. There were more than 100 reports of exploding cans in June, according to Bernal. The union expects July incidents to be three times higher. Bernal attributes the exploding soda cans to the airlines storage and loading practices. The cans were reportedly stored in warehouses with no refrigeration, then taken on trucks with no air conditioning and left on planes overnight without the air on, he said. The fizzy drinks werent given a chance to cool down enough after being left in different locations in the hot, humid weather. Southwest Airlines says they're working to keep onboarding soft drinks cooler in airports after reports of exploding soda cans due to severe heat in some cities including Houston. TWU Local 556 Southwest Airlines says they're working to keep onboarding soft drinks cooler in airports after reports of exploding soda cans due to severe heat in some cities including Houston. TWU Local 556 Justin Ballard, Chronicle newsroom meteorologist, said temperatures inside vehicles and other enclosed spaces can rise above 130 degrees. Advertisement Article continues below this ad "The heat acts to excite CO2 gas, the gas responsible for those crispy bubbles, causing CO2 to slam against the side of the aluminum cans," Ballard said. "As temperature increases, the pressure increases significantly. Simply put, more force is exerting itself pushing out from the can than pushing toward the can from the outside. AIRLINE LEAVING IAH: Southwest stops flying out of IAH this summer CBS obtained an email sent to Southwest flight attendants July 12, highlighting solutions to the soda can explosions on planes. Proposed actions ranged from stocking fewer cans on provisioning trucks to not boarding the products during extreme temperatures. The email said the company would pause taking cans on the planes when the temperatures are higher than 98 degrees and return certain beverages back to the warehouse. Employees were told not to open cans that appeared hot or deformed due to the heat, CBS reported. Advertisement Article continues below this ad "Weve had the exploding can issue for years but werent that many. The aluminum cans are getting thinner, which is causing more explosions," Bernal said. In a steadfast commitment to inspire real change, CNBC-TV18 has launched the 'Future Female Forward - A Womens Collective,' presented by HSBC India, a transformative movement aimed at bridging gender parity gaps in the workforce. This groundbreaking initiative continues to pave the way for a brighter and more inclusive future with the introduction of the 'College Connect Series', a unique program designed to converse with and nurture the leaders of tomorrow the students! These series seek to empower young changemakers by equipping them with the knowledge, skills, and perspectives needed to foster more inclusive and diverse workplaces. The goal is to cultivate a new generation of leaders who are not only prepared to succeed in their careers but are also committed to creating equal, inclusive workplaces. The inaugural event of College Connect will be held at the prestigious IIT Delhi campus on August 3, 2024, starting at 3:00 PM. This association with one of Indias premier educational institutes which has given the country few of the best entrepreneurs and leaders of Corporate India underscores our commitment to advancing gender equality and nurturing future leaders. This collaboration aims to harness the intellectual and innovative spirit of IIT Delhi to inspire and empower the next generation of changemakers. What a way to give back to the alma matter IIT, with alumni such as KV Subramanian, Former CEA, & ED, IMF; Abhiraj Bhal, CEO, Urban Company; Saraniya P, Vehicle Director, Agnibaan SOrTeD; Anu Acharya, CEO, MapmyGenome; Neha Singh, Founder, Chairperson & Managing Director, Tracxn speaking to the students. The event will feature a distinguished panel of speakers, including Hitendra Dave, CEO of HSBC India; KV Subramanian, Former CEA & ED, IMF; Abhiraj Bhal, CEO of Urban Company; Seema Goel, Vice President, HCLTech; Punit Goyal, Co-Founder of BluSmart; Anuradha Acharya, CEO of MapmyGe1nome; Neha Singh, Founder, Chairperson & Managing Director of Tracxn; and Saraniya P, Vehicle Director, Agnibaan SOrTeD. These esteemed guests will share their experiences and provide valuable insights to inspire and mentor the next generation of business leaders. The event will commence with an opening address by Shereen Bhan, Managing Editor of CNBC-TV18, who will set the context for the day's discussions. This will be followed by a special keynote address by Hitendra Dave, CEO of HSBC India, who will highlight the importance of diversity and inclusion in the workplace. The program will then feature a fireside chat with Abhiraj Singh Bhal, CEO of Urban Company exploring how Urban Company has revolutionised Gig work for women and the pivotal role of innovation in business. This will be followed by a special talk by Punit Goyal, Co-Founder of BluSmart, where he will share how BluSmart has scripted a smart mobility story in the field, culminating in an 'Ask Me Anything' session, allowing students to engage directly with him. A panel discussion titled Clutter Breakers: Women Scripting a New Success Story will feature Seema Goel, Vice President, HCLTech; Anuradha Acharya, CEO of MapmyGenome; Neha Singh, Founder, Chairperson & MD of Tracxn; and Saraniya P, Vehicle Director, Agnibaan SOrTeD. This session will focus on the achievements and challenges of these remarkable women leaders & the power of deep tech. This would be followed by an interesting fireside chat with KV Subramanian, Former CEA & ED, IMF on his latest book India The Economic Powerhouse. The event will conclude with a Q&A session, giving students the opportunity to ask questions and gain further insights from the speakers. Talking about the initiative, Shereen Bhan, Managing Editor, CNBC-TV18 said, With the launch of the College Connect Series, under Future. Female. Forward we are taking a meaningful step towards connecting the leaders of today with the leaders of tomorrow with the hope of driving conversations around building a diverse, inclusive workforce driven by the quest to deliver on excellence. This series celebrates the resilience and innovation of tomorrow's trailblazers Hitendra Dave, CEO, HSBC India elaborated, "At HSBC, we believe diverse perspectives drive innovation and success and we remain committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace that reflects the communities we serve. The College Connect series, part of Future. Female. Forward - The Womens Collective, is our attempt to empower the next generation of leaders to build a more equitable future. By prioritizing inclusivity and equity, we can unlock a brighter future for all and create a society where all voices are valued and empowered. Smriti Mehra, CEO of Business News, Network18 said, "We believe that addressing and nurturing students who are the leaders of the future will foster inclusive and diverse workplaces, promote equal opportunities, and prepare them to address complex societal and business challenges. CNBC-TV18 has always been at the forefront of promoting gender equality, and through the College Connect Series, we aim to address the transformative impact of diverse leadership. Our sessions will explore the personal and professional journeys of these remarkable leaders, offering invaluable insights and inspiration for the student attendees. This initiative is a testament to our commitment to nurturing the next generation of inclusive and forward-thinking business leaders." CNBC-TV18s Future Female Forward The Womens Collective is proudly presented by HSBC India, along with HCLTech, ITC, FedEx, Reliance Industries and FICCI as partners. The College Connect Series is more than just an event; it's a movement towards a more inclusive and diverse future. Medulance, a leading emergency services provider, ropes in Manav Mehta as the Head of its Enterprise Business. Manav joins Medulance with a diverse and extensive experience of 16 years across multiple industries, both globally and in India. Throughout his career, Manav has demonstrated exceptional leadership in New Business Development, International Sales, Key Account Management, Retail Expansion, Distribution, and Enterprise Business. His illustrious career includes pivotal roles at renowned organizations such as Philips, Puma Sports, TCS, Moser Baer, IndiaMART, and Park+. In his most recent role at Park+, Manav was instrumental in establishing and expanding the Enterprise Business sector. As the Head of Enterprise Business at Medulance, Manav will be responsible for driving the growth and development of the companys enterprise solutions, enhancing client relationships, and leading strategic initiatives to expand its market presence. Pranav Bajaj, Founder and CEO of Medulance, expressed his enthusiasm for this appointment, stating, We are thrilled to welcome Manav Mehta to the Medulance family. His vast experience and proven track record in driving business growth will be invaluable as we continue to expand our enterprise solutions and deliver innovative healthcare services to our clients. Yash Raj, CBO of Medulance, who played a key role in onboarding Manav, added, Manav's extensive experience and strategic vision make him the perfect fit for our team. We are confident that under his leadership, our enterprise business will reach new heights and create even greater value for our clients. Manav Mehta shared his excitement about joining Medulance, saying, I am honored to join Medulance, a company that is at the forefront of revolutionizing healthcare services. I look forward to leveraging my experience to drive the growth of our enterprise business and contribute to the company's mission of providing accessible and quality emergency healthcare. Manav's strategic vision and leadership will be critical in steering Medulance's enterprise initiatives towards new heights, further cementing its position as a leader in the healthcare industry. Pertinent to mention that Medulance has recently completed seven years as Indias leading emergency services provider. Also Read : Medulance partners with Delhi Capitals as official emergency services Pyne & Co provides an extensive range of services designed, for ensuring businesses run smoothly without the threat of power disruptions. These services are substation design and detailed engineering, transmission line design and detailed engineering, engineering services for electrical installations, preparation of technical specifications, estimation and tendering, feasibility studies, complete metering and systems protection design, technical support in the electrical domain, energy conservation, and civil engineering support. The company also offers cost-effective project management for substations and transmission line projects, project execution for electrical installations, emergency support services in the electrical field, and preventive maintenance and breakdown management. Additionally, its commissioning and testing services include power systems installation and commissioning, testing and commissioning of substation projects, testing for stress and robustness of existing systems, and complete protection systems. The operations and maintenance services ensure end-to-end operations and maintenance of electrical and distribution installations at industrial and commercial complexes, power stations, substations, and transmission lines. A dedicated team of over 200 supervisors and technicians, backed by expert engineers, offers 24x7 onsite and offsite support services. Over the past decade, Pyne & Co has established itself as a trusted energy solutions provider for leading brands such as Crescent Power Ltd. (RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group), CESC Ltd., Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta (IIM-C), Steel Authority of India Ltd. (SAIL), State Bank of India, RITES Limited, National Institute of Electronics & Information Technology (NIELIT) Kolkata and Integrated Coal Mining Ltd. (ICML) among others. One of Pyne & Cos satisfied clients, Kaushik Biswas, Chief Executive Officer - CPL & ICML (RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group), said, "Collaborating with Pyne & Co has been transformative for our operations. Their unparalleled expertise in ensuring uninterrupted power supply has significantly enhanced our operational efficiency. Pyne & Co's proactive approach and comprehensive solutions have provided us with the reliability and peace of mind essential for our continuous growth. We couldn't ask for a more committed and proficient partner. Dipak Kumar Pyne, Director - Pyne & Co, stated, "Celebrating 10 years of service excellence is a testament to our unwavering commitment to delivering reliable power solutions. Our journey has been marked by significant milestones, and we are immensely proud of the trust we have earned from our esteemed clients. As we look to the future, our focus remains steadfast on providing innovative and efficient power management solutions that empower our clients to achieve their business objectives without disruption. We are dedicated to continuing our legacy of excellence and expanding our impact in the power consultancy sector." Founded in 2014 by Dipak Kumar Pyne, an electrical engineer with over three decades in the energy sector, Pyne & Co has become a trusted name in power consultancy and energy solutions in Eastern India. The company's mission is to provide professional, best-in-class, customer-friendly consultancy services. Pyne & Co is known for its dedication to ensuring seamless power supply and its comprehensive range of services designed to meet the diverse needs of its clients. Looking ahead, the power needs of Eastern India are set to grow exponentially as the region continues to develop. According to the Central Electricity Authority, India's power demand is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.18% between 2019-2029. With increasing demand for reliable and efficient energy management, there is a significant opportunity for standardized energy consultancy services. Pyne & Co is well-positioned to meet this growing need, leveraging its extensive experience and expertise to provide cutting-edge solutions that will support the region's ambitious growth plans. The Body Shop brings the strength of the natural world to your skin with its most-loved Edelweiss skin care range. Edelweiss flowers thrive in the harsh conditions of the Swiss Alps, thanks to their natural antioxidant, leontopodic acid, which helps them to protect and repair themselves. In fact, edelweiss extract has 43% more antioxidant power than retinol2. Much like the flowers power in nature, the Edelweiss skin care range leaves skin looking and feeling stronger, smoother, plumper, fresher and bouncier1 In this new digital film, Diana presents the simple, yet effective Edelweiss based morning skin care routine. For a fresh-faced, post-lie- in, pre-commute, healthy-looking glow in no time follow these steps: First up, have a good cleanse with The Body Shops Edelweiss Cleansing Concentrate. This will help wash away all that grime, pollution and makeup, so your serum works even more effectively. Squeeze 2-3 drops of the Edelweiss Serum Concentrate into your hand and gently massage into cleansed skin every morning (and night too!). Give it a few seconds to sink in before slathering on the Edelweiss Smoothing Day Cream to lock in moisture and help protect skin from pollution. Ms. Harmeet Singh Chief Brand of Marketing, Product, & Digital, at The Body Shop Asia South commented, The Body Shops edelweiss extract is harvested by a team of passionate experts in the Swiss Alps. These specialist growers responsibly source, manage and organically cultivate the edelweiss flowers, ensuring the highest quality extract is concentrated within the formulation. We are delighted to collaborate with Diana Penty to highlight this fantastic ingredient, the beauty industrys best-kept secret, with 43% more antioxidant power than retinol2! Diana Penty, said Caring for my skin is an essential part of my daily routine. The Body Shops most-loved Edelweiss Skincare range not only helps to protect my skin from pollution but also helps it look and feel stronger and smoother. This collection combines vegan ingredients with effective results, offering a perfect mix of self-care and ethical beauty. Thomson Reuters, the Toronto-based content and technology giant, reported a 6% increase in its second-quarter revenue, reflecting its aggressive investment in artificial intelligence technology. The company posted a quarterly revenue of $1.74 billion, up from $1.65 billion a year earlier. However, this figure slightly missed Wall Street's expectations of $1.75 billion, according to data from LSEG. Thomson Reuters has been at the forefront of integrating generative AI across its portfolio, which includes legal, accounting, and corporate business segments. This strategic move is part of its broader effort to enhance product offerings and streamline operations. We remain highly encouraged by the customer reaction to our new AI driven products that include generative AI products such as Westlaw AI and CoCounsel," said Steve Hasker, President and CEO. Despite the dip in operating profit, the company's focus on AI-driven growth is expected to position it favourably in the long term. Thomson Reuters' efforts in AI include deploying advanced tools to improve efficiency and accuracy in legal research, financial analysis, and corporate compliance. Industry analysts remain optimistic about Thomson Reuters' future prospects, citing its robust AI strategy and diversified portfolio. The companys continued expansion into AI and technology solutions is anticipated to drive sustained growth and profitability. Also Read : Reuters acquires World Business Media Limited Reaffirming its supremacy in the English News channel category, Times Now dominated the Budget week with a commanding 34.3% viewership share (Source: BARC| 10L+| NCCS AB 22+| Wk.30 2024) and an impressive 12,48,000 reach (Source: BARC| 10L+| NCCS AB 22+| Wk.30 2024). Times Now's budget coverage stood out for its extensive and comprehensive programming, featuring detailed infographics highlighting key economic indicators, sector-wise expectations, and significant announcements. Times Now's winning trend continued as it emerged as No. 1 on Budget Day, dominating the genre with 33.7% viewership share (Source: BARC| 10L+| NCCS AB 22+| 23 July 2024). Spearheaded by seasoned journalists and strategic content, the channel became the preferred choice among viewers for budget-related news. During Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's speech, Times Now registered a 34% viewership share, the highest in the genre (Source: BARC| 10L+| NCCS AB 22+| 23 July 2024, 11 AM 12 Noon). Real-time graphical analysis of the speech kept viewers informed on the budget's implications, making this the most crucial hour of the day with an impressive 44,000 reach (Source: BARC| 10L+| NCCS AB 22+| 23 July 2024, 11 AM 12 Noon). Times Now's extensive and curated Union Budget programming featured in-depth examinations of the Indian economy and its challenges during pre-budget discussions. Key panel discussions offered crucial insights into the budget, with tax experts Rohinton Sidhwa and Saloni Roy decoding its significance for various sectors, industry, and the middle class. Former Chief Economic Advisor KV Subramanian provided perspectives on expected reforms, while representatives from industry bodies like CII outlined their demands from the government. Prominent government personalities, including Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry; Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas; and Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister of Railways & Information and Broadcasting, along with top departmental secretaries and opposition voices, shared exclusive insights on the Budget. Troth Insurance Broking & Consultants, one of Indias leading insurance broking houses, has roped in renowned film actor Anupam Kher as its brand ambassador. Founded in 2001, Troth Insurance is the first insurance broking company from Gujarat to collaborate with such a prominent film actor for brand endorsement. This strategic partnership is set to significantly enhance Troth Insurances brand visibility and accelerate its growth, while also aiding in the nationwide expansion of its business operations. With Mr. Khers immense popularity and credibility, Troth Insurance aims to reach a broader audience and reinforce its commitment to providing exceptional insurance solutions. Commenting on the development, Ashish Soni, Managing Director of Troth Insurance, said, We are thrilled to have Mr. Anupam Kher on board as our brand ambassador. He is a legendary actor who has played diverse roles in his illustrious acting career of more than four decades. His association with Troth Insurance will undoubtedly bring a new level of recognition and trust to our brand and will be instrumental in achieving our growth objectives and expanding our footprint across the country. Sharing his excitement, Mr. Anupam Kher said, I am glad to be associated with Troth Insurance, a name that stands for trust and reliability in the insurance sector. I look forward to being a part of its journey and contributing to its mission of providing comprehensive insurance solutions to people across India. Zee Business, one of the leading business news channels in India, has achieved a remarkable milestone in budget reportage, securing an 85.8% viewership share during the prime time slot of 11 am to 1 pm on 23rd July 2024, as per BARC ratings. This achievement highlights Zee Business's unparalleled dominance in the Hindi-speaking North Indian market, surpassing other industry players such as CNBC Awaaz, CNBC TV18, and ET Now. During the highly anticipated Budget Week, Zee Business continued to set the bar high with a 60.3% viewership share, according to BARC ratings for the Budget Week (30th week of 2024). This outstanding performance reaffirms Zee Business's position as the preferred source for in-depth and reliable budget analysis. Zee Businesss signature program, 'Majboor ya Mazboot,' has been instrumental in achieving this success. Other significant show segments also included Budget Stock Exchange, Budget My Pick, Aapke Budget Mein Sasta Share etc. The show segments provided a critical examination of the Union Budget 2024, analyzing whether it establishes a robust foundation and significant constraints as well. Featuring expert discussions with economists, industry leaders, and financial analysts, Zee Business also offered citizens a comprehensive understanding of the budget's implications across various sectors, including development, infrastructure, and innovation. Mr. Anil Singhvi, Managing Editor of Zee Business, expressed his pride in this achievement, stating, "The exceptional viewership during our budget coverage week is a testament to Zee Business's excellence in business journalism. Our thorough and insightful analysis of the budget has clearly resonated with our viewers, reinforcing our position as the leader in financial news. We are proud of our team's relentless efforts to provide clarity and depth in our coverage, helping our audience navigate the complexities of the Union Budget. Mr. Pankaj Rai, Business Head of Zee Business, echoed this sentiment, highlighting, Zee Business continues to set new benchmarks in budget reportage, thanks to the hard work and dedication of our team. We are grateful for the trust and loyalty of our viewers." Zee Business continues to excel in providing timely high-quality business news, keeping its viewers informed and empowered with the latest financial developments. Zee Media Corporation Ltd, one of India's leading media companies, has a strong presence in the news and regional genres, with 18 news channels in seven different languages, reaching more than 528+ million viewers through its linear and digital properties. The world is getting a gift it didnt know it needed so badly: A sequel to the 1988 film Beetlejuice and we can thank an Alabamian. The highly anticipated Beetlejuice Beetlejuice will hit theaters Sept. 6, and will feature original stars from the film, including Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton and Catherine OHara, as well as new stars like Jenna Ortega. The cult classic comedy about how the living and dead coexist was written by Enterprise, Ala., native Michael McDowell, a horror novelist and screenwriter who died in 1999. The trailer for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice shows a full-screen credit near the end: Based on characters created by Michael McDowell and Larry Wilson. Wilson is a screenwriting partner McDowell went to with his original script, according to a story by Matthew Jackson on Syfy.com. Imagining a story in which the ghosts were actually the nice people and the living humans were the annoyances, McDowell eventually teamed up with screenwriter and producer Larry Wilson to make the whole thing work as a feature film, Jackson wrote. The first Beetlejuice film also starred an Alabama native in its cast the late Glenn Shadix, a Bessemer native, played Otho. Beetlejuice gets a second life In an interesting twist like you might read in one of McDowells acclaimed horror novels, the Beetlejuice sequel may not have been possible if McDowells original vision of the story had been carried out. Wilson, when interviewed for Yahoo, said the storys ending was much darker. In it, teen daughter Lydia, portrayed by Winona Ryder, did not survive, meaning the adult Lydia (now portrayed by an adult Ryder) would not have appeared in a sequel. Our first ending was Lydia she died in a fire and was able to join Barbara and Adam in the afterlife, Wilson told Yahoo. A couple of people said to us, Do you really think thats a good idea? Is that really the message you want to be sending to the teenagers of the world? Die in a fire? So, yeah, it probably was darker. McDowell and the macabre Michael McDowellCourtesy of McDowell Estate and Otte Company Michael McDowell was born June 1, 1950, in Enterprise, Ala. He received bachelors and masters degrees from Harvard College and a PhD in English from Brandeis University in 1978. He lived much of his adult life in Massachusetts and died in Boston at the age of 49. In his short life, McDowell was the author of more than 25 horror books, including the Blackwater series, The Elementals and Cold Moon Over Babylon, which was made into the feature film Cold Moon in 2016. In addition to penning Beetlejuice, McDowell wrote scripts for Tales from the Darkside: The Movie, The Nightmare Before Christmas and Thinner, based on a Stephen King novel, as well as several television shows. King once called McDowell one of the finest writers of paperback originals in America today and was friends with the fellow writer. When McDowell died, Kings wife, novelist Tabitha King, was asked to complete the manuscript he was working on at the time. The finished product was published as Candles Burning in 2006, with a byline by McDowell and Tabitha King. I like to describe Michael McDowell as kind of like the Alabama version of Stephen King, said Benn Joseph, head of archival processing at Northwestern University, which purchased McDowells collection of memorabilia connected to death and mourning. Joseph said McDowell wrote the dissertation for his PhD in English from Brandeis University on the ways society deals with death and began collecting items associated with death customs in the late 1970s. It is not on display but can be viewed by contacting the universitys archives. READ MORE: See the macabre death collection of Alabama horror novelist who wrote Beetlejuice I am a commercial writer and Im proud of that, McDowell said in the book Faces of Fear in 1985. I am writing things to be put in the bookstore next month. I think it is a mistake to try to write for the ages. And, yet, he did. Beetlejuice is here to stay. Some Jefferson County restaurants used unique methods to store meat and poultry last month. One establishment used a trash bag. Another used a grocery bag. And a third -- which scored the lowest of any Jefferson County restaurant inspected in July -- kept raw chicken directly on top of hamburger patties. In all, nine Jefferson County restaurants scored 84 or below when they were visited by a health department inspector in July. Establishments with sub-85 scores receive repeat visits from a health inspector within 60 days. One of the most serious infractions is keeping foods at inappropriate temperatures, which puts customers at risk of illness. Several restaurants in July were cited for out-of-temperature foods. They were also dinged for dirty surfaces, leaks and problems with insects. Here are those nine restaurants, in descending order by score: Golden Dragon 2227 Bessemer Rd., Birmingham Score: 84 Inspection date: July 25 The inspector observed several flies in the restaurant. The walls were damaged, and grime/grease and debris was seen on the floors. The reach-in chest freezer had a rusty interior. Sams Deli & Grill 932 Oxmoor Rd., Homewood Score: 84 Inspection date: July 2 Food debris and dirt was seen on the bottom of coolers. An unauthorized person in the kitchen was eating and drinking at the time of the inspection. The most recent inspection report was not displayed in a conspicuous place. Wing It On (Trussville) 7268 Gadsden Hwy., Trussville Score: 83 Inspection date: July 9 Several foods were out of temperature. Spilled trash was on the ground in the refuse containers. The handwashing sink on the back side of the cook line was nonfunctional. The warewashing sink drain trap was leaking. Hero Doughnuts (Trussville) 314 Main St., Trussville Score: 80 Inspection date: July 16 The inspection revealed the non-pasteurizing soft serve freezer, which is used to hold dairy ice cream mix, is only cleaned twice a week. Food pans and containers were stacked while wet. The establishment did not have documentation readily available that food safety training was completed by employees. Pacific Seafood 6021 1st Ave. N, Birmingham Score: 74 Inspection date: July 18 Non-food contact surfaces throughout the restaurant were soiled with residue. Grocery bags were used to store meat in the walk-in cooler. A large bucket of wiping cloths was filled with old, soured water solution. Rice and cheese sauce was kept at inappropriate temperatures. The restaurants latest inspection report was not in public view. China Way 5220 Oporto Madrid Blvd., Birmingham Score: 73 Inspection date: July 17 Meat in the reach-in freezer was being stored in a black trash bag. The inside and outside of several reach-in coolers were soiled with residue and food debris. There was a leak from the ceiling above the prepping area. The floor of the walk-in cooler was soiled with liquid and food debris. Pappas Grill 1066 Montgomery Hwy., Vestavia Hills Score: 72 Inspection date: July 2 Drain gnats were seen in the restaurant. Days-old lasagna and chicken salad did not have date-marked labels. Food debris and mold were found in the bottom and around the gaskets of the low boy cooler, reach-in coolers and the reach-in freezer. There was food debris on dishes in clean storage. Cooked chicken and raw beef were stored at inappropriate temperatures. J Wings 1709 Decatur Hwy., Fultondale Score: 71 Inspection date: July 17 The interior of the ice machine in the back of the establishment was heavily soiled with mold. Gnats were seen in the back room of the kitchen while flies were observed in the kitchens front room. The floors, walls and ceiling were heavily soiled with residue. The dumpster area was heavily soiled. The Filling Station Pizza Cafe 5524 Crestwood Blvd., Birmingham Score: 94 Inspection date: July 2 Update: The Filling Station was reinspected and received a 94 score on Aug. 6, replacing its score of 70 on July 2, the restaurant said on its Facebook page. Our previous health rating is why our industry needs and appreciates the @jeffcohealthdept to hold us to the highest standards for serving our community. While there have been some gaps in training, we have readjusted and addressed any and all concerns. Our current health score is now a 94, for which we thank our loyal #TFS family of staff and friends, and we cant wait to see you again soon! Tony Mitchells loved ones suspected he went through hell during the two weeks he spent in the Walker County Jail before his death, but seeing the admission of one of the jailers in federal court records was more than they even imagined. We always suspected this but its shocking to actually see what theyre saying, said Birmingham attorney Jon C. Goldfarb, who represents Mitchells family in a civil lawsuit over his death. Theyre sad to see it. Theyre shocked is what they are, Goldfarb said. They suspected it but to see an admission like that is shocking. Mitchell, 33, died Jan. 26, 2023, at Walker Baptist Medical Center, just over two weeks after he was arrested on charges that he shot at Walker County deputies as they responded to a welfare check requested by his family. On the day he was arrested, Mitchell covered himself in black spray paint and claimed to have a portal to hell. The county coroners death certificate listed Mitchells manner of death as homicide and listed the causes as hypothermia and sepsis resulting from infected injuries obtained during incarceration and medical neglect. Mitchells mother, Margaret Mitchell, filed a federal lawsuit in March 2023, claiming that jail deputies tased Mitchell and locked him in a freezer, causing his death. Former Walker County Jail corrections officer Joshua Conner Jones agreed to plead guilty after being charged in connection with Mitchells death. Jones this week signed an agreement to plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter involving reckless conduct in Mitchells death, and faces up to life in prison. Jones 18-page plea agreement made public this week revealed weeks of inhumane treatment that Mitchell endured and said Jones admitted that collectively we did it. We killed him. Jones, who also agreed to plead guilty to an unrelated 2022 case in which another inmate was assaulted at his hands, will be arraignment on Aug. 15. A federal judge will set a date to accept Jones plea. The plea agreement also mentioned five co-conspirators in the Mitchell case. They were not identified in court documents and have not been charged, though more arrests are expected in the case. Jones has taken responsibility for his part in Mr. Mitchells death, Jones defense attorney, W. Scott Brower, told McClatchy News. I expect this is the tip of the iceberg and in the coming weeks you will see multiple other individuals charged for the death of Mr. Mitchell as a result of the actions or inaction of employees of the Walker County Sheriffs office, Brower added. While the news of charges against a former corrections officer is a step towards the resolution of this case, it is still an ongoing investigation and maintaining the integrity of that investigation is still of the utmost importance for all parties involved, Walker County Sheriff Nick Smith said Friday. For that reason, I will decline to comment further until the investigation is concluded. Anthony "Tony" Mitchell (Facebook-Justice for Tony Mitchell) It was initially claimed Mitchell was placed in a freezer at the jail. The plea agreement, however, states Mitchell was put in a notoriously cold cell with no sink, toilet, or running water. When Mitchell was booked, he could not walk, was disoriented, non-combative and could not follow directions. Officers wrapped a suicide smock around him. Jones said Mitchell never received any medical evaluation until the morning of his death, two weeks later. Corrections officers repeatedly chose not help him and would dismiss his needs by saying, (Expletive) him, he gets what he gets since he shot at cops, or words to that effect, the document states. Jones (and the other jailers) spoke directly to (Mitchell) saying that he was now in their house and that he had to deal with them, records show. On Jan. 26, 2023, one of the unnamed officers told Jones that a nurse had ordered that Mitchell be taken to a hospital or he might die. One of the co-conspirators replied, Ill tell you what, next time youre on the toilet taking a (expletive), Ill call you to bother you with something unimportant. The officers also repeatedly made comments that Mitchell should have been killed because he shot at deputies rather than being brough to the jail, the document says. Jones said he watched Mitchell deteriorate over the two weeks after his Jan. 12, 2023, arrest. At the time he passed, (Mitchell) was almost always naked, wet, cold, and covered in feces while lying on the cement floor without a mat or blanket, the records state. By the second week of being jailed, Mitchell was largely listless and mostly unresponsive to questions. The agreement states Jones and the co-conspirators denied Mitchell medical care by falsely telling medical staff that Mitchell was too combative to be evaluated when in truth that was not the case. The efforts to deny Mitchell medical and mental health care persisted even though he was frequently talking incoherently about demons. Calling (Mitchell) combative was an excuse to mistreat him, documents state. There was no conduct that could have been committed by (Mitchell) that would have justified the denial of medical access. After Mitchells death, jail video was leaked. Goldfarb said Jones plea agreement shed more light on the video. You see them talking on the video, but you dont know what theyre saying, Goldfarb said. This shed some light on the holes we had in the case. In the video, you see them yelling at him and its clear theyre not being nice, but you dont know what theyre saying, he said. Now were getting some understanding of the horrible stuff they were saying to him. Theyre clearly being abusive to him, he said. They killed him. Goldfarb talked about the statement in court documents where one of the unidentified co-conspirators made the statement, Ill tell you what, next time youre on the toilet taking a (expletive), Ill call you to bother you with something unimportant. Tony at that point was in dire medical distress, Goldfarb said. I dont think you can ever get anything more important than that, and their dismissal of it shows just how callous they were toward his life. Goldfarb said the civil case will be on hold while the criminal case plays out. He said he expects multiple more charges. We want for anybody to be held accountable that had anything to do with this, he said, and for them to know that Tonys life was important. An agreement Wednesday by a former Walker County jailer to plead guilty to charges related to the 2023 death of inmate Tony Mitchell revealed horrific details about Mitchells final days. Joshua Conner Jones this week signed an agreement to plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter involving reckless conduct in Mitchells death. Jones faces up to life in prison. At an arraignment on Aug. 15, a federal judge will set a date to accept Jones plea. Here are some of the things we learned as a result of that plea agreement: A criminal investigation is underway: Mitchells mother, Margaret Mitchell, filed a federal civil lawsuit claiming that deputies tased Mitchell and caused his death through abuse and medical neglect at the hands of Sheriff Nick Smith and staff at the jail, including corrections officers, nurses and an investigator. However, it had never been made public that federal officials were conducting a criminal investigation into Mitchells death. Now, it appears other individuals could be charged in the case. Who that might be and what charges they could face are not yet known. The Walker County Sheriffs Office had no comment when asked about Jones plea agreement. In addition to the plea in Mitchells death, Jones also pleaded guilty this week to hitting another inmate in 2022 in the face with a can of O.C. spray so hard that Jones broke the can and dispersed the spray in the cell. The inmate had complained about being in a cell with two others. An investigation found no force was necessary and that Jones and an unidentified officer wrote false reports stating the inmate advanced on them. Mitchell was abused in retaliation for shooting at deputies: Mitchell died Jan. 26, 2023 at Walker Baptist Medical Center, just over two weeks after he was arrested on charges that he shot at deputies during a welfare check requested by his family. On the day he was arrested, Mitchell covered himself in black spray paint and claimed to have a portal to hell. It was initially claimed Mitchell was placed in a freezer at the jail. The plea agreement, however, states Mitchell was put in a notoriously cold cell with no sink, toilet, or running water. When Mitchell was booked, he could not walk, was disoriented, non-combative and could not follow directions. Officers wrapped a suicide smock around him. Jones said Mitchell never received any medical evaluation until the morning of his death, two weeks later. Corrections officers repeatedly chose not help him and would dismiss his needs by saying, (Expletive) him, he gets what he gets since he shot at cops, or words to that effect, the document states. Jones (and the other jailers) spoke directly to (Mitchell) saying that he was now in their house and that he had to deal with them, records show. On Jan. 26, 2023, one of the unnamed officers told Jones that a nurse had ordered that Mitchell be taken to a hospital or he might die. One of the co-conspirators replied, Ill tell you what, next time youre on the toilet taking a (expletive), Ill call you to bother you with something unimportant. The officers also repeatedly made comments that Mitchell should have been killed because he shot at deputies rather than being brough to the jail, the document says. Jailers lied about Mitchells condition as he lay dying: Jones said he watched Mitchell deteriorate over the two weeks after his Jan. 12, 2023 arrest. At the time he passed, (Mitchell) was almost always naked, wet, cold, and covered in feces while lying on the cement floor without a mat or blanket, the records state. By the second week of being jailed, Mitchell was largely listless and mostly unresponsive to questions. The agreement states Jones and the co-conspirators denied Mitchell medical care by falsely telling medical staff that Mitchell was too combative to be evaluated when in truth that was not the case. The efforts to deny Mitchell medical and mental health care persisted even though he was frequently talking incoherently about demons. Calling (Mitchell) combative was an excuse to mistreat him, documents state. There was no conduct that could have been committed by (Mitchell) that would have justified the denial of medical access. Mitchell was finally taken to the hospital -- in a patrol car: According to Jones, jail supervisors on Jan. 26, 2023 failed to arrange for Mitchell to go to the hospital for more than three hours after the nurses instructions. Jones, after he took detainees to court, joined others at Walker Baptist Medical Center Hospital where Mitchell had been taken in the back of a patrol car rather than an ambulance. When Jones arrived, he learned Mitchells mother had been called to the emergency room and overheard her giving permission to remove Mitchell from life support. A north Alabama prison guard has been charged with a felony crime after authorities say she brought illegal drugs in the lockup. Monica Nicole Blakeney, 35, is charged with second-degree promoting prison contraband, Alabama Department of Corrections officials announced Friday. Blakeney worked as a correctional security guard at Limestone Correctional Facility. ADOC spokeswoman Kelly Betts said the agencys Law Enforcement Services Division and drug-sniffing dogs responded to the facility Wednesday to assist with the arrest of Blakeney. Charging documents state Blakeney was delivering amphetamines/methamphetamine to an inmate. Blakeney was booked into the Limestone County Jail Wednesday and released the same day after posting $5,000 bond. She resigned from her position, Betts said. The ADOC takes any breach of its policies and procedures very seriously, said ADOC Commissioner John Hamm, and will continue to work diligently to ensure a safe and secure environment for both staff and inmates. A Huntsville man is one of five arrested yesterday on federal money laundering charges connected to an online extortion scheme prosecutors say that resulted in the death of a 17-year-old Michigan high school student. U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Mark Totten Friday announced five indictments for conspiracy to commit money laundering, which included Dinsimore Guyton Robinson, 30, of Huntsville. Also charged were Johnathan Demetrius Green, 32, and Brian Keith Coldmon, Jr., 30, both of Stone Mountain, Ga.; Jarell Daivon Williams, 31, of McDonough, Ga., and Kendall Ormond London, Jr., 32, of Lithonia, Ga. The indictments are connected to a November 2022 case where three Nigerian nationals were charged. Prosecutors said those men pretended to be a young woman through social media accounts and targeted more than 100 teenage boys and young men, encouraging them to engage in sexually explicit conduct and produce images. Once the images were sent, they used them to blackmail the victims for money, threatening to send the images to others, including family, friends and classmates of the victims. The extortionists instructed their victims to send money to designated financial accounts through various cash applications. According to prosecutors, the five men charged Thursday acted as money launderers by controlling the extortioners designated financial accounts. They would keep about 20% of the funds and then convert the rest into bitcoin. The defendants would then send the bitcoin to an unindicted Nigerian co-conspirator, whom they referred to as The Plug. The indictment alleges that the U.S.-based defendants laundered at least $178,658 in funds representing the proceeds of the scheme. The extortion resulted in the death of Jordan DeMay, a 17-year-old high school student from Marquette, Mich. Every day Americans fall victim to financial scams, including sextortion, romance scams, and consumer fraud, U.S. Attorney Mark Totten said. Senior citizens, children, and teenagers are especially vulnerable. The result of these crimes can be devastating, as the death of Jordan DeMay makes painfully clear. Todays charges send a loud and clear message that we will chase down everyone who enables these crimes, including the U.S.-based money launderers. As with previous storms, Hurricane Beryl has led to calls that CenterPoint do a better job of trimming trees. Melissa Phillip/Staff Photographer Public Utility Commission of Texas Commissioner Lori Cobos talks to CenterPoint Energy CEO Jason Wells about the companys response to Hurricane Beryl during a PUC meeting Thursday, July 25. Jon Shapley/Staff photographer Whos to blame for the long, life-threatening power outages after Hurricane Beryl? Everyone both Democrats and Republicans seems to agree: Its CenterPoint. In mid-July, Gov. Greg Abbott sent CenterPoint a scathing letter demanding to know how the company will be better prepared for future storms, and suggesting retribution if its response is unsatisfactory. On Thursday, Abbott declared that response inadequate and demanded that CenterPoint do more and do it faster. Similarly, the state Public Utility Commission has announced plans to review CenterPoints infrastructure and storm-hardening plans. And Houston Mayor John Whitmire has said that he plans to hold CenterPoint accountable by documenting what kind of bind they put the city government in. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Such calls for accountability reflect the deep anger and frustration felt by the 2.3 million Houstonians who lost power. But if the intended objective is to minimize future weather-related disruptions, we should temper our expectations. The thing is, weve been here before multiple times. In 2021, it was following Winter Storm Uri. After that storm, too, public officials initial reaction was finger-pointing, calls for accountability, appointments of special committees and investigations. And then there was Hurricane Ike in 2008. After that storm, both the PUC and a task force convened by then-Houston Mayor Bill White made recommendations regarding CenterPoints outage restoration practices, particularly in storms where damage was mostly caused by trees falling on power lines (After Beryl, CenterPoint reported that more than 80% of its distribution system had been affected by fallen trees.) The main recommendations from that report were to plant the right tree in the right place, and to manage vegetation better. Its possible that the latest round of investigations may even find that the post-Beryl criticisms of CenterPoints performance in outage restoration were unjustified. Though initially slow to marshal repair crews, the companys response was ultimately similar to, if not faster, than it was after Ike. Nine days after Beryl, CenterPoint stated it restored power to more than 98% of its customers within nine days. After Ike, CenterPoint restored power to only 75% of the 1.6 million people who lost it within 10 days. Ultimately, some customers waited as many as 17 days. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Where the post-Beryl investigations are likely to find severe lapses is in CenterPoints lack of communication with the public, such as not having its outage tracker up and running immediately after the storm. Other than that, the investigations will likely conclude that CenterPoints performance, while not exemplary, was not atypical for a utility in a coastal area subject to severe weather conditions given the current state of our grid. My fear is that, whatever comes of these Beryl investigations is more likely to result in minor tinkering, like more tree trimming, than a major rethinking of our grid infrastructure. Weve seen that before. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Its time to investigate CenterPoint Advertisement Article continues below this ad Following Uri, I was part of a group of former PUC officials who urged the commission to address the underlying causes that had led to the massive power outages across the state. We recommended significant changes to the power and natural gas regulatory market. The Legislature, however, believed it sufficient simply to close a two-decade-old regulatory loophole and require the weatherization of generation plants. It failed to fully address similar issues with the natural gas system. Instead of making the market changes needed, the Legislature said the main cause of the power failure was a lack of dispatchable generation, and embarked on a multibillion-dollar plan to subsidize new natural gas generation. Beryl presents another opportunity to truly address our long-term grid reliability issues, but doing so requires a completely new approach. State regulators and lawmakers should engage with stakeholders across the region to develop solutions tailored to specific community needs. Simply punishing CenterPoint for its storm response might feel satisfying but is unlikely to result in real change. In response to pressure from the governor, CenterPoint has withdrawn its $2.2 billion grid resiliency plan. This presents an opportunity to create a truly adaptable, resilient grid one thats ready for Texas future. What would that grid look like? It should be decentralized and thus, less vulnerable to the failure of any single system. Already our power isnt generated only at distant power stations. Rooftop solar systems and electric vehicles that can send power to the grid allow customers more control over their energy use. Many Texans are buying their own backup generators. And last session, the Legislature approved funding to support the development of microgrid infrastructure at critical facilities such as hospitals and police stations. To deal with those multiple sources of power and also to understand what customers need our grid needs to become smarter. The grid we have today was mostly designed as a one-way system that transmits electricity from central power plants to utility meters. What we need is a system with two-way communication, including digital sensors and automated controls. Advertisement Article continues below this ad It would be an expensive investment. But among its benefits would be that wed be far better able to address Beryl-like storms. A U.S. Department of Energy study concluded that such smart grid investments could reduce power outages by 45%. A similar study commissioned by CenterPoint found that though an intelligent grid will not prevent trees from falling on power lines, it would allow the company to automatically reconnect customers, as well as provide valuable information to utility crews about damaged lines, minimizing outages and speeding restorations. CenterPoint has taken incremental steps to building this grid of the future smart meters here, smart grid infrastructure there but the job is a long way from finished. Preventing future outages requires Texans to re-think the grid. Rather than simply subjecting CenterPoint to public shaming, the utility, our political leaders and all Texans should create a new vision of the future. Until we do, we will remain dangerously vulnerable to outages from hurricanes, wind storms and other extreme weather events. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The Republican National Committee unanimously voted on Holocaust Remembrance Day to pass a resolution condemning anti-Semitism. This resolution provides strong evidence of the Party and its leader, Donald J. Trumps stance towards Jews. Nevertheless, if the Party leaders expect a positive response from the Jewish community in November, they may be disappointed. For years, Donald Trump has been tirelessly trying to gain support from American Jews. In the current campaign, he is emphasizing his unparalleled support for Israel and highlighting the Biden administrations inconsistent approach to Israels conflict with Hamas. In an interview on Real Americas Voice on April 8, 2024, Mr. Trump asserted that any Jewish individual who casts their vote for Biden does not truly prioritize Israel and, frankly, ought to reconsider their stance. Trump obviously is not aware that the majority of American Jews are not motivated by concerns for Israel, nor are they motivated by the interests of the United States or by growing anti-Semitism in this country, especially on university campuses. None of this will affect how they vote. Image: YouTube screen grab. What Americas Jews passionately care about is social justice. In terms of helping the sick and the poor, social justice is deeply embedded in Judaism. The Industrial Revolution, which brought about a massive wealth generation, caused the plurality of Jews to broaden their vision of social justice to include economic equality. However, the issue of economic equality eventually grew into an irrational obsession that ultimately led them to embrace socialism. The Jewish love affair with socialism, which began in Russia with the fanaticism of the grandparents, has been transformed by the Great Terror into the fear of the parents and subsequently into the conviction of the children and grandchildren is embedded deeply in the Jewish DNA. As the Democrat party leadership drops all pretenses and openly adopts socialist principles, these hereditary socialists, impelled by conviction, will ignore once again what rising antisemitism will do to them and vote for the Party that speaks their language. Thus, they wont vote for a specific Democrat party nominee. They will, as always, vote for socialism. Trumps criticism of American Jews who intend to vote for Biden exposes the ideological Grand Divide within the Jewish community. The old saw, There are two types of Jews: those who believe that Judaism is about social justice and those who know Hebrew, contains more than a kernel of truth. By and large, orthodox Jews voted for Trump in 2016 and 2020. The divide boils down to a differing interpretation of the Talmudic concept of Tikkun Olam (repairing the world). Those who know Hebrew engage in activities intended to complete Gods work, as revealed in the Torah. Those who believe that Judaism is about social justice are on a divine mission to change the world upon their verities. The ideology of changing the world emanates from Jews two millennia of experiences living in ghettos and the lasting effect of prosecution and suffering. American Jews, in particular, have been struggling to reconcile their tragic history with the logic of contemporary reality. The descendants of the first immigrants, who dug trenches and washed dishes in New York, have risen to become doctors, lawyers, senators, bankers, industrialists, and influential politicians. Unfortunately, they also inherited the genetic memories of their ghetto ancestors. They feel guilty for achieving a standard of living as good as or better than any other ethnic group in this country. To assuage this guilt, they continue to fight for social justice, taking on and supporting the cause of every underdog and liberal movement in sight, no matter how unworthy, no matter how illogical, and no matter how it imperils their own interests or safety. Their religion is not Judaism but is, instead, almost every other ism (with the exceptions of conservatism and fascism), such as liberalism, socialism, Marxism, environmentalism, etc. Although the commitment to socialism has resulted in a host of tragedies, including the Holocaust and Stalinist purges, Jews will not abandon their devotion to the cause. As prominent Zionist Zev Jabotinsky once said, Logic is an art of the Greeks; a Jew has his own logic. Jewish logic is the logic of catastrophe. Jews do not detect danger; they face it when it comes. Indeed, history keeps punishing willful blindness, and catastrophes keep reappearing. The 1917 Bolshevik revolution, which brought so much suffering to the people of Russia, including Jews, was indeed a Jewish revolution. Jews later founded and shaped the Soviet state, only to have Stalin turn on them. In the late 1920s, many German Jews voted for Hitlers National Socialist Party, only to become victims of the Holocaust a decade later. They chose to ignore Hitlers anti-Semitic rhetoric; he could not be bad, much less evil. After all, he was a socialist! Jews passionately supported and continued to admire FDR, who in 1939 denied entry for Jews seeking asylum from Nazi extermination and condemned them to the Holocaust. Yet, they still love himafter all, the New Deal was a giant step toward socialism. To reform Jewish habits, Trump must be emphatic on two points. First, he must expose American Jews devotion to socialism and shame them for inviting another catastrophe by betraying their own interests. Second, he must highlight that economic equality can only exist in poverty since equality in wealth is an oxymoron. A few months back, I found myself in a Las Vegas restaurant with some Jewish companions, engaged in a political discussion during the meal. At a nearby table, there was another group of Jews. One of them turned toward our table and inquired whether we truly intended to vote for Trump. My friend replied that he would vote for a cockroach if it ran against Biden. This response reflected a glimmer of hope that some Jews might emerge from their intellectual ghetto and commence a wave of voting based on logic, not their ancestors conviction. In retrospect, I was picking up the dinner tab, which may have tilted the table in my philosophical direction. Alexander G. Markovsky is a senior fellow at the London Center for Policy Research, a conservative think tank that examines national security, energy, risk analysis, and other public policy issues. He is the author of Anatomy of a Bolshevik and Liberal Bolshevism: America Did Not Defeat Communism, She Adopted It. Mr. Markovsky is the owner and CEO of Litwin Management Services, LLC. He can be reached at alex.g.markovsky@gmail.com. Perhaps you have heard of Professor Allan Lichtman and his prediction for the 2024 presidential election. He says that Kamala will win. Lichtman uses a prediction system based on 13 historical keys that measure the strength of the incumbent party in a presidential election. Some of his keys, such as the charisma level of the challenger, are highly subjective. A list of keys is found here in a post by Andrea Widburg. Lichtmans prediction for 2024 may come true, but if it does, it wont be due to the 13 keys of his analysis. Instead, it will likely be attributable to a missing 14th key: the cheating key. The professor is a committed Democrat, so he may not believe it possible that fellow Democrats might cheat their way to victory. That is what they did in 2020. But before we get into that, lets talk about Lichtmans skill with his political crystal ball. Its not so great. Professor Lichtman says he has been correct in predicting presidential elections since 1984. That is false for these reasons: He dismisses his bad prediction in the 2000 Gore-Bush election because, according to Lichtman, Gore really won. I see. In 2016, the professor received great credit for correctly predicting the upset win by Trump. The problem? He got it wrong. (Lichtmans prediction was that Trump would win the popular vote, but Trump lost it by 2.1 percentage points.) After 2016, Lichtman officially changed from predicting popular vote winners to predicting electoral vote winners. Based on that change, he correctly predicted that Biden would win the 2020 election. However, I dont believe that it had to do with any of his 13 keys. This requires explanation. In 2020, the cheating was so massive in the swing states that several state elections should not have been certified. I am not saying this based on conjecture or estimates. Rather, it is on the basis of solid facts that have never been debunked, or even examined in many cases. The Pennsylvania election was a fraud because there were far more ballots cast than active voters. When Pennsylvania certified its election on November 24, 2020, the excess was exactly 202,377. On December 28, 2020, sixteen Republican legislators issued a screaming press release about the voter deficit. A day later, the Pennsylvania secretary of state issued a response: some counties have not yet finished entering into the SURE system ... the record of the individual voter who cast a ballot. In other words, the check is in the mail. That was two months after the election. Those voters were never identified. That was the conclusion of Verity Vote, a credible data analysis firm. I tested the logic and calculations in the Verity Vote analysis, and no errors were found. When last checked nearly three months after the election there were still about 121,000 ballots that had not been matched to voters.[1] To make matters worse, Pennsylvanias super-left-wing Supreme Court declared that no voter could be disqualified simply because his signature looked phony. So in Pennsylvania, there was no ID requirement and no signature-checking, and there were more than one hundred thousand mysterious ballots for which there were no voters. In Wisconsin, it is a fact that Democrat officials in the two large counties of Dane and Milwaukee posted public notices urging all voters who request a ballot and have trouble presenting a valid ID to indicate that they are indefinitely confined. (See WILL report, page 26.) As a result, that special category of voter increased by nearly 200,000 between 2016 and 2020, and tens of thousands voted without ID. After the election (in December 2020), Wisconsins liberal Supreme Court ruled that the instructions were illegal. Nice timing! In Michigan, the secretary of state mailed out an extra 4 million ballot applications that could be returned without ID (after they were retrieved from mailrooms, trash cans, and landfills?). Each application had to be signed by the voter, but the secretary declared that she and the county clerks would presume all signatures legitimate. Trump and other Republicans told the secretary she was wrong, and, after the election, a judge declared that the presumption was illegal. More nice timing! (By the way, if the secretary were a Republican, this would not be a matter of simple illegality: it would be criminal, and she would be indicted.) In Georgia, a member of the Fulton County Board of Registrations and Elections reported years after the election that no signature matching whatever took place in the county for the 2020 election. Fulton includes Atlanta and is the largest county in Georgia. It is large enough to easily change the state election results. In addition, an analysis of Fulton County ballot images by VoterGA showed numerous impossible images. For example, thousands had identification files (SHA files) dated hours or days after the dates on image files (TIF files). In the rest of the universe, those two files are created simultaneously. I urge you to listen to this overview of Fulton Countys many questionable and impossible ballots. It is a presentation by Garland Favorito, the founder of VoterGA. The pertinent part starts at 27:00. I could provide more examples, but you get the point. Lichtman needs to add a Cheating Key to his list. Before concluding, Id like to briefly address the likely outcome in this Novembers election. I am not a political pundit or pollster, but I suspect that Donald Trump and J.D. Vance are likely to get enough votes to win the swing state elections. Before Joe Biden dropped out, it appeared that the Republican ticket might win by enough to overcome any Democrat cheating. Now, however, the margins are closer, and the outcome is in doubt. Most people dont understand the Machiavellian brilliance of Democrat cheating. Democrats are happy to allow endless counting and recounting of ballots, but they will fight ferociously against anything that can demonstrate the validity of the ballots. In the swing states, they have eliminated or weakened requirements for voting in person obtaining a mail-in ballot voter ID proof of citizenship signature identification addresses on ballot transmittals postmark dates on ballot envelopes (to show they were mailed on time) meaningful participation of poll watchers verification of registration voter lists regulation of unmonitored ballot drop boxes As a result, the Republican loser will probably have nothing to take to court in a lawsuit, and his case will be dismissed. However, there is a way to obtain the evidence needed to void a stolen election: canvassing. I have discussed it before (here), but here is a recap: For counties where cheating is suspected, hire a qualified statistician to select a representative sample of voters who, according to election department records, voted via mailed ballot. Organize teams of volunteers to visit each sampled voter to ask if he voted and, if so, by what method (mail or in person). The teams should be organized and supervised by bipartisan civic leaders. Document all responses, and, where possible, obtain affidavits to support any claims of irregularities. The percentage of irregularities in the sample should be extended to the mail-in voting population of the county. If the extended results are large enough, a new election will be warranted. Lets hope such a plan is never needed. 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? An auditor reviews the 2020 election and How Elections Are Stolen, which outlines 23 problems that must be fixed before the 2024 election. More information can be found at https://joefriedcpa.substack.com, Joes permanently free Substack account. Kamala Harris has always had trouble keeping staff based on her nasty, bullying, personality, but she sure does well with people who talk like this in her tree. According to Fox News: Cora Masters Barry, an appointee of Democrat D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and longtime civil rights activist, and Melanie Campbell, who leads the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, have visited the White House more than 50 times combined during the Biden administration, including nearly a dozen visits with Harris or her staff, a Fox News Digital review found. Weeks before President Biden and Harris were sworn into office in 2021, Barry and Campbell participated in a public Zoom call in which they made controversial statements about Trump supporters and used an expletive against White voters, specifically White women, which could cause some internal clashes as different coalitions mobilize to try to get Harris into the White House. ... and ... We have to change our strategy. We got to get our people. We have to get our they got their people. They got all the trailer parks all covered, Barry said during the Zoom. All them people up in West Virginia and the hills, theyre covered. They got them all the way there to Wall Street. [Trump] did that, and were sitting here talking about the White women. Fk the white women excuse me forget the White women. Theyre going to do what the White men tell them to do, Barry continued, eliciting laughter and clapping from Campbell. What they tell themselves, Campbell interjected. They be smiling in their faces, they want to stay in charge, Barry continued, with Campbell reacting affirmatively in the background. I dont care nothing about them, we got to do what we got to do. Barry went on to say that the Black community has to get real serious about organizing to elect Kamala Harris as the next President of the United States and that she doesnt want no womens parade. If they have another Womens March Ill go over there and blow it up, Barry said. Barry also attacked supporters of then-President Trump, comparing them to the Ku Klux Klan by saying, Im not saying everyone who voted for Trump is wearing a white sheet, but they got one in their closet, and it comes out when we start messing with the economic value or the balance of power. Had enough? Seems there a lot of people in Kamala's inner circle, the kind who haven't fled from her perhaps because she is a kindred spirit, who have bottomless contempt for white female voters, particularly the ones who don't vote the way they like. They take orders from their husbands. Childless cat ladies, eat your hearts out. They are low class and live in trailer parks. Deplorables, eat your hearts out. Despite being low class and living in trailer parks, they somehow have all the power, and refuse to give it up, presumably to Kamala and her ilk. Despite being powerful trailer park denizens clinging to power like Nicolas Maduro, they hold pink-pussycat hatted marches, which one of them wants to firebomb, being a violent sort. They are all closet Klansmen, including even the ones who aren't. Wow. What a picture to paint of a sizable section of the voter base, both Trump supporters and pink-pussycat-hatted anti-Trump marchers. The only thing they have in common is being white, and this pair doesn't like it. So all those "white women for Kamala" who have been meeting on Zoom and having "honest conversations" about race, reportedly 164,000 of them, can now eat that up, and given that it's them, they will probably like it. But the remainder of the white female population probably won't. It ought to get out that this is what the Kamala group says in private about the people whose votes it thinks it has bagged up. While the press complains about J.D. Vance's off the cuff public remarks about leftists being "childless cat ladies," here's where the real contempt for women rests, well within the Kamala camp and one can only wonder just how much Kamala joins in the fun with them when the Zoom mike is off. She does mentally feed them, so it's fair to say it's probably a lot. No wonder her staff flees. Image: GPA Photo Archive, via Flickr // public domain Last night, my wife Lynn and I sat glued to the television, watching the return of the hostages to Joint Base Andrews, once known as Andrews Air Force Base. We were eager to see the victims of Putins Cold War-like use of hostages. Frankly, we were hoping that the president and the vice president would play by the rules they laid out, primarily, this is all about the families, and, we wont be talking to the press, or words to that effect. However, just as every soldier quickly learns that in the name Meals, Ready to Eat (MRE), there are three lies there in one name, we quickly learned that the word of the president and the vice president were worth exactly what we knew would be the case. As media whores, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris found it an unnatural act to ignore reporters with cameras and live microphones. More on this in a moment. As an aside, I spent most of my career working with employers or clients or presidential political candidates going all the way back to 1976. Heres what Im sure I could pass a lie detector exam on: The plane with the ex-hostages was forced to circle the federal airfield while the president got his, ahem, act together. At 11:00 p.m. EDT, the press was advised that the plane would land within ten minutes, and the presidential motorcade would arrive in eight minutes. They were also told that this was all about the families. Like MREs, that was three lies in one statement. The plane was made to orbit the airbase until the president arrived, about 30 minutes late. So much for putting the families first this was to be a media photo op for a retiring president still eager to appear relevant, and a presidential candidate desperate to look presidential. A presidential spokesperson said this was not a political event. Neither the president nor the veep would make a statement or answer questions. Remember, this was all about the families. Except that it wasnt. Before those three hostages could hug or kiss their spouses and kids and other family members, they had first to run a presidential gauntlet. Then, just moments after the families were allowed to come forward to welcome their loved ones, the once and future president made a beeline to the press scrum, making statements and answering questions not once, but twice. Each one of them spoke to the press twice. Its all but unprecedented for a VP to speak to the media at all after the president has spoken. But tradition be damned, the media was there, and the questions were mostly about their political relevance. It would be an unnatural act for Biden and Harris to ignore the media when they could take credit for what others had done. Would President Trump be so closed-minded, callous and its all about me? Nah! As weve seen, the plane wasnt allowed to land until the presidential motorcade whisked Biden onto the base. POTUS was parked strategically where three former hostages would deplane. It was an ambush. Clearly, since the plane could have landed at 11:00 p.m. instead of 11:30 p.m., the families had to wait on the convenience of the president. Perhaps with more at stake, Candidate Harris arrived twenty minutes earlier than POTUS. I guess being relevant means making everybody wait. Then, the families had to wait on the convenience of the president. He wanted to be seen greeting them, without the inconvenience of pesky families, eager to steal the show by showering the two freed men and one woman with love and affection. Then, when POTUS and veep flocked toward the reporters scrum, they talked about how great their negotiating skills were, instead of the anguish the family felt while being made to wait an unnecessary half-hour at least. Another kick in the teeth to the families as soon as the ceremony was completed, the three ex-hostages were set to be winged away from Andrews for a flight to San Antonio Texas, where a competent military hospital the Brooke Army Medical Center was available. Of course, Washington has an excellent military medical center, a combination of what had once been Bethesda Naval Hospital where Presidents typically go to be treated and Walter Reed National Military Hospital. Here, the families could be with their returned heroes, extending their reunion. Yet another kick in the teeth the victims flew home from Europe on a private jet some benefactor sent their own plane or rented one for the event. But if theres one thing the U.S. Air Force has, its VIP aircraft, large enough to hold both three ex-hostages and their families. Knowing when everything would come together, the president could have sent one of the luxurious fleet of VIP jets used by the secretaries of State and Defense with the family members onboard. But that would have denied the president and the veep a great media op, so the freed hostages had to fly home without the help of an Air Force VIP passenger jet. Just as I was leaving the T.V. to write this article, I heard the host announce that because debriefing was part of the process, one the family could not participate in, it looked like the returnees would have to forego their reunion while they were checked out medically while being debriefed. So, yeah, this was all about the families, as the president told America, even as the families were being prepped to have to say goodbye for, well, for who knows how long. I cant confirm this, but it fits the pattern of families last, except when the cameras were rolling. Finally, after everybody had moved away from the jet, President Biden left the gaggle and walked up to the plane, then without a pause, he entered the plane. The camera cut away after an uncomfortable minute or two, then long moments later, it zooms in as President Biden walked back out of the plane apparently preceded by candidate Harris. How or when she boarded the empty plane wasnt commented on, suggesting that the anchor desk at Fox had no clue. Based on how the reporters there all ignored this Bidenesque faux pas, the other networks didnt know, either. Though Im guessing that the more politically aligned rushed to suggest that Biden had gone to greet the flight crew. Why? Who knows. That wasnt the only presidential gaffe. He hugged a young girl, his nostrils coming dangerously close to her hair. Later, when asked by a reporter what message he would send to Putin, instead of relying on the notoriously good negotiating skills hed just bragged about, he instead said, Stop! Thats it, just Stop! Given how world leaders have reacted to similar messages, such as Dont! he blew a chance to send a real message to Putin. There were other gaffes, but he was only on camera for less than a half hour, so there werent many. Just enough. The important things to remember are these: Biden cant be on time when press events are involved. When Biden says he wont speak to the press, hes lying. Instead of speaking to them once, he speaks to them twice, answering or ducking questions as the mood hits them. When Biden says its all about the families, its really all about Biden. Families come in last. We can thank God that even such an inept man as President Biden can deliver hostages from Russia as long as he gives in to every one of Putins demands. Compare this to President Trump. In his first term, he repatriated fifty hostages, without giving up everyone we have locked up, in America or in the jails of one of our allies. What can he do in his second term, when hes already had four years of effective years negotiating with foreign despots for American journalists and others taken by the caprice of those eager to test Trump men and women who, after one staredown with Trump, didnt want to face the man again. Ned Barnett is a long-time author 40 of his books have been published to date, with more on the way and political operative. He was at the state-level the head of media and strategy for presidential elections, having also worked with Senate and House candidates, governors and other elected officials. As founder and CEO of Barnett Marketing Communications in Las Vegas, he works with authors, publishers, start-up and high-tech companies, focusing on marketing and promotion tactics that work where they count the most. He can be reached at 702-561-1167, or nedbarnett51@gmail.com. His website is currently down for a major overhaul, and his webmaster Jube Dankworth is a highly-successful conservative political consultant in Texas. Image: Screen shot from CNN-News18 Reuters video, via YouTube Who the heck came up with the vile idea of letting Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, architect of 9/11, off with a plea deal? J.D. Vance, a combat veteran of the George Bush-led wars set off as a result of that act, said what a lot of us would like to hear said, according to Fox News: During a campaign speech Wednesday in Glendale, Arizona, Trump campaign vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance slammed the plea deal taken by three of the terrorists behind the Sept. 11 terror attacks awaiting trial in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. "Just today, I heard that the Biden-Harris Department of Justice cut a deal with al-Qaeda terrorist Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to avoid the death penalty. It was reported today," Vance said. "Now, as someone who enlisted in the Marines to serve after 9/11, that is ridiculous. But it's not surprising." On Wednesday, the Department of Defense (DoD) announced the Convening Authority for Military Commissions, Susan Escallier, entered into pretrial agreements with Khalid Shaikh Mohammad, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin 'Attash, and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi. The smelly, sweaty, beast, who was apprehended at great risk to our fighting men in his dirty t-shirt in Pakistan, set off a plot that killed nearly 3,000 American nationals. Thousands of men and women took up arms to rid the world of his like, fighting terrorists. Thousands came back maimed, or didn't come back at all. The cost in blood and treasure was enormous. Yet how soon they forget, whoever it is running this legal system, giving this terrorist a "deal." Prosecutors normally give deals in order to reach someone higher up. There was no one higher up than he was, and yet he got a deal. That deal is problematic for a second reason in that he gets to live. And where terrorists live, there is always the prospect of a swap for the lives of innocents. We can expect his fellow terrorists to conduct some kind of new spectacular, at a cost of new lives, and use a weak U.S. leader to exchange the remainders for his miserable hide. That's if the late Lynne Stewart, his former leftist attorney, and all the little Lynne Stewarts she left behind, don't figure out a legal way to get him out and about. It's outrageous, a punishment that doesn't fit the crime. There are stray killers out there who get worse. Real justice is served as it was to Saddam Hussein, the Nazi concentration camp killers, and other war criminals, with executions. But this beast gets a plea deal. It's good to hear Vance speak the truth Americans know about the importance of killing off terrorists, not putting them in extended detention until the West loses its will to even punish them. That's why we need people like Vance in the executive office. Image: Wikimedia Commons // public domain Sometimes, the best time to buy a product is before its actually on sale. Tons of companies offer pre-order deals for their devices, and Google is no different. Thanks to a new leak, we know the pre-order deals for the Pixel 9 series. Just note that these might be the pre-order deals in France. If youre excited to know about the Google Pixel 9 series of phones, were going to see at least two of them in less than two weeks. Google is going to host its next Made By Google event on August 13th. Were going to see the Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro Fold, and maybe some more devices. So, if youre excited to see what the company has in store for us, mark your calendar. Here are the potential pre-order deals for the Pixel 9 series Just as a quick note, youll want to take this news cautiously, as were dealing with leaked information. Googles going to tell us the deals during the event that is if its not too busy talking about AI. As for the deals, theyre going to be different from last years according to the leak. Last year, if you ordered a Pixel 8 phone, youd get either a Pixel Watch 2 or a pair of Pixel Buds Pro. Thats a heck of a deal, especially if youre looking to get into the Pixel ecosystem. For this deal, youll get storage upgrades. This is similar to what Samsung is doing. So, if you order within the pre-order window, youll get the 256GB variant of a phone for the price of the 128GB variant. That goes for the 512GB variant (get it for the price of the 256GB variant) and the 1TB variant (the same price as the 512GB variant). These deals, according to the report, are for most authorized merchants in France. As you can guess, other merchants in other markets might offer different deals. Folks in the U.S. or other markets may still get a Pixel Watch or Pixel Buds. Other deals As stated by 9To5Google, users who purchase a Pixel 9 Pro, Pro XL, or Pro Fold will get 12 free months of Google One AI Premium if they order before December. Folks who buy a Pixel 9 will get six months of that service. Samsung chief has reportedly been quite angry at the companys mobile division Samsung MX. Specifically speaking, Samsung Electronics Chairman Jay Y. Lee directly intervened in the division. He has caused a major reshuffle within the profit-making division. Why is the Samsung chief angry with the highly lucrative business division? Samsung operates multiple businesses. It is one of the largest South Korean companies. Samsung Mobile is one of the most profitable divisions of the company. Despite thriving with AI smartphone innovations, it is now on edge, reportedly because of some design decisions. The matter became so serious, that the parent companys chief became angry with Samsung MX. Samsung's Chairman Cracks Down on MX Division Over Apple Copycat Claims Samsung's chairman, JY, known for his calm demeanor, recently gave a stern directive to the MX Division to reassess its management. This came after escalating issues with design and quality, causing a chilly pic.twitter.com/OdVRnNfvx0 INIYSA (@lafaiel) August 2, 2024 According to an insiders statement, tensions are rising within the Samsung Electronics MX Division. It receives the most performance-based pay among the Device Experience (DX) divisions. Speaking anonymously, the employee said: The chairman himself stepped in after the controversy over Apples design inspiration and quality issues surrounding the Buds 3 series and Galaxy Watch 7 released last month. The internal atmosphere is currently very bad. The employee was referring to the recently launched Galaxy Buds 3 and the Galaxy Watch Ultra. Samsungs chief is angry because, at the media briefing held at Samsung Store Hongdae in South Korea, these products were overwhelmingly compared to the Apple AirPods and Apple Watch. Galaxy Buds 3 and other accessories facing production and quality issues too? When the Galaxy Buds 3 and the Galaxy Watch Ultra were presented, several reporters instantly remarked they closely resembled Apples products. The previous two generations of Galaxy Buds had a distinct kidney bean appearance. The latest generation of Galaxy Buds have stems. Needless to say, these make the Galaxy Buds 3 similar to AirPods and several other wireless earbuds in the market. and the "I'm not airpods" Galaxy buds 3. There's one nice attention to detail however at the bottom of the stems, left bud is color coded blue, right bud orange. pic.twitter.com/rv2vbY8vbc Aquis_GN Android/Smartphone Vtuber (@Aquis_GN) July 11, 2024 Some reports claim a reporter even remarked, The appearance, case, and even the fit are too similar to Apple. Whats concerning is that even the media control method is similar to the AirPods Pro series. Specifically speaking, in both products, users can play or pause music by pressing the pillar, not the earbud. Even the method to change the volume is now identical. The Galaxy Buds 3 look just like AirPods. Why? At a distance, they are indistinguishable from AirPods. Samsung's previous designs were unique and efficient, so why change? pic.twitter.com/5bTWl6rxpc Tom's KI Ecke (@KI_HAL_2023) July 30, 2024 Samsungs chief usually has a calm demeanor. However, he was reportedly angry as the Galaxy Watch 7 Ultra also resembles the Apple Watch Ultra. Some reports also claimed Samsung may have welcomed problems in production and quality by abandoning the older designs. However, unless the earbuds are officially recalled, these may be termed as isolated cases. Perhaps the biggest difference that puts the Galaxy Buds 3 ahead of the Apple AirPods is their ease of repairability. Samsung Electronics Co.s chip division boss has warned employees via a memo. In the memo, obtained by Bloomberg, Jun Young-hyun expressed deep concern about the companys potential descent into a vicious cycle. The memo outlines critical issues hindering the tech giants competitiveness. Challenges in the AI memory market Jun, who took the reins after Samsung lost ground to rival SK Hynix in the crucial AI memory chip market, attributed the divisions recent upturn largely to a market rebound. However, he stressed that this is not a sustainable strategy. To ensure long-term success, the Korean tech giant must overhaul its workplace culture, improve communication, and confront challenges head-on. The Samsung chips memo reflects growing frustration over the companys struggles in the lucrative AI chip market, dominated by Nvidia Corp. Despite the companys recent surge in net income, Jun identified numerous obstacles threatening its future. We need to rebuild the culture of fierce debate that is unique to semiconductors. If we rely on the market without restoring fundamental competitiveness, we will be stuck in a vicious cycle that will repeat last years situation. Jun wrote. This call for a more open and challenging work environment underscores the urgency of the situation. The 63-year-old engineer warned that Samsung risks repeating last years setbacks without addressing these underlying issues. Signs of progress amid challenges While the memo highlights serious challenges, there are also signs of progress. Samsung has made significant strides in its comeback, including securing Nvidias approval for its HBM3 memory chips. The company also anticipates approval for the next-generation HBM3E chips in the coming months. These developments mark a departure from Samsungs historical dominance in the memory chip market as the current landscape demands a more agile and adaptive approach. We are currently in a difficult situation, Jun acknowledged. However, he expressed confidence in Samsungs ability to overcome these challenges. With our accumulated research experience and know-how, we are confident that we will quickly regain our competitive edge. The Samsung chips memo by its boss is a clear call to action. Jun Young-hyuns candid assessment and call for cultural change highlight the need for improved communication and problem-solving within the company. As Samsung works to close the gap with competitors, the focus will be on fostering a culture of openness and innovation to ensure long-term success. Samsung Keyboard comes pre-installed on Galaxy devices as the default keyboard app. It is packed with useful features, including support for extensions. However, it appears that Samsung has quietly removed extensions for YouTube, Grammarly, and Spotify from its Keyboard app. Some smartphone brands, such as Samsung, offer their own apps that replace the Google or AOSP equivalents. Samsung Keyboard is a decent alternative to Gboard thanks to its functionality. Extension support enables a smoother typing experience by allowing you to bring data directly from other apps and services into the text field. For example, if you wanted to send someone a song from Spotify, the extension would allow you to search for it without opening the Spotify app. Samsung removes YouTube, Grammarly, and Spotify extensions from its Keyboard app However, it is no longer possible to use the YouTube, Grammarly, and Spotify extensions features of Samsung Keyboard. The reason behind the removal of the extensions is unknown. It is also not known when exactly they were removed. Some suggest that this could have happened a few months ago, but not many had noticed. If this is true, it is possible that these extensions were not widely used, which would partly explain the companys move. Some speculate that the YouTube extension allowed users to bypass the video platforms age restrictions. So, the South Korean giant would have removed it because of that. However, the truth is that there is no official word on this matter. The Grammarly app offered grammar suggestions as you typed. Basically, it worked in a similar way to the Grammarly extension for desktop browsers. On the other hand, the Spotify extension allowed you to search for everything from songs to playlists on the platform without opening the app. The YouTube extension did the same thing as the Spotify extension, allowing you to bring songs, videos, or podcasts from YouTube to the text field. There is a built-in alternative for the Grammarly extension Now that Samsung has removed the aforementioned extensions, its Keyboard app is less functional. However, the company has an alternative to replace one of them: Grammarly. Currently, the Samsung Keyboard app offers a Writing Assistant feature that fulfills a similar role. In May, Walmart launched the Onn 4K Pro as its latest Google TV set-top box. The device offers some impressive specs for its price, making several Chromecast dongle users consider switching. However, they might be worried about the software support section on a non-Google product. That said, Walmarts track record regarding updates to Android TV/Google TV products is better than you might think. Its noteworthy that the Android TV/Google TV segment doesnt have as good software support as high-end smartphones. In fact, not even Google is able to keep its devices updated to the latest software available. Currently, the Chromecast with Google TV series (HD and 4K) is still running Android TV 12. If you werent aware, Android TV 14 has been available for a while now. Still, they do get security updates and some new features via the Google TV custom skin. First Walmarts Onn Android TV device (2021) just got a new update So, if even Google cant offer exemplary software support on TV streaming devices, it is logical to think that other brands are doing it even worse. However, Walmart is among those that have stood out the most by sending updates to all of its Android TV and Google TV products. As reported by 9to5Google, the first Onn Android TV series launched in 2021 is receiving a new update right now. Not only that, but the Onn 4K Google TV box (2023) also received an update a few weeks ago. Meanwhile, the latest Onn 4K Pro has already been blessed with at least a couple of updates since its launch. For reference, 2021 Onn Android TV devices started at just $15, but that hasnt stopped the company from committing to updating them. That said, many of the updates are security patches. There are also bug-fixing updates that do not raise the security patch level. Still, its impressive that even the cheapest models get updates for so long. The Google TV Streamer is expected to arrive in August as the next-gen Chromecast product. It will likely come with Android TV 14, though its not sure how many big OS updates it will get, given what weve seen. Meanwhile, NVIDIA remains the brand that showed the most impressive software support in the segment. Its a shame the company didnt continue with the NVIDIA Shield TV series. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, attends a Memorial Day ceremony at Houston National Cemetery on Monday, May 27, 2024 in Houston. Brett Coomer/Staff photographer The Harris County Democratic Party announced Friday that its precinct chairs will convene on August 13 to nominate a replacement for the late U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee on the November ballot. Jackson Lee, who had represented the 18th Congressional District for three decades, won a decisive primary victory in March and was on her way to winning her 15th term in office before she died from pancreatic cancer last month. With no time to hold a new election ahead of the November general election, 88 Democratic precinct chairs from the district are tasked with selecting a new nominee on behalf of voters. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Following a series of memorial services for Jackson Lee, more candidates have confirmed they are entering the race. So far, former Mayor Sylvester Turner, former Council Member Amanda Edwards, Council Member Letitia Plummer, State Rep. Jarvis Johnson and former City Council Member Dwight Boykins, among others, have all announced their candidacies. Later Friday, Gov. Greg Abbott called a separate special election for Nov. 5 to fill the rest of Jackson Lee's current term, which ends in January. Candidates will have until Aug. 22 to sign up to run in that race. That means District 18 voters will vote twice on the same ballot for the same position: once to elect someone to fill in for about seven weeks, and again to elect someone to serve the full, two-year term that starts in January. According to state law, the Democrats have until August 26 to nominate a new candidate for the full term and submit their choice to the Texas Secretary of States office. However, they have opted for a more compressed timeframe, packing a flurry of interviews and events into a little more than a week. Nicole Pedersen, voter protection director at the Harris County Democratic Party, explained this is because many precinct chairs will be attending the Democratic National Convention, set to start on August 19 in Chicago, and they wanted to complete the process before their travels. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The nomination procedure means much of the decision will be influenced by party connections rather than direct voter input. But constituents can still learn about the candidates and track the decision-making process by watching a series of interviews, forums and meetings scheduled for the coming days. Here are the details on where and when these events will take place. August 5: The party will hold an informational meeting on Zoom to explain the nomination process and answer questions. You can register here. August 6, 7 and 8: Precinct chairs will conduct virtual interviews of candidates during the three evenings. More information can be found here. Advertisement Article continues below this ad August 10: The Southeast Democrats Network and the Black Women of Greater Houston PAC will co-host a televised candidate forum at the Young Womens College Preparatory Academy, 1906 Cleburne St., with the reception starting at 12:30 p.m. The Xiaomi 15 Pro is tipped to be lighter despite the fact it will include a lot bigger battery. This information comes from Digital Chat Station, one of the most prominent tipsters from China. The Xiaomi 15 Pro will be lighter, but include a considerably larger battery The tipster said that the Xiaomi 15 Pro will weigh 220 grams while being 8.5mm thick. An earlier report stated that a 6,000mAh battery will be used. Just to be clear, Digital Chat Station didnt mention that part now. As a reminder, the Xiaomi 14 Pro is 8.5mm thick, while it weighs 223 or 230 grams, depending on the variant. It includes a 4,880mAh battery. So, if the rumors end up being true, the Xiaomi 15 Pro will have the same thickness, be lighter, and offer a lot more battery capacity. Some of you may wonder how is this possible. Well, thanks to silicon-carbon batteries, most of all. Proper engineering is also required, though, of course, to make all that fit on the inside. The device will almost certainly launch in October The Xiaomi 15 Pro is expected to arrive in a couple of months. The Xiaomi 15 and Xiaomi 15 Pro will almost certainly launch in October. Thats when the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 will be presented, and these two phones will be amongst the first to use it. The Xiaomi 14 and Xiaomi 14 Pro arrived in October last year, so it fits. The Xiaomi 15 Ultra will likely arrive at a later date, as did the Xiaomi 14 Ultra. Its also worth noting that the Xiaomi 14 Pro did not make it to global markets, but the Xiaomi 14 and the Xiaomi 14 Ultra did. It remains to be seen if the same will be the case this year too. The Xiaomi 15 Pro will be a truly powerful, flagship device. Its expected to include a large display and a Leica-powered camera setup on the back. Plenty of top-notch RAM and storage will be included too, along with blazing fast wired and wireless charging. A woman cuddling and kissing her happy pet dog Creative Cat Studio via Shutterstock Do our dogs see us as their parents? Many a pet owner (myself included) will proudly call themselves "pet parents" because we see our pets as our little fur babies. The question is, do dogs reciprocate those familial feelings when it comes to their human owners? While dogs might not have the same understanding of parent-child relationships as we humans do, I think it's fair to say that many of our four-footed friends see us not only as their best buddies, but as beloved parental figures as well. Here are a few adorable signs that your dog looks up to you in that light! 1. They Gaze into Your Eyes In many different species across the animal kingdom, making direct eye contact is often perceived as a threat, or a display of dominance. The same is true of many canine species, including domesticated dogs themselves. If that's the case, though, then what does it mean when your pet pooch gazes adoringly up into your eyes? Despite eye contact normally being considered a sign of aggression among dogs, there seems to be something about the bond between a pet parent and their pup that transcends this. A 2015 study helmed by Japanese animal behaviorist Takefumi Kikusui found that sustained eye contact between pairings of dogs and their owners raised levels of oxytocin (aka, the "love hormone") in the human participants, which in turn caused their dogs' oxytocin levels to rise in a positive feedback loop. The team also observed a few pairings of tamed wolves and their owners in their study, but the "oxytocin-gaze positive feedback loop" was only present in the pairings with dogs, not the wolves. Kikusui's team drew parallels between the oxytocin-inducing gaze between dogs and their owners and the "mutual gaze" between a human mother and their infant. Both gazing behaviors create the same type of oxytocin positive feedback loop, suggesting that dogs have not only evolved this form of interspecies attachment alongside us, but that its bonding effect is similar to that shared by human parents and their children. If your heart swells with love when you gaze into your pup's eyes, chances are they're feeling the love right back! A happy corgi being held by its human mama sergey kolesnikov via Shutterstock 2. They Love Cuddling Up to You Who doesn't love a good snuggle sesh? If your dog can't get enough of cuddling up with you on the couch or sleeping by your side, it's a strong indicator of their affection for you. Some pet experts have suggested this might be another indicator of a parent-child-like bond! "Gentle touching and nuzzling mimic maternal affection between puppies and their original dog moms," veterinarian Rebecca Greenstein spoke to Business Insider. "These physical activities induce the release of the feel-good hormone, oxytocin, in both species." If you want to see the hard science, check out this 2019 study from S. Marshall-Pescini et al., which found that positive interactions between dogs and their owners, including cuddles, raised the levels of oxytocin in both parties. I doubt any dog parents will find those results shocking, though! Related: Woman Has Silver Labrador She Birthed Walk Down the Aisle at Her Wedding 3. They Look To You for Comfort and Assurance Has your dog ever checked your expression with a "side-eye" when faced with something new, or run up to you as if asking for help when dealing with an unfamiliar situation? If your dog looks to you for assurance and guidance, that's another possible indicator that they see you as their guardian. In 2016, researchers from the University of Vienna wanted to see if dogs displayed a "secure base effect" similar to that exhibited by human children. In layman's terms, human children look to their parents as a "secure base" when navigating new situations, and the researchers wanted to see if dogs would behave the same way. During testing, the dogs were challenged with maneuvering a food reward out of an interactive chew toy under three different scenarios: one where their owners were absent, one where their owners were in the room but standing by silently, and one where their owners were actively cheering them on. What did they find? Over all, the dogs were far more motivated and spent more time problem-solving with the chew toy when their owners were there than when they were absent. Whether or not the owners were verbally encouraging them on or quietly standing by had little impact on the dogs' motivation; it appeared that the owners' mere presence was comfort enough for the dogs. This suggests that, just like human kids do with their parents, your dog looks up to you as their "rock" when facing new or intimidating situations! A labrador fetching a big stick from a river Jaromir Chalabala via Shutterstock 4. Your Dog Likes Bringing You 'Gifts' Your dog may sometimes bring you a ball or a tug rope as a sign that it wants to play with you. But what about when it brings you "gifts" that aren't toys, like your shoes, or a blanket, or other random objects? Some animal experts think that this could be a sign that - you guessed it - your dog sees you as its leader. According to a piece on "gift-giving" behavior from Wag Walking, wild canines will present part of their prey to their pack leader after a hunt as a sign of "submission and respect." Some have theorized that domesticated dogs mimic this deferential behavior by bringing random gifts to their human owners. Of course, this is just one popular theory among many. Other theories suggest this behavior could be a way of channeling their excitement to see you, or that it could even be a learned behavior ingrained in dogs by our human ancestors. Still, it's food for thought, especially if your dog always greets you with your slippers every day after you get home! What It All Means for Us Definitively answering the question of whether or not our dogs literally see us as their parents is a tricky one. Again, dogs don't have the same understanding of the complexities of parent-child relationships as we do. Also, animal experts seem to agree that our dogs are aware that we're not dogs, and therefore know that we're not actually their biological parents. That being said, when you look into the research, it becomes clear that the psychological bond between a dog and their owner is very similar to, if perhaps not exactly the same as, that between a human child and their parent. Think about that the next time your fur baby welcomes you home with a goofy smile and a wagging tail! 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. Anyone planning further violent protests in the wake of the Southport stabbings has been told that the authorities will be watching you to prevent the summer madness from spreading. Home Office minister Lord Hanson told would-be rioters to be prepared to face the full force of the law on this criminal activity, as the prospect of more than a dozen more protests in the coming days looms. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has announced a new national response to the violent disorder linking police forces across the country. The knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on Monday which left three girls dead has sparked violent disorder in some towns in England. Lord Hanson said forces have the powers under intelligence-led policing to track people who may be travelling to cause trouble and to cause conspiracy and to use facial recognition technology and other evidence to bring prosecutions. Asked how concerned the Government is about fresh unrest this weekend, Lord Hanson told LBC Radio: There is that potential. But I always say to anybody whos organising this, we will be watching you. If you are organising this now, we will be watching you. We have powers under existing legislation to stop you organising this now and to take action accordingly, and if you do take action and are not part of any organised group, be prepared to face the full force of the law on this criminal activity. Asked whether those involved are from the far right, he said: Some individuals will have far-right opinions, in my view, some might be caught up in the summer madness. Some might be people whove got genuine concerns. (PA Graphics) He urged them to protest peacefully and raise issues with their MP. What they cant do is throw rocks at police officers, break windows in mosques and attack people in the streets and undertake street robbery as happened in some of the shops in the in Southport. That is simply not acceptable. The PA news agency found evidence of at least 15 protests advertised online, some calling for participants to take England flags, and a number contain phrases such as enough is enough, save our kids or stop the boats. The protests are being planned for areas such as Southport, Leeds and Bristol. Two counter-protests are also being advertised online. Demonstrators in Hartlepool set fire to a police car during clashes with officers on Wednesday (Owen Humphreys/PA) Liverpool City Region mayor Steve Rotheram said he was concerned that there could be a repeat of violence somewhere in the Liverpool City Region, but added: We know exactly what wed need to do to ensure that these things are nipped in the bud. Lord Walney, the UK Governments adviser on political violence and disruption, said police should be prepared to step in if it appears troublemakers are travelling to incite riots. The crossbench peer told the BBCs Good Morning Scotland radio programme: The police should be prepared to step in where they can. Where there is these kinds of gatherings which are just designed to be fanning the flames of violence, (they) should be stopping people gathering. People absolutely have the right to protest in this country, but they do not have the right to riot. Axel Rudakubana covers his face in the dock at Liverpool Crown Court (Elizabeth Cook/PA) The 17-year-old charged with the murder of three girls in the holiday dance class appeared at Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday, and was named as Axel Rudakubana, from Banks in Lancashire. He is charged with the murder of Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, in Southport on Monday. He is also charged with the attempted murder of yoga class instructor Leanne Lucas, businessman John Hayes and eight children, who cannot be named for legal reasons, and with possession of a kitchen knife with a curved blade. He was remanded to youth detention accommodation and will next appear in court in October. Ben Proud claimed the one medal missing from his collection as he bagged Olympic silver in the mens 50 metres freestyle final. Proud has won world, European and Commonwealth titles in his decorated career but he has had a couple of near misses for a podium spot at the Olympics fourth at Rio 2016 and joint fifth at Tokyo 2020. He ended his wait on Friday night but missed out on gold by five hundredths of a second as Australias Cameron McEvoy took top spot in a time of 21.25 seconds, with Frances Florent Manaudou third. WOW that was close! Silver in the splash and dash for Ben Proud pic.twitter.com/DH7bGGwgW3 Team GB (@TeamGB) August 2, 2024 Proud claimed Britains fourth swimming medal of Paris 2024 and third silver, joining Adam Peaty in the mens 100m breaststroke and Matt Richards in the mens 200m freestyle to miss out on gold by a fine margin. Team GB had to wait mere minutes for another silver thanks to Duncan Scott although he was powerless to stop French sensation Leon Marchand from storming to victory in the mens 200 metres individual medley. Scott picked up his eighth Olympic medal moving him level with Sir Bradley Wiggins and only Sir Jason Kenny has more among British athletes but this was all about Marchand. With President Emmanuel Macron among those cheering on, Marchand powered to his fourth individual gold of these Games, pipping Scott by 1.25 secs. A British paediatric nurse who provided aid for children with shattered and amputated limbs from airstrikes in Gaza described what she encountered as beyond anything Ive ever seen before. Becky Platt, 50, who is an advanced clinical practitioner in paediatric accident and emergency in London, saw children who cannot walk because of their injuries, young people eating things from rubbish piles and youngsters experiencing psychological distress during her visit to a hospital in Gaza in April. Ms Platt, who visited the hospital for charity Save the Children, described the healthcare situation in Gaza as broken and said there is a dire need for medicine and other aid. When I first arrived, I remember seeing small children and toddlers picking through rubbish in the middle of the road, unaccompanied children, picking up things and eating it, she told the PA news agency. We know that there are thousands of orphaned and unaccompanied children there, and I certainly saw that so both as a nurse and as a mum that was incredibly difficult to see. She said she treated children with injuries sustained during explosions including children with limb amputations, shattered limbs, some children had lost more than one limb. She added: Multiple children had spinal injuries or pelvic injuries, which meant that they were unable to walk, and may always be unable to walk. In addition to that, there are multiple children, thousands affected by all of the problems that are associated with living in poor hygiene conditions and overcrowded areas. The paediatric nurse said children in Gaza currently only have access to mild painkillers such as paracetamol and ibuprofen, but highlighted the need for stronger medicine for children who live without limbs. These are children that have had their limbs blown off and what weve got to offer them is paracetamol and ibuprofen because all of the supply chains have broken down, and its really difficult to get hold of anything stronger than that, she said. Ms Platt described how the war in Gaza has impacted children psychologically, which she said was devastating and beyond anything Ive ever seen before. One young lady who had lost one of her limbs in an explosion she couldnt look at her lower body because she found it so distressing, she couldnt touch it, she explained. I saw another boy who had had his femur shattered when he was near where a bomb landed when he was playing with his friends he lost his six best friends, and he dreams about those boys every single night. When he closes his eyes, theyre there that kind of psychological distress is something that maybe theyll never get over. They need significant help with that and they need it urgently. More than 20,000 children are estimated to be lost, disappeared, detained or buried under rubble, according to recent analysis from Save the Children. Ms Platt described seeing children living under canvas, tarpaulin or fabric and without access to water or a proper toilet, and called for an urgent need for aid and other emergency supplies to be distributed in Gaza. Theres an absolute dire need for aid at the moment, she said. The things that I saw there showed me that theres a huge need for aid both in terms of health care and with the emergency health unit. Liz Bradshaw, senior conflict and humanitarian adviser at Save the Children UK, said: Beckys experiences in Gaza highlight the critical need for immediate action. We urge the international community to support our efforts and provide the necessary resources to help children enduring horrific violence from the ongoing Israeli bombardment. The world cannot keep standing by as these children suffer. An immediate and definitive ceasefire is the only way to save lives in Gaza and end grave and serious violations of their rights. Henry*, then 52, came home from work one day to find his wife of 10 years and two children had moved out of their family home, with no explanation. To his horror, one day he came home to find his wife and two children had mysteriously vanished. (Yahoo Life UK) (Yahoo Life UK) During the summer of 1992, I was working away in Manchester on a month-long contract. At the time, Id recently taken the leap to become a self-employed electrician and was eager to make as many new connections as possible to build up my business. I was also young and single, so I didnt mind travelling up and down the country for jobs. One Friday night, I finished earlier than normal so I decided to make the most of my downtime and explore the Manchester nightlife. Being from London, Id never really ventured up north, so it was a fun new experience for me. Building our dream life Little did I know that evening would change my life forever, as I met the love of my life and the woman Id go on to marry and have two children with. Shelley* and I hit it off immediately, and it wasnt long until Id sold my flat down south and relocated to Manchester so we could live together. I really felt like this was 'it'. My business was flourishing, I was so happy in my relationship and, as a couple, we worked as a team to create our dream life together. I was so happy in my relationship and, as a couple, we worked as a team to create our dream life together. By 1995, we were married and between 1996 and 1998 we had two sons. Then, in 2006, we moved into our 'forever home', as Shelley called it a five-bedroom detached house in a quaint village cul-de-sac. We were also in a fortunate financial position, meaning we were able to take multiple holidays abroad every year. From the outside, we resembled the stereotypical, happy modern family. The start of the end But in 2013, our worlds were turned upside down. While my wife and I were on a weekend getaway in Blackpool celebrating my upcoming 50th birthday, I suffered a heart attack which resulted in me having to undergo emergency surgery. I was in hospital for around two weeks, and when I was discharged, I was unable to work for months under my doctors orders. I suffered a heart attack which resulted in me having to undergo emergency surgery. I was in hospital for around two weeks, and when I was discharged, I was unable to work for months. Not only did this emotionally affect our family life, but it also wreaked havoc on us financially. Being self-employed and the main breadwinner, I lost out on contract after contract. This created huge tension between my wife and I, as we worried how we could afford our mortgage, our childrens education fees (they attended the local private school), and generally keep up with our idyllic life. Marriage breakdown Being at home for those months took its toll on my mental health too. I felt useless and, admittedly, developed a fiery temper due to my frustration at being unable to provide for my family. Shelley and I would spend most evenings yelling at each other, the kids always taking her side and begging me to stop because she was smaller and more fragile and because before the heart attack, shed been the one whod been around the most with them as Id always been working. I remember one evening after a particularly heated row, our boys locked themselves in the bathroom because they were genuinely scared of me. I remember one evening after a particularly heated row, our boys locked themselves in the bathroom because they were genuinely scared of me. Theyd never heard me shout like this before, and looking back, I feel like it was the beginning of the end. That night, my wife said she couldnt bear to look at me and would be moving into the spare bedroom. I took it to heart and became more angry and hostile, which pushed my family even further away from me. I began to think of it as being 'three against one', and in my spiralling state, thought, 'They already hate me, I might as well make them hate me even more.' I moved the living room TV into the master bedroom, put locks on the door, bought myself a mini fridge and stocked up on everything Id need. As the weeks went on, we were like passing ships in the night. He was arguing so much with his wife that she moved into a separate bedroom. Posed by models. (Getty Images/Yahoo Life UK) (Getty Images) Shelley and the boys began staying with her parents or with friends, and when they were at home which became rarer theyd just ignore me. Or, Shelley and I would argue over anything and everything which resulted in me retreating to the bedroom, slamming and locking the door. Shelley* and I would argue over anything and everything which resulted in me retreating to the bedroom, slamming and locking the door. When I was finally able to go back to work, six months later, it was at a much slower pace. At first, I thought this might improve things, but I was wrong. We were still living separate lives our only communication being through arguments and I was spending any spare time in the pub with friends. This only added fuel to the fire, but during that period, I didnt care. I was feeling more bitter by the day. Angry and confused This went on for around two years until one evening in 2015 I came home from work to find the house empty. The sofas, dining room and coffee table, the kids beds and all of their possessions were gone. Theyd literally moved out of the house while I was at work and I had no idea where theyd gone. At first, I felt nothing but anger. I couldnt believe theyd done this to me. But after an hour or so, reality set in and I became inconsolable. 'Ive done this to myself,' I remember thinking. 'Theres no way back from here.' I ran outside to knock on my neighbours doors to see if they knew where my family had gone. But they were reluctant to talk to me... I ran outside to knock on my neighbours doors to see if they knew where my family had gone. But they were reluctant to talk to me Shelley had apparently told them not to tell me where they were going. They also knew wed been having problems for years after hearing some of our arguments. Now, I dont blame them, but at the time, I thought, 'This is what hell feels like.' Weeks passed before I found out where theyd gone. Shelley texted me but begged me to give them some space, telling me that our sons were still processing everything that had happened. Now, its been almost 10 years. Shelley and I are divorced, and to this day, I dont really have a relationship with my kids. Ive tried to reach out, but every time weve met for the occasional lunch or dinner, its exploded into rowing matches mainly the boys wondering why Ive never said sorry for what I put them through. But its not that simple. I get that theyre probably traumatised from what they experienced during their teenage years. Ive learnt to accept what happened, and Im much less angry now. I love my children more than anything, and I just hope that in the future, theyll want to see their dad again. *Names have been changed to protect identities. Read more: All of Yahoo UK's How I was dumped stories. A young driver who caused the deaths of a couple in a head-on collision while under the influence of cocaine has been jailed for three years and five months. Jessica Higgs, now 20, fell asleep while driving her works Mercedes Citan van on the A303 near Yeovilton, Somerset, at about 2.40pm on May 15 2023. North Somerset Courthouse heard the vehicle, which was travelling eastbound up to the speed limit of 50mph, suddenly drifted over the white line and into the westbound lane. Higgs van crashed head-on into a Fiat 500 being driven by Tony Mist with his partner Thelma Huse in the passenger seat. The couple, both 69, from Mytchett, Surrey, were on their way to Charmouth, Dorset, for a glamping trip to celebrate Mr Mists 70th birthday two days later. They both suffered fatal injuries in the collision, with the father-of-two pronounced dead at the scene and the grandmother-of-five dying in hospital in Bristol the next day. Higgs, from Warminster, was found to be over the specified limit for benzoylecgonine a metabolite of cocaine when her blood was tested at 8pm that day. The electrical apprentice later pleaded guilty to two counts of causing death by careless driving while under the influence of drugs. Judge Paul Cook jailed Higgs, who had no previous convictions, for three years and five months and disqualified her from driving for five years after she is released from custody. He told her: There was a catastrophic head-on collision which resulted in their deaths. You were also injured. What all the impact statements make clear is the heartbreaking devastation that has been suffered by the family members and those who loved them. They say these were two people with so much more life to live for and to give. The judge said character statements provided for Higgs described her as caring, loving and thoughtful. He added: While physically you have recovered, you are consumed by guilt and remorse and described as a shell of the person you were. The judge said Higgs, who wept throughout the court hearing, was driving within the speed limit and other motorists did not note anything unusual until the van drifted across the road. He told Higgs: I accept that you didnt know you had cocaine still in your blood, however nodding off as you did was a consequence of being overtired. The court heard Higgs went to a party on May 13 and took cocaine, last consuming the drug in the early hours of May 14 around 36 hours before the crash. She went to bed early that day and awoke at 6am before being collected for work at 6.25am. Later that morning, she was tasked with driving her work van from Salisbury to Axminster. Higgs picked up a water pump at Axminster and had an hours rest before setting off to drive back to Salisbury at 2pm. Prosecuting, Rupert Russell, said Mr Mist would not have had the time or space to avoid the collision once Higgs van had crossed over the white line. He told the court Higgs had been up all night on the Saturday to Sunday taking cocaine which had caused her to be tired. It is the tiredness which clearly led to this tragedy, Mr Russell said. The court heard Mr Mist and Ms Huse had been together for 30 years and were both due to celebrate their milestone 70th birthdays shortly after the collision. Kate Cory, Ms Huses daughter, described how they had been travelling to Charmouth for a much-anticipated glamping holiday for Mr Mists birthday before celebrating Ms Huses birthday with a theatre trip. She added: Their 30-year love story came to an abrupt end far too soon and thats something none of us will ever get over. Malcolm Galloway, representing Higgs, said she was aged 19 at the time of the collision and had held her driving licence for just nine months. The remorse is genuine, Mr Galloway said. Of course, if she could turn the clock back, she would. Speaking outside court on behalf of the victims families, Ms Huses ex-husband Jim Huse said they had been devastated by the totally preventable actions of Jessica Higgs. We hope that others will learn from this, as no journey is so important that it should take place when your brain is compromised by the effect of drugs, he said. Tony Hall, an officer with Avon and Somerset Police, added: It is every motorists responsibility to make sure they are in fit enough to drive before getting behind the wheel and it is clear Higgs was not. This is another painful and devastating reminder that driving while under the influence of drugs is a deadly decision that puts yourself and innocent road users at serious risk. One of Scotlands most anticipated arts festivals has launched, with more than 3,500 shows planned across the month. The Edinburgh Festival Fringe officially launched on Friday and will run until August 26, with artists from 58 countries set to perform. There are 3,663 shows confirmed up 346 from the 3,317 shows shown on the festivals printed programme. A total of 686 events have a pay what you can model and there are 456 free shows. #edfringe 2024 is officially underway! Heres to an amazing month of ground-breaking, jaw-dropping, boundary-crossing performance. Get out there and #UnleashYourFringe Book online or on the #EdFringe app https://t.co/zRmhDobub6 pic.twitter.com/IgCA3XqsVQ Edinburgh Festival Fringe (@edfringe) August 2, 2024 Shona McCarthy, chief executive of Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, said: After months of planning by a cast of thousands, I am absolutely thrilled to welcome everyone to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2024. I want to say a massive thank you to everyone who has worked so hard to get to this point, including artists, venues, producers, promoters, staff and too many more to mention. Now its time to enjoy this amazing festival youve created. The Fringe Society exists to support the artists, media and arts industry taking part in the Fringe. Our team will be at Fringe Central throughout August with on-the-ground support, advice and a fantastic programme of events for all participants. Now its over to the Fringe audience, please get ready to Unleash Your Fringe and experience work from established names or first-time and emerging performers. The best way to support artists over the coming weeks is to go and see shows. The Edinburgh International Film Festival also launched on Friday, also running until August 25. It features more than 160 performers. Acrobats from Gravity & Other Myths perform in front of the Assembly Hall in Edinburgh (Jane Barlow/PA) With thousands of people expected to descend on Scotlands capital in August, train operator ScotRail has urged passengers travelling to Edinburgh to be aware of the temporary timetable. Speaking on BBCs Good Morning Scotland programme, the firms communication director David Ross said: We are operating on a temporary timetable at the moment, so there are fewer services than there normally would be for the festivals. So our advice to passengers is to check before you travel. Take a look at the ScotRail website or the app and, if you can, dont leave it until the very last train, because we do expect services to be very busy. He explained the temporary timetable was because of a reliance on rest-day working and overtime by train drivers, and that the company was looking to recruit more drivers to reduce this. He said: The work that were doing just now to hire another 800 drivers over the course of the next five years will help us to significantly reduce reliance on rest-day working and run as reliable a service as we possibly can. Uncertainty around election week helped drive shopper footfall down for the 12th consecutive month, figures show. Total UK footfall was down 3.3% year on year in July despite the warmer and drier weather, according to British Retail Consortium (BRC)-Sensormatic IQ data. Shopping centres were particularly badly hit, with footfall down 3.9% on last July, although high street footfall was up 2.7% in July, a significant increase from the 3.1% fall seen in June. All UK nations saw a year on year fall in footfall, with England seeing the steepest decline at 3.4%, and Northern Ireland the smallest at 2.2%. Monthly total UK retail footfall (% change year on year). Source: British Retail Consortium BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said: Footfall declined for the 12th consecutive month, failing to maintain the buoyancy seen in 2022/23. As summer got into full swing, many people have chosen to increase their spending on holidays and leisure activities rather than shopping. Election week also saw particularly weak footfall, as political electioneering peaked, creating uncertainty for many consumers. Andy Sumpter, from Sensormatic Solutions, said: As we approach a full year of seeing footfall yo-yo in its ongoing recovery, its clear the long tail of the cost-of-living crisis is continuing to rattle consumer confidence and is likely to prompt spending caution for some time to come, making each in-store conversion all the harder won. With election fever now over and the school holidays now in full swing, retailers will be hoping that spells a positive outlook for store performance in the months to come. Governor Greg Abbott speaks alongside Mayor John Whitmire, PUC Texas Chairman Thomas Gleeson and Texas Division of Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd during a press conference on Texas ongoing response and recovery efforts for Hurricane Beryl on Monday, July 15, 2024 in Houston. Raquel Natalicchio/Staff photographer Governor Greg Abbott is joined by Mayor John Whitmire for a press conference on Texas ongoing response and recovery efforts for Hurricane Beryl on Monday, July 15, 2024 in Houston. Raquel Natalicchio/Staff photographer Mayor John Whitmire speaks alongside Governor Greg Abbott, PUC Texas Chairman Thomas Gleeson and Texas Division of Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd during a press conference on Texas ongoing response and recovery efforts for Hurricane Beryl on Monday, July 15, 2024 in Houston. Raquel Natalicchio/Staff photographer A lineman tends to fallen power lines in the East End neighborhood of Houston, days after Hurricane Beryl made landfall, on Thursday, July 11, 2024 in Houston. Raquel Natalicchio/Staff photographer Mayor John Whitmire speaks alongside Governor Greg Abbott, PUC Texas Chairman Thomas Gleeson and Texas Division of Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd during a press conference on Texas ongoing response and recovery efforts for Hurricane Beryl on Monday, July 15, 2024 in Houston. Raquel Natalicchio/Staff photographer CenterPoint will speed up plans to trim trees, replace utility poles and take other actions to avoid more mass power outages for the rest of the hurricane season after Gov. Greg Abbott said the utilitys original timeline was not aggressive enough. Abbott released the embattled utility providers revised proposal Thursday evening after meeting with CenterPoint executives. He had demanded the company make swift changes last month after Hurricane Beryl left millions in the Houston area without power. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The original proposal was inadequate, Abbott wrote on social media. More must be done & faster. It caps a week of scrutiny from lawmakers in Austin, including often tense hearings at the Capitol where state House and Senate members from both parties grilled CenterPoint CEO Jason Wells over the utilitys failures during Beryl. The proposal submitted to the governor comes as the utility this week withdrew a $2 billion resiliency plan it presented to state regulators in April. Wells said in a letter to the governor that the utility is working to revise the plan in the aftermath of Beryl and in light of the updated proposal Abbott demanded. READ MORE: CenterPoint withdraws request to fund resiliency plan You have my commitment that our leadership team will work urgently and take every possible action to re-earn your trust, and that of the millions of people in the Greater Houston area who depend on us, Wells said in the letter submitted to Abbotts office on July 24. Our company and the thousands of men and women of CenterPoint will remain tireless in our efforts to strengthen our system and serve the community we love and are proud to call home. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The company initially sent a plan to Abbott that promised to trim trees around 1,650 miles of power lines by the end of the year, but now is promising to clear all vegetation from 2,000 miles of power lines deemed to be at higher risk by the end of the month. The plan says CenterPoint now has about 1,000 vegetation management workers, nearly double the crew it had before Beryl, and it is working on operational plans that would get those workers out clearing lines more swiftly after a storm hits based on damage modeling. The plan calls for replacing about 1,000 poles by the end of the month, a goal it originally had set for Dec. 31. The utility also says it expects to harden nearly 350 distribution line miles to the latest extreme wind standard on a reliability-risk basis by the end of the year. Advertisement Article continues below this ad CenterPoint also says it has launched a new cloud-based outage tracker, replacing a tracker that did not work for much of the aftermath of Beryl. The plan says all CenterPoint customers will have an estimated time for power restoration within 24 hours of a storm exiting the service area, and the utility will update those estimates daily. A far-right extremist who hosted terror websites viewed by Buffalo gunman Payton Gendron has been jailed for seven years. Colin McNeil, from Leeds, was given an extended sentence over the two websites that spread far-right propaganda, glorified Hitler and encouraged terrorism. The 46-year-old was told he will spend seven years in custody and four years on extended licence after pleading guilty at Sheffield Crown Court to four offences of disseminating a terrorist publication. He will also be subject to a terrorist notification order for 30 years. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said the websites hosted by McNeil honoured men who committed racist mass killings, including Brenton Tarrant, who murdered 51 people in and around two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2019. He did not create the material but provided a platform for it to reach its audience, which included people who were inclined towards terrorism, police said. Among the users of the website was Gendron, 18, who went on to murder 10 people in a mass shooting at a grocery shop in Buffalo in the US in 2022. The CPS said evidence was able to show his engagement with the websites through likes and comments on racist material hosted on them. Counter Terrorism Policing North East said the website was deliberately, and very publicly, unmoderated, with McNeil admitting in a police interview that he knew the site had been swamped by material supporting extreme right-wing ideologies. McNeil benefited financially from the websites, receiving donations from users, and also used the sites to express his own racist views. One of the sites, which operated like a typical social media platform, had 5,716 members, with 255,960 photos and 6,499 videos uploaded. The other site, set up for videos, hosted 12,345 members and contained 79,284 videos. This site also had an option to upgrade to a pro member for 50 US dollars (39), which would allow the user to post ad-free videos, sell videos, and to livestream. Bethan David, head of the CPS Counter Terrorism Division, said: Colin McNeil allowed his websites to operate as propaganda platforms for far-right terrorist material. He profited from the sites in the form of donations from users, and it is clear that others were inspired by the hateful and racist material they were able to access online including those from overseas. McNeils actions were quite deliberate; he knew full well that there was a risk that terrorism would be encouraged and yet he permitted access to such material anyway. McNeil was arrested in March 2022 following an investigation by Counter Terrorism Policing North East. The Defence Secretary has visited Israel to stress the urgent need for de-escalation at the end of a tour of the region by British ministers. John Healey met his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant in Tel Aviv on Friday, where he called for an immediate ceasefire and for all sides to show restraint and dial down the tension at this critical moment. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Mr Gallant said the two men had discussed the importance of defence ties between the two nations, and thanked Mr Healey for his commitment to the UK-Israel relationship, and his support for Israels right to self-defence as we continue to face threats on multiple fronts. John Healey and David Lammy visited Lebanon on Thursday as escalating tensions threatened to drag the nation into the Israel-Hamas conflict (FCDO/PA) The meeting follows visits by Mr Healey and Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, to Qatar and Lebanon earlier this week, with the two men urging a ceasefire, the release of hostages and an increase in aid to Palestine. The ministers tour comes in the wake of the death of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed in an air strike on the Iranian capital Tehran that has been attributed to Israel. Tensions have also increased on Israels northern border with Lebanon after 12 children and teenagers were killed by Hezbollah rockets in the Golan Heights. That strike was followed by an Israeli air strike on a suburb of Lebanese capital Beirut, which Tel Aviv said was targeting the Hezbollah commander responsible. On Friday, Mr Lammy said there was no doubt that this was a critical moment. He said: In Lebanon, I had discussions with counterparts on the urgent need for de-escalation. It is in no ones interest for this conflict to spread across the region. An Israeli air strike hit a suburb of Beirut on Tuesday, with Tel Aviv saying it had targeted a Hezbollah commander responsible for a rocket attack that killed 12 children (AP) The Foreign Secretary also urged British nationals to leave Lebanon while commercial flights were still running, saying: The risk that the situation on the ground could deteriorate rapidly is rising. Mr Healey added: Meeting with senior leaders across the region, including today in Israel, we urged all sides to show restraint and dial down the tension at this critical moment. Our Government is determined to lead a renewed push for peace. The loss of life we have seen in the region is unbearable and thousands remain in the crossfire. To set this region on the path to peace, all sides must step back from conflict and step-up diplomacy. The Africa United Youth Orchestras debut in Pretoria last month. It will be one of seven ensembles performing at the Carnegie. Photograph: Lauge Sorenson A pioneering pan-African youth orchestra will perform in public for only the second time this weekend at New Yorks Carnegie Hall. The Africa United Youth Orchestra (AUYO), the first of its kind to bring together musicians from across the continent, is due to play a once-in-a-lifetime concert at the legendary venue on 3 August. It will be one of seven international youth ensembles performing during the Carnegie Halls world orchestra week. I dont know if Ill get a chance to play at Carnegie ever again, says Olawale Olayinka, a Nigerian vioinist and violist. So this is very, very important for me. Olayinka, from Nigerias Osun state, did not pursue his love of music as a child because his family thought he could not make a career of it. He only began playing the instrument in his late teens after spotting that the church opposite his university in Lagos was offering free courses. Im working very, very hard to make sure that I give the best of my performance at this coming concert and the best of my attention the best of my heart to the concert, says Olayinka. We still have a lot of rehearsals to do. And we are looking forward to the festivals big play event, where more than 700 young musicians will join together under the baton of Gustavo Dudamel, he says, referring to the director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Venezuelas Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra. We will perform works by John Williams and Beethoven, as well as the much-loved Olympic Fanfare. Olayinka was among a few dozen young musicians, mostly in their 20s, chosen from the 220 who auditioned to be part of AUYO earlier this year, from countries including South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya and Mozambique. The New York appearance is being hailed as a remarkable moment for African classical music on the global stage. The orchestras debut, led by the American conductor William Eddins, was in late July at the University of South Africas Great Hall in Pretoria, with a performance of works from prominent African composers, such as Fatse La Heso (My Country) by Michael Mosoeu Moerane, who in 1941 became the first black South African to write a symphonic poem, and work by Mzilikazi Khumalo. The AUYO operates under the auspices of South Africas government-supported Mzansi National Philharmonic Orchestra. Mzansis artistic director, Bongani Tembe, spearheaded the project to provide opportunities for young talented musicians to flourish. The Africa United Youth Orchestra represents a significant milestone in promoting unity, collaboration and excellence across Africas diverse cultural tapestry, he says. Related: Cornets in Kampala: community brass bands in Uganda in pictures Olayinka says: Its important for Africa to have its own united youth orchestra. AUYO is the reason why some people in Africa will ever participate in a youth orchestra. I cant wait to get into New York and meet people from orchestras in Asia, in Venezuela. I need to get a bagel; I need to go to Times Square. All my life I have been watching music performed in Carnegie I am so, so happy. Its a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I believe this is a huge source of encouragement even to my colleagues in Nigeria. Seeing this happen, hearing this happen, its going to give hope to a lot of people back home that if I can do this, the younger generation can do better, he says. Another AUYO member, Stacey Ann Boyce, 27, from Pretoria, started playing violin at the age of 11. I actually wanted to learn the cello, but there was no cello teacher close by, and a violin was much cheaper, so I settled on violin, she says. I absolutely love this orchestra. Its important for us as Africans to realise that we are united in our strengths and weaknesses; we can be there for each other, and share knowledge, opportunity and ideas. Its such an important moment in history for African classical music. Carnegie Hall? I never in my wildest dreams thought Id ever go there. Jeremy Clarkson is hoping to have his application approved so he can start selling British produce and offer farmers a free pint Jeremy Clarkson has applied to build a bar and outdoor tent at his pub in the Cotswolds. The former Top Gear presenter, 64, bought out the owner of The Windmill near Burford in Oxfordshire for nearly 1 million in his quest to find a pub to sell his produce. The pub is nestled deep in the Cotswold countryside and boasts of views across the Windrush Valley, as well as being just 10 miles from Clarksons Diddly Squat Farm. The presenter, who has been developing his Cotswold smallholding for the popular Amazon series Clarksons Farm, hopes to transform the venue into a pub that will serve British produce exclusively and offer farmers a free pint. He has now submitted a licensing application to West Oxfordshire district council in a bid to expand the pubs ability to sell alcohol outdoors on its site. Clarkson also hopes to include a bar on the first floor and a temporary tent on the grounds. In documents submitted to support the proposal, the applicant wrote: To update the floor plans to include a bar on the first floor, extend the licensable area outside the premises and include a temporary tent in a fixed location. A West Oxfordshire district council spokesman said: We have received an application to vary the premise licence at the Windmill Restaurant. It will follow the legal process for an application for this type, which starts with a 28-day public consultation before the council determines the request in line with national guidelines, taking into account any feedback received. The pub is not expected to open until later this year to allow time for refurbishments, and a wedding booked in before the purchase, to take place. The application is the latest development in Clarksons series of disputes with council officials. Rows began when Clarkson opened his farm shop and advertised it to his millions of social media followers, in a move that sparked traffic chaos on rural roads. His plans to build a car park for the Diddly Squat farmshop were thwarted by the council. He then attempted to convert his lambing barn into a restaurant but was also rejected by officials. He responded by converting another barn on his estate to a 60-seater eatery, believing it did not need planning permission. However, he was blocked from building a track for cars to drive there and the restaurant was closed by a council enforcement order. A good thing for farmers Jackie Walker, who opened the pub with her late husband Alan in 1983, visited Clarksons home near the village of Chadlington to discuss terms for The Windmill over a coffee. She told MailOnline: A film crew had come into the pub and the next thing I knew someone with Clarkson knocked on the door and asked if I was interested in selling. She said: The first thing Jeremy said to me was I suppose you want a lot of money for this. It has been reported that almost 1 million was offered almost immediately, and Mrs Walker accepted. Clarkson has secured the freedom of the pub, which is not affiliated with a brewery, meaning he can sell his own beer on site. Mrs Walker said: It did make me laugh, but that is Jeremy Clarkson. She said she had not been planning to sell, but wasnt happy with how it was being run, adding: I am not getting any younger. I assume he will make a TV series out of it. I really do hope that he can make a big success of the place and restore it back to how it was. My husband and I had so much fun running it. Villagers previously backed Clarksons plans to renovate the pub, despite fears over increased traffic. Tom Walker, 51, who farms livestock and arable, was confident that Clarksons arrival would buoy the local community. Hes already spoken to some of the farmers and talked about using their produce, Mr Walker said, adding: I think he does a lot of good for farming. Cherub looks more like a caricature Professional restorers in Spain are demanding to know how the refurbishment of a historic church was apparently botched to leave it looking crude and cartoonish. One group of conservationists called the work on the 18th-century Ermita de Nuestra Senora del Miron in Soria in northern Spain as amateurish and an attack on Spains heritage. Before-and-after pictures of the makeover show the churchs once white nave now striped strawberry red and its prized cherubs painted in stark colours, looking startled. What have they done to the Ermita de Nuestra Senora del Miron? local cultural conservation group Soria Patrimonio wrote on X. The church is listed as a heritage building and famous among fans of the Spanish poet Antonio Machado, who visited the church often when his wife, Leonor Izquierdo, fell ill before her death in Soria in 1912. Before restoration work on the nave After the restoration work Soria Patrimonio said: It is a listed building, and even if it were not, the intervention in a monument of these characteristics must have minimum guarantees. Repainting was not a valid option and much less so in a way that turns what was unique into vulgar. The Association of Conservators-Restorers of Spain (Acre) described the restoration of the church as an attack on heritage, performed, it said, without professionals, without respect and without criteria. The diocese of Osma-Soria, in which the church is located, told the online newspaper El Confidencial that the row over the restoration work was a question of taste. Before and after pictures of the Monkey Christ, as it became known - AP The anger over the refurbishment also stems from it not being the first time that Spains historical gems have fallen victim to questionable touch-up jobs. In 2012, a century-old Spanish fresco of Christ by the artist Elias Garcia Martinez drew ridicule after Cecilia Gimenez, a well-meaning pensioner, tried to restore it in the Santuario de Misericordia near her home town of Borja. Far from restoring it to something like its original state, the fresco earned the nickname Monkey Christ. Some years later, a 16th-century polychrome wooden statue of St George and the dragon in Navarre suffered the humiliation of looking more like TinTin after its makeover was complete. Londoners with no umbrellas accepted their fate on Thursday as they were caught by the heavy rain - George Cracknell Wright Almost a months worth of rain fell in an hour in Greater London on Thursday, the Met Office said. Torrential downpours hit the UK, with flood alerts remaining in place on Friday, according to the forecaster. A flood alert was issued on Friday for the rivers Eden and Eden Brook in the south-east of England as well as the upper River Loddon in the south-west. However, across the weekend, England and Wales will be largely dry with sunny spells with highs of 25C in southern England on Saturday and Sunday and 20C further north. Stephen Dixon, a spokesman for the Met Office, said: Whats replacing the previous weather regime is a transition back to more changeable conditions for the UK, albeit still retaining some level of sunshine. Many Londoners found themselves caught in the heavy downpour on Thursday - YUI MOK/PA On Saturday, showers will continue in the North-West though for much of England and Wales, it will be a dry day with sunny spells. The Met Office also shared that Sunday is likely to be increasingly wet for western Scotland and Northern Ireland, while some places in south-west Scotland may see an excess of 70mm of rain from Sunday into Monday. Sunday will be a fine day for England and Wales, with sunny spells and the odd light shower in parts of northern England. Next week is predicted to be changeable, with bright, dry and sunny periods interrupted by some unsettled interludes through the week. Rain will gradually move from west to east and those further south-east will generally see less frequent rain. Mr Dixon said: An Environment Agency rain gauge at New Addington, Greater London, recorded 53.4mm of rain as part of yesterdays thundery outbreaks. Average total rainfall for August in the same area was 56mm, the forecaster said. However, such is the nature of these localised thundery outbreaks, some private rain gauges that are not a part of the official Met Office network recorded higher totals through the day in parts of southern and central England, Mr Dixon added. Paul Powlesland swore his devotion to nature before a London crown court. Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian When jurors are called to court, they are required to swear on a holy book or make a secular promise to tell the truth. So court officials were perplexed when the environmental activist and barrister Paul Powlesland was called for jury service and produced a vial of river water and asked to swear on the River Roding. To take water into court you have to sip it to make sure its not a bad substance, said Powlesland, the founder of the River Roding Trust, a charity that works to clean up Londons third-largest river. When they asked me to do that I thought, Oooh, I dont know what Thames Water have put in this. Related: Real-time water quality monitors installed at wild swimming spots in southern England When Powlesland sought to swear on the water, the judge and usher at a London crown court which lies within the catchment of the Roding said they had never received such a request before. After some consultations, Powlesland was allowed to become probably the first person to make a legal oath in a British court based upon his devotion to a river after he had given a secular affirmation to cover conventional legal bases. I explained that nature is my God and I believe the Roding to be sacred and I manifest love in action for her, and in all the things that I do for her, and it would be a really meaningful promise to me, said Powlesland. I dipped my finger into a cup of the Roding water and said that I swear on the River Roding from her source in Molehill Green to her confluence with the Thames that I will faithfully try the case and give a true verdict according to the evidence. I got a feeling from the judge that he felt the truth in my voice, that this was a meaningful, sacred promise to me. It wasnt just me playing silly buggers. Powlesland is also the co-founder of Lawyers for Nature, a group campaigning for elements of the natural world to be recognised in law in Britain. Rivers, lakes and rainforests have been given legal personhood in countries including New Zealand, Spain, Ecuador and Australia. Powlesland said he hoped his oath would inspire others to take similar action. Its another way of reintroducing the idea of nature as sacred back into our legal system, finding playful ways to demonstrate to the world that nature is alive, that nature is sacred and we have duties towards it, he said. I believe its the first time that anyones given a legal oath, a jurors oath, on a river, and I hope that many others follow suit and animism is soon found more regularly in our courts. Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich hugs his mother, Ella Milman, after his release as part of a 24-person prisoner swap between Russia and the US. Photograph: REX/Shutterstock For a few seconds, no one even noticed that Evan Gershkovich had taken his first steps back on US soil as a free man. All eyes were on Paul Whelan, the ex-marine who had spent more than 2,000 days in a Russian prison, mostly in obscurity as his family implored the White House to bring him home. Now Joe Biden was holding him by the elbow, while the vice-president, Kamala Harris, looked on. But then Harris turned around and spotted Gershkovich, who threw his arms out as if to say: Here I am! She mimicked him in mock surprise. Then they hugged. It was a moment. It was great to get on that bus today and see not just Americans and Germans but Russian political prisoners Evan Gershkovich Soon, Gershkovich came over to his mother, Ella, who had lobbied presidents, chancellors and senior officials to assemble a complex and precarious prisoner swap that would release him from a Russian jail. He lifted her off the ground in a big bear hug. Another picture-perfect moment. Finally, he strolled over to the more than 100 waiting journalists, ready to greet colleagues and field questions despite the fact hed been released just that morning. Asked how it was to be free, he barely thought and said: Not bad. He also spoke about his feelings boarding the bus with the other freed detainees on Thursday and said he was happy to see Russians on board as well. Theres one thing I would like to say. It was great to get on that bus today and see not just Americans and Germans but Russian political prisoners. I spent a month in prison in Yekaterinburg where everyone I sat with was a political prisoner. Nobody knows them publicly, they have various political beliefs, they are not all connected with Navalny supporters, who everyone knows about. I would potentially like to see if we could do something about them as well. Id like to talk to people about that in the next weeks and months. Hundreds of journalists some of them friends came to the base to catch their first glimpse of the freed detainees who, combined, had spent nearly a decade in Russian captivity. They were among 16 American, Russian dissident and German prisoners freed by Russia, in exchange for eight Russians freed by the US, Germany, Norway, Slovenia and Poland. Those returning to Russia included a number of undercover spies and a convicted Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) assassin whom Vladimir Putin had obsessively sought to free from German prison for years. For the friends and colleagues watching, there was something heartening in how naturally Gershkovich behaved, how casual the whole performance was. There was a playfulness to it, a humour and nonchalance that was distinctly familiar to a time before he was arrested and became a household name in the US and around the world. But there was also something deeply earnest in his response to the 491 days he had spent in Russian prison for espionage, a sense of purpose and gravity of the moment that befits the largest prisoner swap since the cold war. He hugged like it mattered. He looked you in the eye as you spoke. And, when he discussed the plight of the political prisoners who remained behind in Russia, his eyes became misty. This was a issue that he seemed to have taken to heart. In a mere hour in public at the airbase on Thursday, he hit all the right notes to put those around him at ease. It was vaguely political at moments, the quick back-and-forth with the press corps feeling almost like a brief campaign stop before getting back on the jet. But, as he adjusts to a celebrity thrust upon him, Gershkovich seemed oddly at ease, and at home. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris met the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and two other freed American prisoners just hours after Washington and Moscow completed their largest prisoner exchange since the cold war. Related: How Evan Gershkovich was finally freed after a 500-day odyssey in Russias prison system On a muggy evening at Andrews air force base near Washington DC, Gershkovich and the other freed prisoners, the ex-marine Paul Whelan and the journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, touched down on US soil and shortly later disembarked a Bombardier jet from Turkey. They were met by their families and the US president and vice-president. As he stepped off the jet, Gershkovich embraced Harris and Biden several times, then stepped over to his mother, Ella, and lifted her off the ground in an embrace. He was also met by his father, Mikhail, and sister Danielle. After a few minutes spent chatting with family, Gershkovich approached the crowd of reporters and began to embrace his friends and colleagues. Asked how he was feeling he said: I feel fine. But he also spoke about his feelings boarding the bus with the other freed detainees on Thursday and said he was happy to see Russians on board as well. Theres one thing I would like to say. It was great to get on that bus today and see not just Americans and Germans but Russian political prisoners. I spent a month in prison in Yekaterinburg where everyone I sat with was a political prisoner. Nobody knows them publicly, they have various political beliefs, they are not all connected with Navalny supporters, who everyone knows about. I would potentially like to see if we could do something about them as well. Id like to talk to people about that in the next weeks and months. He was also met by senior editors at the Wall Street Journal, including the editor-in-chief, Emma Tucker, and Gordon Fairclough. Several times he repeated: My mother writes very nice things about you. There were squeals of joy as Kurmashevas young daughters, Miriam and Bibi, ran to hug her, followed by a warm embrace from husband, Pavel Butorin. Whelan, who was met by his sister Elizabeth, also appeared healthy. He said that he felt fine, that he only believed that he was free as the flight flew further from Turkey over continental Europe and the the UK, and that his plan now was to eat a steak. Speaking on the tarmac later, Biden rejected the idea that prisoner swaps could lead to other Americans being detained. I dont buy this idea of ... let these people rot in jail because other people may be captured. Harris called the deal an extraordinary testament to the importance of having a president who understands the power of diplomacy. On Friday morning, Jake Sullivan, the US national security advisor, told ABCs Good Morning America show that the prisoner swap had been such a human victory. It was also a victory for our country. He added: This was the United States of America at our best, working with our allies to bring home our people. He also hailed the release of other prisoners who had stood up to the Russian regime as freedom fighters. Sullivan said the deal was clinched because of Joe Bidens international relationships, with the US presidents ties unlocking the deal that the US and European allies struck with Russia. It would not have happened without him, he said. He denied that such deals encourage hostile regimes to kidnap or imprison more innocent Americans, saying that during the Biden administration about 70 Americans held overseas had been released and there had not been a matching surge in those detained. Hundreds of journalists came to the base to catch their first glimpse of the freed detainees who, combined, had spent nearly a decade in Russian captivity. They were among 16 American, Russian dissident and German prisoners freed by Russia, in exchange for eight Russians freed by the US, Germany, Norway, Slovenia and Poland. Those returning to Russia included a number of undercover spies and a convicted FSB assassin whom Vladimir Putin had obsessively sought to free from German prison for years. Gershkovichs family said earlier in a statement: We have waited 491 days for Evans release, and its hard to describe what today feels like. We cant wait to give him the biggest hug and see his sweet and brave smile up close. Most important now is taking care of Evan and being together again. No family should have to go through this, and so we share relief and joy today with Paul and Alsus families. Whelan was detained in 2018 on espionage charges and served more than five years in pre-trial detention and then a labor colony. Paul Whelan is not in a Russian labor colony any longer, but he is not home, his family wrote in a statement. While Paul was wrongfully imprisoned in Russia, he lost his home. He lost his job. We are unsure how someone overcomes these losses and rejoins society after being a hostage. We are grateful for everyones efforts to help Paul while he was away. We hope you will continue to help him by providing Paul the space and privacy he needs as he rebuilds his life. It is Pauls story to tell and he will tell it when he is able. Kurmasheva, a Radio Free Europe journalist who was arrested on charges of failing to register herself as a foreign agent and then charged with spreading false information about the Russian military, had been sentenced to more than six years in prison. The Russian opposition politician Ilya Yashin and several other opposition figures were also freed, including the British-Russian politician Vladimir Kara-Murza and three people who had worked as regional coordinators for the opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died in prison earlier this year. Kira Yarmysh, a spokesperson for Navalnys widow, Yulia Navalnaya, said on X that Harris had called Navalnaya to discuss the exchange and express her support, noting her and her husbands contributions to the fight for a democratic Russia. Navalnaya thanked Harris for the US assistance and called on the international community to facilitate the release of other Russian political prisoners, Yarmysh said. Early on Friday, the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, met some of the freed detainees, many of whom he said feared for their health and even their lives. Speaking at Cologne airport, Scholz insisted the swap was the right decision, and if you had any doubts, you will lose them after talking to those who are now free. The complex deal had involved months of negotiations between multiple countries and came together in extreme secrecy, with the location and exact makeup of the exchange not made public until the last moment. Sullivan told reporters that Navalny was meant to be a part of the deal before his death in February. On the day of his death, Sullivan said, he met Gershkovichs mother and said he still saw a path forward for the deal. Britain's Labour Party Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his wife Victoria Its hard to take the leadership election in the Conservative Party seriously. But maybe we should. Its not as if whoever inherits Rishi Sunaks crown/poisoned chalice has any chance of actually becoming prime minister at the next general election, is it? And yet, it might be wise to resist the cynicism that overshadowed similar leadership campaigns in 1997 and 2001. Back then, there were few indeed who seriously thought William Hague, whatever his talents, might usurp Tony Blair at the first electoral opportunity, and even fewer who considered Iain Duncan Smith up to the job. In the event, the sceptics were right; the Tories next election-winner would not assume the leadership of the party until December 2005 more than eight years into his partys period in opposition. The task facing the new leader of the opposition is daunting. He or she will have to contend, not only with Keir Starmers impregnable (for now) three-figure majority but with their own partys well-deserved reputation for incompetence and factionalism. The latter could prove to be the greater millstone around the partys neck and the new leader will have to address this weakness as a priority. Yet the strength of this government is of a different nature to that of its Blairite forerunner. A historically low turnout suggests that voters have little enthusiasm for the new regime, and even less for its opponents. A 170-seat majority based on a share of the vote that barely eclipsed a third of voters feels like shifting sand indeed. Labour did indeed wallop the Conservatives in terms of share of the vote, but the margin was ten per cent, half of what the polls had predicted and three per cent less than the gulf that separated Blairs Labour from John Majors Conservatives. Its been widely acknowledged for some time that traditional party loyalties are no longer what they were; voters are more willing than ever to flirt with other parties from election to election. The post-war political consensus that defined the class war and sustained the two main parties over decades is gone, and gone forever. Harold Wilsons Labour attracted 48 per cent of the electorates support in 1966, a figure that no party has managed to repeat or improve on since. Research published in the latest issue of The House magazine seeks to understand the volatility of the modern British electorate through the prism of not only Left-Right but libertarian-authoritarian dividing lines. It is the cross-pressured voters of today, those whose economic views conflict with their social attitudes and which leave them increasingly unsure of which party (or parties) represent them, that are most likely to switch allegiance between elections. As the author, Zain Mohyuddin of UK in a Changing Europe, explains: Left-authoritarians have more progressive economic attitudes and culturally conservative views, while Right-libertarians have conservative economic views and are progressive on cultural issues. Right-authoritarians are conservative on both economic and cultural issues, while Left-libertarians have progressive economic and cultural preferences. While cross-pressured voters are seen as more likely to switch their votes between parties, there is also some evidence that they are less likely to vote, since no single party is seen as representing their broad views. On top of this (or perhaps as direct result of it), more and more voters are prepared to vote for fringe candidates and parties, a sure sign that the political binary in Britain has never been less stable or popular. Less than 58 per cent of voters opted for either Labour or the Conservatives a grim sign for anyone who hoped that the stability and predictability of the 1960s and 70s might one day return to British politics. None of this means good news for the new Tory leader, or even for Keir Starmer, although it might be acknowledged that, for now, the fracturing of the electorate along unpredictable lines has benefited him on this occasion. But as we saw less than five years ago, those tectonic plates, which used to shift once every couple of generations, are now prone to more frequent upset. We now live in the political equivalent of the San Andreas fault, where radical change can be as violent as it is unexpected. If I were a betting man, I would probably not place my house on the Conservatives emerging from the next election in pole position. On the other hand, given how broad and shallow Labours victory has been, and given how the parties fortunes in the last parliament were reversed in the space of one or two days of poor political judgment (Im looking at you, Boris Johnson and Owen Paterson), then it would be a brave tipster who would put too much confidence in a second consecutive Labour triumph. The new leader should take note of The Simpsons Mayor Quimby castigating his own voters: Im sick of you people! Youre nothing but a pack of fickle mush heads! Well, quite. Not exactly a winning election slogan, but as pithy an analysis of politics in 2024 as youre likely to get. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has finally named its first-ever AI chief officer amid growing concerns about the technology's applications to cyber-infrastructure threats. First reported by Axios, CISA named Lisa Einstein to lead its newly-established task group to "responsibly use AI to advance its cyber defense mission" in supporting major US digital infrastructures as cyberattacks continue to rise. The Homeland Security Department's AI cybersecurity AI wing chief is expected to provide CISA with plans on how to best use and protect generative AI software from hackers and foreign adversaries. Einstein is a former senior AI advisor who helped the agency develop its first AI roadmap and hosted CISA's AI cybersecurity simulation exercise with tech giants like Microsoft, OpenAI, and NVIDIA. Also Read : FBI Attributes Increasing Cyber Attacks to AI Federal Agencies Launch Dedicated AI Task Forces to Respond to Cybersecurity Threats Einstein's designation is the latest move from Federal security agencies launching their dedicated AI task forces to address cybersecurity threats by utilizing the technology to their advantage. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has already warned about the "escalating threat posed by cyber criminals" as they employ more sophisticated attacks through generative AI. Among the noted strategies include large-scale phishing attacks, deepfake-powered cyber extortion, and fraud schemes. AI Task Forces to Elevate US Cybersecurity Capabilities Other than as a response team, the AI task forces are expected to provide their agencies with a better understanding of the technology for their operations. CISA, for example, has been using AI learning machines for years now to automate threat detection and analysis as the number of cyberattack attempts in the country continues to rise. Further technology integration into their forces is expected to boost CISA's capabilities and response time. The US is preparing to send back-up warplanes to help defend Israel from a possible missile or drone attack - Alamy/Douglas Sacha Israel is bracing itself for an Iranian attack after two major assassinations threatened to trigger a new round of conflict in the Middle East. The United States was on Friday preparing to send back-up warplanes to help defend Israel from a possible missile or drone attack and deal with any major escalations. It came as Joe Biden, the US president, reportedly told Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israel prime minister, that the US would protect Israel from an Iranian attack but would not come to its aid if Israel escalated the conflict by retaliating further. Axios said the president held a tough call with Mr Netanyahu on Thursday in which Mr Biden showed his frustration and raised his voice. On Friday, France also called on its citizens to leave Iran immediately amid fears the Islamic Republic was preparing to attack Israel in response to the assassination of the leader of Hamas. Israeli ministers have been given satellite phones in preparation for an attack that could strike the countrys communication system, Israeli media Ynet reported. Residents in Jerusalem were told to prepare bomb shelters. Authorities stressed, however, that there should not be panic. Iran promised to punish Jerusalem for the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas political leader, who was killed by a remote-controlled explosive device in his guesthouse in Tehran in a suspected Mossad attack. Sources inside Iran said Tehran was preparing a missile or drone attack that could target military installations in Tel Aviv. One presenter on Iran state TV appeared to suggest late on Friday that the regime was preparing a major response, saying, In just a few hours, the world will witness extraordinary scenes and significant events. However, some experts cautioned that any reaction may be calibrated not to escalate the conflict further. Iran was also bracing for possible retaliation, with air defences deployed. Lebanons Hezbollah was also preparing for a wider escalation, moving its military equipment into central Beirut, according to Saudi news outlet Al-Hadath. The French foreign ministry called on all visiting French nationals still in Iran to leave as soon as possible owing to the increased risk of a military escalation in the region. Meanwhile, Gerald Darmanin, Frances interior minister, has also called for increased security for Jewish communities in France because of the very high level of tension. This includes the many Israeli nationals attending the Olympic Games, he said, after Hamas declared a day of anger on Friday, BFMTV reported. An official within Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) told The Telegraph that Iran was considering targeting Tel Aviv in revenge for Haniyehs assassination in Tehran. Top commanders were awake all night evaluating the options. Now that Mr Haniyehs funeral has concluded, they are discussing practical responses, said the IRGC official who attended the funeral on Thursday. The White House said that Mr Biden discussed efforts to support Israels defence against threats, in a phone call with Mr Netanyahu, including against ballistic missiles and drones, to include new defensive US military deployments. The US is also preparing to send additional combat aircraft to the region to protect both Israel and US troops from Iran and its proxies, officials told The New York Times. Numerous airlines have cancelled their flights to Lebanon and Israel in recent days following the assassination of Haniyeh, as well as Fuad Shukr in Beirut, a top Hezbollah commander. Air India announced on Friday that it was cancelling all flights to and from Israel until Aug 8, while Polish airline Lot cancelled eight flights to Lebanon and Israel, according to Pap news agency. John Healey, UK Defence Secretary, met with his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant in Israel on Friday, discussing the Israel Defense Forces readiness and capabilities to defend Israel on all fronts. Mr Gallant said he emphasised the importance of establishing a coalition in Israels defence against Iran and its proxies. Israeli air strikes against Hezbollah continued on Friday, with a drone targeting one of the militant groups members who attempted to launch rockets toward Israel. The UK Foreign Office is also advising against all travel to Lebanon and Iran. If you are currently in Lebanon, we encourage you to leave, while commercial options remain available, said the Foreign Office. David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, wrapped up a one-day visit to Lebanon on Thursday, calling it a worrying time for people in the country. Mr Lammy called for immediate de-escalation in the region, saying he raised his concerns about the on-going tensions between Lebanon and Israel and highlighted the UKs determination to avoid miscalculation. The conflict between Israel and Lebanon, Mr Lammy said, should be solved diplomatically based on UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the previous war between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006. Mr Healey called the loss of innocent life in recent weeks and months unbearable. This has to end. All sides must step back from conflict and step up diplomacy. We will work with important partners like Qatar as our Government leads a renewed push for peace, he said. Lisa Nandy said Huw Edwards 'ought to return his salary' - Wiktor Szymanowicz/Shutterstock Huw Edwards, the disgraced broadcaster, should return his BBC salary after he admitted possessing indecent images of children, the Culture Secretary has said. On Wednesday, Edwards pleaded guilty to possessing 41 images of children, including one believed to be as young as seven, and is due to be sentenced next month. The 62-year-old, who led the BBCs coverage of the late Queens death, was paid more than 200,000 by the corporation between his arrest in November and his resignation in April. Speaking as she attended the Paris Olympics, Ms Nandy told Sky News: I think he ought to return his salary. I think having been arrested on such serious charges all the way back in November, to continue to receive that salary all the way through until he resigned is wrong and its not a good use of taxpayers money. I think most people in the country will agree with that but whether he does that or not is up to him. The Culture Secretary had already told the BBC to examine whether it could recoup money from Edwardss pension. She met Tim Davie, the corporations director general, on Thursday and it is understood that they discussed the payments. In an interview given to the BBC, Mr Davie said it would be legally challenging to attempt to claw back the cash from Edwards, but stressed that he would look at all options. The BBC admitted that it knew Edwards had been arrested in November, and was made aware of the reasons for the arrest. But the corporation continued to pay his salary until he resigned in April, and Mr Davie said it had not been aware of any specifics about the allegations. The director general said he had been very shocked when the full charges against Edwards emerged at the start of this week, describing the case as deeply disturbing. A former BBC executive told The Telegraph in a letter that Edwards should have been dismissed. Vin Harrop, who contracted Edwards for his role as a presenter on the Six Oclock News, now the BBC News at Six, said: The contract he signed contained the vital clause you shall not take any action which will bring the BBC into disrepute. It seems he broke that clause, for which he should have been dismissed. Quite why the BBC did not take the action it was bound to, only Tim Davie can answer. JD Vance by his campaign jet in Tucson, Arizona on Thursday. Photograph: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images In remarks to a Catholic group, JD Vance attacked Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for having a sociopathic attitude about families and children. Related: Trump says running mates have virtually no impact in apparent JD Vance snub One of the politicians that I criticised is AOC, said Vance in 2021, while campaigning for the US Senate seat in Ohio he would win the following year. Maybe AOC hasnt found the right person, whatever the case may be. AOC has said basically if you look at her public remarks on this that its immoral to have children because of climate change concerns. Right? This is, lets just be direct, a sociopathic attitude towards family. Popularly known as AOC, Ocasio-Cortez, 34, is a representative from New York and a leading figure among House progressives. Vance, 39, is the hard-right Senate populist who was picked last month as Donald Trumps presidential running mate. Vance has endured a troubled rollout, particularly over comments about family and womens issues, notably including labeling as childless cat ladies opponents including Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic nominee. Video of Vances attack on AOC was reported by Mother Jones. It pointed out that AOC has not said it is immoral to have children. In 2019, Ocasio-Cortez did say: It is basically a scientific consensus that the lives of our children are going to be very difficult [because of climate change] and it does lead young people to have a legitimate question: is it OK to still have children? Vance, who now has three children, spoke in 2021 to the Napa Institute, a Catholic group that seeks to advance the re-evangelisation of the United States. My basic view, Vance said, is that if the Republican party, the conservative movement stands for anything the number one thing we should be is pro-babies and pro-families. Claiming a civilisational crisis fueled by unhappy families and healthy intact families not having any kids, he said: So many of the most miserable and unhappy people in our media and in our public life are people without kids. And I think that they were trained to chase credentials, to chase degrees, to chase money, when the thing that is ultimately going to give you the most fulfillment in life is your family. Vance said he did not want to criticise every single person who doesnt have children. His goal, he said, was to point out that its one thing to have a society where some people dont have kids. Its another thing to build an entire political movement that is explicitly anti-child and anti-family. And thats what the left in this country is. It is anti-child and anti-family. Related: Dangerously liberal v just plain weird: Trump and Harris hone their messaging After attacking AOC, he said: What does it say about our civilisation that so many of our leaders dont have kids? What does it say about the incentives that are built into the Democrats entire movement that they reward the young people who dont have families instead of the young people who do? I think its just pretty sick and it suggests something pretty broken. Ocasio-Cortez did not immediately respond. But Mother Jones pointed to a social media post earlier this week, in response to a complaint from the Trump ally Vivek Ramaswamy about attacks on Vance and Trump for being weird about women, families and children. Being obsessed with repressing women is goofy, AOC said. Trying to watch what LGBTQ+ people do all the time is abnormal. Punishing people who dont have biological offspring is creepy its SUPER weird. And people need to know. Former BBC broadcaster Huw Edwards arriving at Westminster Magistrates' Court, London Huw Edwards has admitted making indecent images of children. That sounds as if he filmed the images and took the still photographs himself. In fact, he received them in WhatsApp conversations. So in what sense was the former BBC broadcaster making these unlawful images? When first enacted, the Protection of Children Act 1978 made it an offence to take, or permit to be taken, any indecent photograph of a child. The words or to make were inserted by parliament, after taken, in 1994. At the same time, photographs were defined to include data stored on a computer disc or by other electronic means which is capable of conversion into a photograph. Although there were some challenges to the concept, appeal judges held almost 25 years ago that a person who either downloads images onto disc or who prints them off is making them. That, said the Court of Appeal, was because parliament was trying to prevent not only the original creation of images but also their proliferation. More recently, the courts have held that making can include receiving an image through social media, even if unsolicited and even if part of a group. It can also include live-streaming. It seems to me that the extended definition given by the courts is consistent with long-standing principles of statutory interpretation. When the law was updated in 1994, email was still in its infancy and social media had not been invented. But judges are well used to developing the law to meet changing circumstances. The concept of making is surely broad enough to include creating an image on a phone or computer screen by accessing or downloading it. There are, of course, exceptions and not just for the security and intelligence agencies or other law enforcement bodies. You can have what would otherwise be an indecent photograph of someone aged 16 or 17 if its your spouse or partner. And charges cannot be brought unless the Director of Public Prosecutions agrees. What, though, if someone maliciously sends you an indecent photograph? Or you happen to come across illegal material in legitimate circumstances? You have a defence if you can show you had not seen the photograph and had no cause to suspect it was indecent. Depending on the circumstances, though, that may be difficult to establish. Is the law still fit for purpose? It has been extended over the years. In 1978, the Protection of Children Act offered no protection to children as young as 16. The law now covers pseudo-photographs images that appear to be photographs. Merely to have an indecent photograph of a child in your possession is an offence, subject to some exceptions. I see no sign that the law is failing to keep up with developing technology. Although the 1978 legislation referred to film, that was defined to include any form of video-recording. The deliberately broad definition clearly covers moving pictures created or shared on WhatsApp, even though few could have imagined nearly half a century ago that we would be able to do this with our phones. Has the law gone too far? Is it destroying otherwise respectable citizens who have been targeted by criminals? I see no sign of that either. But if parliament thinks the judges are overreaching themselves, it can pass corrective legislation at any time. As pornography becomes more readily available and easier to create, we must do all we can to protect its youngest victims. A few of Edwardss former colleagues have appeared to downplay his actions. I am not one of them. The longest prison sentences under the Protection of Children Act are reserved for those who generate child pornography. But our natural sympathy for people we thought we admired should not lead us to condone those willing to consume indecent images. Human weakness and baser instincts do not deprive us of agency for our actions. Without customers, there would be no market. Peter Wright (r), author of Spycatcher, with lawyer (and future Australian PM) Malcolm Turnbull in 1986 - Fairfax Peter Wrights 1987 Spycatcher is an eminently putdownable book. When Mr Justice Powell compared its style to that of the Boys Own Paper or The Biggles Flying Omnibus, he was overselling its literary qualities. But I could never tire of reading about the Governments hilariously hapless attempts to ban it. As the veteran investigative journalist Tim Tate puts it in his new account of the debacle, the Spycatcher affair was a uniquely English farce. And since we taxpayers paid for its staging to the tune of at least 3 million (8 million today) we would be foolish not to wring all the enjoyment we can from it. The central character, a figure too preposterous for a novel by Mick Herron let alone le Carre, is Peter Wright, MI5s zealous senior counter-espionage officer. The first half of the book gallops through the highlights of Wrights rackety career: falling through a ceiling while installing microphones in a house next to the Polish embassy; trying to organise a coup to oust prime minister Harold Wilson, whom he suspected of being a Soviet mole. In 1976, Wright retired to run a stud farm in Tasmania; in what proved to be a monumental act of false economy, the government denied him a large chunk of his pension entitlement. Incensed, he decided to reveal to the public the extent to which MI5 bugged, burgled and plotted with impunity. Moreover, he was convinced that the service had long been riddled with Russian moles, among them its former director-general Sir Roger Hollis. He laid out his theories in a memoir, Spycatcher, ghostwritten by the journalist and future Hollywood director Paul Greengrass. Its publication was proscribed in England, and in 1986 the Thatcher government took legal action to prevent its being published in Australia, too. As in so many espionage sagas, a key turning point occurred in a gentlemens lavatory. Sir Michael Havers, Mrs Thatchers attorney-general, found himself using the facilities alongside Paul Hamlyn, Spycatchers would-be publisher, at the Garrick Club one evening, and murmured that it was pointless to fight the case because the Australian government was prepared to intervene in Thatchers favour. Hamlyn immediately told his Australian lawyer, Malcolm Turnbull, to communicate to those in the corridors of power that siding with Mrs Thatcher was likely to end in humiliation. Turnbull later to become Australian prime minister himself successfully convinced the Australian government to keep itself at arms length. The most entertaining part of Tates book is the best-known: the descriptions of Turnbulls cross-examination of Sir Robert Armstrong, Thatchers cabinet secretary. Having started his purgatorial trip to the Supreme Court of New South Wales by assaulting a photographer at Heathrow airport, Armstrong wilted under Turnbulls questioning as he struggled to turn the governments ill-thought-out case into a coherent argument, destroying for ever the popular image of civil servants as omnicompetent Sir Humphreys. Timothy Dalton, then the actor playing James Bond, with a copy of Spycatcher in 1987 - Fairfax Justice Powell decreed that Spycatcher should see the light of day, while chiding the Thatcher government for its attempts to delay or sway proceedings what he called its serpentine weavings. Spycatcher sold in its millions around the world, and yet in Britain newspapers were forbidden from discussing its contents into the 1990s. Rules about buying and selling the book reached Covid bubble-level complexity. Edward Heath told the House of Commons that he had been advised he could be prosecuted if he read it, but would not be at risk of legal action if his housekeeper read it out to him. Tate, who has had access to much fresh material, including extracts from those parts of the trial transcripts that were originally redacted for security reasons, tells his tale with a humour more savage than subtle. There is little doubt whose side he is on. Although he does not ignore Wrights chippiness and volatility, he does not label him with the hostile adjectives he showers on people he disapproves of, especially Armstrong, who is vain, oily and duplicitous. The book pulsates with loathing for Armstrong, Thatchers Machiavellian chief consigliere. In 2015, on the Radio 4 series The Reunion, Paul Greengrass said in Armstrongs presence: I felt bad for Robert I felt that he had been debagged in public, and after a life of glorious public service that wasnt what he deserved. But if you went by Tates book, you would be unaware that Greengrass had said this, or, indeed, that it would be possible for anybody to conceive such a sympathetic view of Armstrong. Tate ends with a characteristically peppery list of dis-acknowledgements, chiding those, such as the current Cabinet Secretary Simon Case, whom he blames for helping to keep the Governments Spycatcher files under wraps. They should have been released to the National Archives in 2019, but werent. I should think theres some bad-dish stuff on Armstrong and Thatcher in them, posits Jonathan Aitken, one of Tates interviewees. I suspect our only hope of ever seeing them rests on their being leaked by a mole: that would at least allow the sorry saga to end with a pleasing le Carre-ish symmetry. To Catch a Spy is published by Icon at 25. To order your copy for 19.99, call 0808 196 6794 or visit Telegraph Books Rick Astley performing at the BPI Awards in 1986. Photograph: Dave Hogan/Getty I apologise to solvers who visited the web address hidden on the perimeter of last Saturdays prize crossword only to find they had been redirected to the music video for a Rick Astley song. In fairness, last Saturday was the anniversary of the songs release date, the solutions to 16D and 11D were RICK and ROLL, and the initial letters of the clues spelled NEVER GONNA TELL A LIE AND HURT YOU. I feel I gave ample warning. Hamish Symington (aka Soup) Cambridge Damian Killeens letter (31 July) said that winter fuel allowances are taxable income. Some of us have called for years that they be such, but alas, a call unheard. Indeed one government department I worked in after the age of 65 thought so too, and I never checked the payslips. Jeff Rooker Pensions minister, 1999-2001 In answer to the question, If not yourself, who would you most like to be?, Daphne Guinness answered Julius Caesar (The Q&A, 27 July). Little wonder that her answer to What is the trait you most deplore in others? was backstabbing. John Lovelock Bristol I enjoyed Fiona Kerrs travel article about Arran (Scotland in miniature: why the Isle of Arran is perfect for a family holiday, 27 July). I once was told by an elderly gentleman in the pub at Corrie: While Wester Ross is where God lives, the Isle of Arran is where he goes for his holidays. Michael Church Lincoln Do you have a photograph youd like to share with Guardian readers? If so, please click here to upload it. A selection will be published in our Readers best photographs galleries and in the print edition on Saturdays. There have been violent demonstrations in Southport (pictured), London, Hartlepool and Aldershot since the stabbings in Southport on Monday. Photograph: Getty Images Nigel Farage is giving legitimacy to violent protesters and excusing disorder that police chiefs fear will continue into the weekend, a metro mayor has said. At least 19 far-right rallies are being planned across England in the coming days, the Guardian understands. One of the UKs most senior police officers has said preparations are in place for what could be considerable disorder over the weekend. There have been violent demonstrations in Southport, London, Hartlepool and Aldershot since the stabbings in Southport on Monday in which three young girls died. Police officers have been hospitalised after being attacked by bricks and other missiles, property has been destroyed, cars set alight and local people have been terrified. Farage, the recently elected MP for Clacton, released a video on Thursday evening in which he said he did not support street violence but added: What youve seen on the streets of Hartlepool, of London, of Southport is nothing to what could happen over the course of the next few weeks. Steve Rotheram, the metro mayor of Liverpool city region, told ITVs Good Morning Britain: Whilst senior politicians like Farage should be condemning these people hes not, hes excusing them. Hes giving them some legitimacy to go out and perpetrate some of these acts. Gavin Stephens, the chair of the chief National Police Chiefs Council, said forces were preparing for what could be considerable disorder over the weekend. Its our job in policing to do that, he told BBC Radio 4s Today programme. Its our job to be worried on behalf of communities, to be prepared, to be there. Stephens said people with responsibility, whether community leaders, social media platform providers or police, all had a responsibility to make sure that this violence is not inevitable. He said police chiefs had agreed to step up resources over the weekend. We will have surge capacity in our intelligence, in our briefing and in the resources which are out in local communities. There would also be additional prosecutors available to make swift decisions so we see swift justice. Neil Basu, a former head of counter-terrorism policing, said on the Today programme that Farage should think very carefully about the power of his words. Predicting a long, hot summer for police forces, he said: That is a far-right politician once again trying to direct policing and law and order. He doesnt speak for tens of millions of people, the prime minister does who has to serve the whole population, not just the ones he likes. And this is not the first time a politician has tried to interfere with operational policing, particularly from that section of politics. Lord Walney, the UK governments adviser on political violence and disruption, said police should be prepared to step in if it appeared troublemakers were travelling to incite riots. He told BBC Scotland there was a concerted and coordinated attempt to spread the violence. Clearly, some of those far-right actors have got a taste for this and are trying to provoke similar in towns and cities across the UK. The police do have powers to be able to identify the troublemakers, there are new laws in place which can restrict the movement of those who are known and have a track record of violent or illegal disruption and criminality. They should be stopped from coming to the sites of protests as theyre being organised. The leader of Glasgow council has told Tommy Robinson directly that he is not welcome in the city after the English Defence League founder announced a pro-UK rally in the citys George Square next month. Susan Aitken said: Glasgow city council has received no notification of any rally but then we know Tommy Robinson and his ilk dont really care about respecting laws or public places. Hes not welcome in Glasgow and neither is anyone who chooses to align with his poisonous rhetoric. The Scottish Labour leader, Anas Sarwar, one of Scotlands most prominent Muslims, said he had no doubt that Glasgow would reject the rally. There have been attempts by the far right before to do protests here or to sow divisions here, he said. Every single time the far right has tried to do that in Glasgow, Glasgow has overwhelmingly rejected them. Merseyside police said they had arrested seven people on Friday, with further arrests to be made over the coming days in connection with the disturbances in Southport. Seven men, aged between 28 and 54, are due on Friday to appear before Teesside magistrates in Middlesbrough following Wednesday nights disorder in Hartlepool. An 11-year-old boy has also been arrested on suspicion of arson after a police vehicle was set alight during disorder described by witnesses as mindless. Imam Ibrahim Hussein, the chair of Southport mosque, told the BBC on Friday that violence in his town earlier this week had been terrifying and were horrific scenes. But he also said the supportive, loving response from the local community had been invaluable. We are grateful for their support and we are grateful to be in such a neighbourhood. We are a normal part of the community. We love them and they love us. GPs are being urged to think again - Anthony Devlin/PA Patients will come to harm from GPs industrial action, the countrys most senior family doctor has warned. Surgeries across the country are embarking on work-to-rule measures designed to bring the NHS to a standstill following a vote by the British Medical Association (BMA). Doctors have been told they can pick and choose from measures designed to wreak chaos across the health service. They include a cap on the number of appointments, meaning practices could turn away record numbers of patients, heaping pressures on A&E and 999 services. Family doctors are being asked to take part in up to 10 forms of protest, including one that would put a cap on the number of daily patient contacts which includes face-to-face appointments, remote consultations and messages at 25 per GP. This is a third less than the current workload, with the BMA saying the average GP now has 37 patient contacts daily. The union has repeatedly claimed it is not targeting patients. On Sunday, Dr Katie Bramall-Stainer, who chairs the BMA GPs committee, insisted patients wont come to harm from this. She said: Were not going on strike. This is collective, premeditated, disruptive action. It is industrial action, but the target isnt patients. The target is NHS England and the Department of Health. But the countrys most senior GP intervened on Friday, urging colleagues to think again. Dr Amanda Doyle, the NHS national director for primary care and community services, said: I know that GPs would never intend to take action that would impact patients, but it is hard to see how this action will not have a detrimental effect. Her comments in Pulse, a magazine for GPs, follow an appeal from Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, who urged family doctors not to punish patients, saying they should blame the last Government for the woes of the NHS. Patients groups have said the plans are selfish and that GPs risk losing the support of the public in an attempt to argue against contracts that are already generous. The majority of GPs are partners, with average annual earnings of 153,000, and most work a three-day week. Dr Doyle highlighted recent gains GPs had won. On Monday Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, awarded a 6 per cent pay rise for family doctors, three times the offer suggested for the profession when the ballot for collective action was called. Hours before the collective action was launched, Mr Streeting announced emergency measures to get 1,000 newly qualified GPs to the front line more quickly by getting rid of red tape. GP members of the BMA voted overwhelmingly in favour of industrial action. The union said 98.3 per cent of the 8,500 voting backed the measures. GPs have not staged action since 1964, when family doctors collectively handed in undated resignations to the Wilson government. Money saving chaos It comes as GPs are refusing to save money on medicines as part of industrial action. Family doctors have embarked on measures, which they say will bring the NHS to a standstill because they say the current system is underfunded. Practices across the country have been told by the British Medical Association (BMA) to pick and choose from a raft of options designed to cause chaos. They include switching off software that would point them to the best value medicines. Most surgeries use medicines optimisation software, which highlights potential savings such as prescribing cheap generic drugs when available. But the BMA has suggested that practices switch off any systems that are aimed to make financial savings for the taxpayer. Critics said any family doctor considering such behaviour should be utterly ashamed of themselves. Dr Martin Brunet, a GP from Binscombe Medical Centre, in Surrey, said that until now, family doctors had generally gone along with systems that saved the NHS money because they were passionate about the health service. But he told Radio 4s Today programme that following the advice generates quite a lot of work such as switching medications, and having extra appointments to discuss this which they were now intending to abandon. Our computer system is constantly popping up reminders of how to prescribe medications in a way that saves the NHS money and as GPs were all very passionate about the NHS, so we have generally just gone along with that, he said. But it generates quite a lot of work if you change someones prescription, then youve got to let them know and then some of them, it wont suit them, and youll have an appointment to try and adjust that. Elliot Keck, the head of campaigns at the TaxPayers Alliance, said: Any GP considering this kind of disgusting behaviour should be utterly ashamed of themselves. Measures designed to save money for taxpayers are being undermined by activist doctors who are willing to burn the cash of their patients to achieve their ends. The new government should immediately legislate to restrict this reckless practice and not give in to blackmail. Dr Brunet said his practice had opted for switching off advice to keep NHS costs down, rather than capping patient appointments, because of concerns that such restrictions would have an impact on patients. Family doctors are being asked to take part in up to ten forms of protest, including one that caps the number of daily appointments at 25 a third less than the current workload. Dr Brunet said: As a practice we voted in favour of this but were not planning to cap patient appointments at the moment because of concern about potential impact on patients. Crowds gather as HMS Prince Of Wales leaves Portsmouth - Chris Gorman/Big Ladder/Chris Gorman/Big Ladder The Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales has sailed from its home port a day after its departure was delayed at the last minute. The 3 billion warship had been set to leave Portsmouth Naval Base on Thursday morning but the sailing was first put off to the next high tide that evening before being postponed again until Friday. Crowds of people lined the harbour walls to see the carrier off while a lone stand-up paddle boarder raced the giant ship as it sailed into the Solent. A Royal Navy spokeswoman said: It is standard to operate within sailing windows. All ship movements are subject to final routine checks, as well as suitable sailing conditions. The 65,000-tonne carrier left Portsmouth Naval Base to head to Scotland where it will take on board ammunition for future operations. HMS Prince of Wales will then spend a period of time at sea before returning to Portsmouth. Russian political prisoners Ilya Yashin, Vladimir Kara-Murza ve Andrei Pivovarov speaking in Bonn - Kadir Ilboga/Anadolu via Getty Images The Russian-British political activist Vladimir Kara-Murza said he was convinced he would be shot in the moments after his recent release from a Russian prison, citing a scathing note he had earlier written to Vladimir Putin. Mr Kara-Murza was one of 16 prisoners freed from Russia on Thursday in a historic deal between the Kremlin and the West. Eight Russian prisoners were repatriated in return. Speaking at a press conference in Germany, Mr Kara-Murza said after two years in detention his newfound freedom felt surreal. He said he thought he was going to die in prison and that after refusing to go through the formalities of asking Putin for clemency his fate had been sealed. He said he was taken into a room with a large portrait of Putin hanging from the wall and told to sign a document admitting guilt and remorse. But he refused and instead wrote that Putin was a murderer. Obviously Im not guilty of anything. Im not gonna sign this paper, he said. He was awoken on Sunday at 3am and told he had 20 minutes to collect his belongings. I thought I was going to let out and be shot. Mr Kara-Murza was speaking alongside Russian opposition activist Ilya Yashin and Andrei Pivovarov who were also freed. Mr Yashin welled up with tears as he described his incarceration, adding that had mixed feelings about the deal. The exchange represented a difficult dilemma, Russian liberal opposition politician Ilya Yashin told journalists in Germany. It encourages Putin to take more hostages, said Mr Yashin, who had been serving a jail sentence for denouncing Moscows Ukraine offensive. 07:23 PM BST Blog now closed Thats it for todays live blog. Heres a rundown of the main stories: Roman Abramovich played a role in the negotiation of a historic prisoner swap that saw 16 people freed by Russia on Thursday. Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Russian-British citizen freed in the prisoner swap on Thursday, said Russias war in Ukraine is just the tip of the iceberg - but he urged people not to conflate Putins regime with Russia. Donald Trump has called the prisoner swap between the US and Russia a win for Vladimir Putin as he continued to offer baseless speculation over the details of the agreement. Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, former US marine Paul Whelan, and journalist Alsu Kurmasheva touched down in Maryland last night. The Kremlin has warned a group of prisoners freed on Thursday in the biggest such swap since the Cold War to go into witness protection programmes. The deal that secured the release of 16 prisoners from Russia was negotiated mostly by spies and sometimes through secret messages hand-delivered by couriers, according to reports. 07:13 PM BST Roman Abramovich acted as go-between in prisoner swap Roman Abramovich played a role in the negotiation of a historic prisoner swap that saw 16 people freed by Russia on Thursday. The Russian oligarch reportedly relayed a message to Vladimir Putin broaching the idea of an exchange after meeting with Rodger Carstens, the US Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs. Mr Abramovich then signalled to Mr Carstens that the Russian president was open to negotiations of a swap including Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Mr Navalny died in captivity in February, before negotiations were completed. On Thursday, US journalist Evan Gershkovich and ex-US Marine Paul Whelan returned to the United States in the swap that included 24 people. The White House said it negotiated the trade with Russia, Germany and three other countries on the deal, which was worked on in secrecy for more than a year. 06:43 PM BST Political activist said only allowed to call his wife once during detention Mr Kara-Murza said over more than two years he was only able to call his wife once. He said Andrei Pivovarov was only able to speak to his son on the phone three times. This is not only done to us, it is also done to our families, he said. 06:35 PM BST Prisoner swap encourages Putin to take more hostages, said freed campaigner The prisoner exchange between Russia and the West represented a difficult dilemma, Russian liberal opposition politician Ilya Yashin told journalists in Germany Friday. It encourages Putin to take more hostages, said Mr Yashin, who was freed as part of the deal from a jail sentence for denouncing Moscows Ukraine offensive. 06:11 PM BST Russian dissident Ilya Yashin looking forward to hugging his parents again Freed Russian dissident Ilya Yashin said he is looking forward to finally hugging his parents again. Im very happy to be free, he said, adding: I hope very soon my parents are going to be here so that I can finally hug them again. Mr Yashin said he spoke to the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and told him he understood the complexities of deciding to free a murderer in exchange for 16 innocent people that have never committed a crime I know its a difficult dilemma, he said. 06:08 PM BST Youre going to see your home country for the first time Vladimir Kara-Murza said each of the 16 prisoners freed from Russia had an FSB agent sitting next to them on the plane. My FSB agent said look youre going to see your home country for the last time. Russian dissidents Ilya Yashin, Vladimir Kara-Murza and Andrei Pivovarov hold a press conference in Germany - Reuters 06:06 PM BST Freed Russian-British citizen says we will return to Russia Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Russian-British citizen freed in the prisoner swap on Thursday, said Russias war in Ukraine is just the tip of the iceberg - but he urged people not to conflate Putins regime with Russia. The Kremlins propaganda wants to make you believe that the whole country supports the aggressive war in Ukraine and the regime - this is a lie, he said. Mr Kara-Murza, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison for spreading false information about the Russian army and being affiliated with an undesirable organisation, said he has no doubts that he will return to Russia. All of us are going to come back to Russia, the dissident said, adding that Russia will one day be a normal, civilised, European country. 05:49 PM BST Freed Russian dissident speaks for first time During a press conference, freed Russian dissident Andrei Pivovarov said sitting there in front of a room of journalists leads to a lot of emotion. Were very happy, he said. But Mr Pivovarov noted there are still thousands of people still in Russian prisons who suffer terrible conditions and need our assistance. We should do it step by step and we should not wait, we should take action to support those people that are under pressure, he said. He added, however, that Thursdays prisoner exchange is a sign of light in a way. I think they would be happy to hear that its possible to be saved, he said. Mr Pivovarov said he would continue to work towards a Russia that is free and democratic and where everyone could be free in Russia. 05:22 PM BST Trump calls prisoner swap win for Putin Donald Trump has called the prisoner swap between the US and Russia a win for Vladimir Putin as he continued to offer baseless speculation over the details of the agreement. Evan Gershkovich, a US journalist, two other Americans and a green card holder are back in the US after being freed by Putin as part the largest East-West prisoner exchange since the Cold War. Seeking to downplay President Bidens success in securing the deal, the Republican nominee told Fox Business: The Russians made a great deal. Im not going to criticize it, because its good to have them home, but they got a phenomenal deal, and that sets a very bad precedent. It is a win for Putin, Trump added. Donald Trump called the largest prisoner swap since the Cold War a 'win for Putin' - AFP 05:09 PM BST France urges Moscow to release others arbitrarily detained in Russia France on Friday welcomed a historic prisoner swap between Russia and the West and urged Moscow to set free French citizen Laurent Vinatier and other people still arbitrarily detained in the country. France shares the sentiment of the families and allied governments following the release of several political prisoners held in Russia, the French foreign ministry said in a statement. Our thoughts are with those who remain arbitrarily detained in Russia, including our compatriot Laurent Vinatier. France calls for their immediate release. 04:49 PM BST Slovakia, Hungary rebuff EU call to replace lost Russian oil via Croatia Slovakia and Hungary rebuffed a European Commission suggestion that they could replace lost Russian oil supplies via an alternative route through Croatia saying it was too costly. Supplies from Russias biggest oil exporter Lukoil through Ukraine were halted in July following a ban by Ukrainian authorities on Lukoil using the Druzhba pipeline, which links Russia to eastern Europe. Hungary and Slovakia earlier this month asked the European Commission to step in and mediate as the threatened their security of supply. But they are rejecting the European Commissions proposal to use spare capacity on the JANAF Adriatic pipeline in Croatia to supply both countries with oil not sourced in Russia. Croatia is simply not a reliable country for transit, Hungarys Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said. Oil transit prices were raised fivefold since the outbreak of the [Ukraine] war by Croatia. 04:38 PM BST Watch: Putin says buenos noches to children of Russian spies Vladimir Putin greeted in Spanish the children of Russian spies who were returning home from Slovenia where they had been caught posing as Argentian art dealers. When the children walked down the plane they dont speak Russian and Putin just greeted them in Spanish. He said Buenas noches, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. The childrens parents, Artem and Anna Dultseva, were sentenced in a court in Slovenias capital, Ljubljana, on Wednesday after pleading guilty to spying charges. 03:52 PM BST Ukraine, Russia swap remains of almost 300 dead soldiers Ukraine said it had received the bodies of 250 killed soldiers in one of the largest exchanges of remains since Russia invaded in February 2022. The two sides regularly exchange soldiers bodies as well as captured prisoners of war in rare diplomatic dealmaking between Moscow and Kyiv. As a result of repatriation operations, the bodies of 250 fallen Ukrainian defenders were returned to Ukraine, Kyivs Coordination Centre for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said in a statement. This is one of the biggest operations of its kind, Centre Spokesman Petro Yatsenko told AFP. Kyiv said it handed over the remains of 38 Russian soldiers in the deal, which was mediated by International Red Cross. 03:36 PM BST Russia says prisoner exchange not linked to Ukraine peace talks Kremlin denies speculation its release of 24 Western prisoners could form part of negotiations over ending the war, writes Joe Barnes. The historic prisoner swap between Russia and the West was not linked to peace talks with Ukraine, the Kremlin said on Friday. Almost two dozen political prisoners held by Russia were released to their families, while Vladimir Putin welcomed back eight Russians freed in exchange, including an FSB hitman who had been held in Germany. There was speculation that the complex feat of diplomacy could be part of a ceasefire negotiation between Moscow and Kyiv. But Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, denied any link and said potential talks on Ukraine would be based on different principles. Read the full story 03:25 PM BST Ukraine drone downs $15m Russian helicopter A $15m Russian helicopter was destroyed by a small Ukrainian drone 50km inside of Russia, Ukrainian and Russian sources said. The attack on the 12-ton Russian Mi-8 helicopter near Russian-occupied Donetsk potentially marked the first time a Ukrainian drone has taken down a military helicopter. The attack occurred about 50km from the front line, an unprecedented distance for such a strike. The explosive-carrying two-pound drone rammed the helicopter when it was near the ground, causing it to crash and burn, Russian military bloggers wrote. Caught at the moment of take-off, a Russian blogger posted on social media, sharing photos and videos of the burning helicopter. Such attacks are exceptionally difficult as the helicopters fly faster than 150 miles per hour at altitudes exceeding thousands of feet. Observers confirmed the downing of the helicopter, which was performing attack, transport, and medical evacuation missions. Read the full story 03:08 PM BST Ukraine adds another Turkish corvette to its navy for the war with Russia Ukraine has taken delivery of a second Turkish-built navy corvette, officials said on Friday, although they did not say specifically how the warships might be used in Ukraine. Ukraines first lady, Olena Zelenska, attended the launching ceremony of the Ada-class corvette during a visit to Turkey, the Ukrainian presidency announced on its website. The corvette Ukraine already had is currently undergoing sea trials. Turkish Ada-class ships are typically able to strike planes, other ships and submarines. Ukraine, which has coastlines on the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov, had a small navy at the time of Russias February 2022 full-scale invasion. First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska attends the launch of the Ada class corvette - UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE/AFP via Getty Images 02:45 PM BST Children of freed sleeper agents learned they were Russians on the flight A family of Russian sleeper agents flown to Moscow in the prisoner swap were so deep undercover that their children found out they were Russians only after the flight took off, the Kremlin said on Friday. Before that, they didnt know that they were Russian and that they had anything to do with our country, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. And you probably saw that when the children came down the planes steps that they dont speak Russian and that Putin greeted them in Spanish. He said buenas noches. 02:23 PM BST Ilya Yashin pictured following release by Russia Ilya Yashin, a prominent Kremlin critic and Russian citizen, shared a photograph following his release in the first post of a prisoner on social media since the group was released on Thursday. The 41-year-old was jailed for eight years over his criticism of the war in Ukraine. He was also charged with spreading false information about the Russian army. With that hysterical sentence, the authorities want to scare us all but it effectively shows their weakness, Mr Yashin has said of his case. He wrote alongside the photo on social media: Ill tell you everything soon. In the meantime, just thanks to everyone who worried. I hug you all! Ilya Yashin - Twitter 02:03 PM BST Ukraine launched more drone attacks than Russia in July Ukraine launched more long-range drone attacks than Russia for the first time since the war began in July. Russia deployed 426 Shahed-type drones into Ukraine, while Kyiv retaliated with over 520 drones, according to Ukrainian figures. 01:42 PM BST France urges Moscow to release others arbitrarily detained in Russia France on Friday welcomed the prisoner swap between Russia and the West and urged Moscow to set free French citizen Laurent Vinatier and other people still arbitrarily detained in the country. France shares the sentiment of the families and allied governments following the release of several political prisoners held in Russia, the French foreign ministry said in a statement. Our thoughts are with those who remain arbitrarily detained in Russia, including our compatriot Laurent Vinatier. France calls for their immediate release. France said it paid tribute to the courage of the men and women who, in Russia as elsewhere, defend freedom of speech and opinion despite the risks involved. 01:24 PM BST Russia tells freed US prisoners to go into witness protection The Kremlin has warned a group of prisoners freed on Thursday in the biggest such swap since the Cold War to go into witness protection programmes. Let the traitors now feverishly pick up new names and actively disguise themselves under witness protection programmes, former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev said. The Kremlin added that it hoped those who had left Russia, whom it described as enemies, would stay away, according to the state-run TASS news agency. 01:09 PM BST Watch: Evan Gershkovich speaks about detention Evan Gershkovich gave an interview after exiting the plane in Maryland on Thursday evening, speaking about the detention of political prisoners in Russia. Watch below. 12:44 PM BST Ukrainian drone takes out $15m Russian helicopter A small Ukrainian drone reportedly shot down a 12-ton Russian Mi-8 helicopter near Russian-occupied Donetsk, potentially marking the first time a drone has taken down a military helicopter. The explosive-carrying drone rammed the $15m helicopter when it was near the ground, causing it to crash and burn, Forbes reported, citing Russian bloggers. Caught at the moment of take-off, a Russian blogger reported. The attack occurred about 50km from the front line, much further than previous attacks have reached. Photos and videos on social media showed the burning helicopter. Observers confirmed the downing of the helicopter, which was being used for attack, transport, and medical evacuation missions. 12:24 PM BST Analysis: Hostage deal weak for the Kremlin For the Kremlin, this deal looks weak, if not even a one-sided exchange. The Kremlin has traded their 16 top hostages alleged spies, journalists, opposition leaders and human rights activists all carefully curated over the past few years for one FSB assassin thug, two low-grade spies based in Slovenia and five crooked IT nerds and businessmen imprisoned for money laundering and smuggling. Its hardly a rerun of the like-for-like 1968 spy exchange that became the Hollywood Film Bridge of Spies when US pilot Gary Powers was swapped for Soviet spy Rudolf Abel on a fog-cloaked bridge in Berlin. The release of Mr Gershkovich is the most stunning. He was the Kremlins prize asset. Arrested in March 2023 for spying, he was only found guilty by a kangaroo court in Yekaterinburg two weeks ago. A triumphant Russian media gave the case wall-to-wall coverage and yet the Kremlin has tossed aside his 16-year prison sentence and freed him. Perhaps for Putin, the return of Vadim Krasikov from Berlin is worth the price. He is the assassin who shot dead a former Chechen commander in 2019 and Putins favoured FSB security service wanted him back. What else does he know? Ukraine has shunned the Kremlins request for a ceasefire this summer as a scam designed to give Russian forces a breather to re-arm and then charge again but, although Putin has turned Russias economy and society into a war machine, cracks are appearing. Thursdays prisoner swap adds to this sense of growing Russian weakness. Even loyal Kremlin propagandists appear stunned, asking why Putin agreed to an uneven swap that boosts the pro-Ukraine Democrats. 12:01 PM BST Watch: Evan Gershkovich before release New footage recorded in Russia shows the moments before journalist Evan Gershkovich was released. 11:46 AM BST Kremlin says prisoner deal completely different from Ukraine The Kremlin on Friday said possible talks over the conflict in Ukraine were based on completely different principles from negotiations over a prisoner swap deal that saw 24 people freed on Thursday. If we talk about Ukraine and more complex international problems, there are completely different principles, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, adding that the work there is conducted in a completely different mode. 11:24 AM BST List of names on napkin helped lead to hostage deal A list of names written on a cocktail napkin helped lead to the release of 16 prisoners by Russia in the biggest prisoner swap since the Cold War, it has been revealed. Christo Grozev, a Bulgarian journalist and one of the worlds leading investigators of Russian clandestine operators, met with Rodger Carstens, the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, in a Georgetown restaurant to propose a way forward for the negotiations with Russia. At the restaurant back in April of 2023, he jotted down a two-column list of Russian prisoners who the US could trade. The list was relayed from Mr Carstens to Anthony Bliken, the US Secretary of State, and ultimately formed the basis of the trade agreement between the US and Russia. Watch Mr Grozev explain the feat to CNN below. How a list of names on a cocktail napkin led to today's historic prisoner swap: @christogrozev talks about his key meeting one year ago and says his friend Alexei Navalny's death led to more people being freed today. pic.twitter.com/LfQf3N5ujL Erin Burnett OutFront (@OutFrontCNN) August 2, 2024 11:09 AM BST Russian drone hits bus in Kharkiv region A Russian drone hit a bus in Ukraines northeastern Kharkiv region early on Friday, injuring six construction workers, including one who was in a critical condition, the regional governor said. Governor Oleh Syniehubov said the incident took place near the town of Derhachi, about 40 km (25 miles) from Hlyboke one of the border settlements where Russia opened a new front in the war in May. Ukraines military halted the Russian offensive there, rushing in reinforcements after Russia pushed up to 10 km (six miles) into the border areas. 10:52 AM BST Pictured: Reunited in eastern Ukraine In this photograph, Mykhailo, a Ukrainian serviceman embraves his girlfriend Viktoria who arrived on a train from Kyiv to visit him, at a railway station in Kramatorsk, eastern Donetsk region. Mykhailo, a Ukrainian serviceman embraves his girlfriend Viktoria - Roman PILIPEY / AFP 10:30 AM BST Blinken carries index card with names of trapped prisoners Antony J. Blinken, the US Secretary of State, carries an index card in his suit pocket every day with the names of more than 70 Americans wrongfully detained overseas. The revelation comes after the release of 16 prisoners by Russia, including three Americans and one green card holder. Mr Blinkens list has those who have been freed written in red, while those still imprisoned are written in black. Before the release of Evan Gershkovich, Mr Blinken told Sergei V. Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, that the spying charges against him were outrageous. 10:09 AM BST Trump says prisoner swap a bad deal for US Donald Trump has criticised Thursdays prisoner exchange, suggesting the United States had received a bad deal tantamount to extortion. The former president posted a series of questions on social media around the terms of the deal, wondering whether the US was paying Russia cash and whether the US had released murderers. Just curious because we never make good deals, at anything, but especially hostage swaps, he said. A total of 24 prisoners were exchanged in a deal between the Kremlin and the White House on Thursday, including three Americans and eight people returning to Russia. Trump, who often touts his experience in business and making deals, said: They are extorting the United States of America. Theyre calling the trade complex Thats so nobody can figure out how bad it is! 09:45 AM BST Behind the Prisoner Swap The deal that secured the release of 16 prisoners from Russia was negotiated mostly by spies and sometimes through secret messages hand-delivered by couriers, according to reports. After months of negotiations, a turning point is said to have occurred on June 25 during a meeting between a group of CIA officers and their Russian counterparts. The Americans proposed an exchange involving two dozen prisoners held in jails in Russia, the US, and various European countries. This far larger and more complex deal than previously considered would provide both Moscow and Western nations with greater incentives to agree. But what else happened in this fateful build-up to the swap? Read more here. 09:28 AM BST Pictured: Soldiers on the front line In these photographs, Ukrainian servicemen fire a mortar during a military exercise in the Kherson region. Ukrainian servicemen fire a mortar - REUTERS/Ivan Antypenko Ukrainian servicemen place a shell into a mortar - REUTERS/Ivan Antypenko A Ukrainian serviceman checks mortar shells - REUTERS/Ivan Antypenko 09:15 AM BST How did the UN and Nato react? The United Nations and Nato have reacted to the release of a number of prisoners by Russia. UN rights chief Volker Turk expressed his relief regarding the prisoner swap. All journalists & rights defenders detained solely for doing their jobs must be freed, said the United Nations Human Rights Office in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. Nato praised the release of prisoners, attributing it to the close cooperation of alliance members. We welcome the release today of several political prisoners from Russia. The deal that secured their freedom was negotiated by several Nato allies working together, spokesperson Farah Dakhlallah said. 08:58 AM BST Locals flee eastern city of Pokrovsk Residents of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine are fleeing the city as Russian forces make significant advances on multiple fronts in Donetsk. Moscow has asserted control over four villages east of Pokrovsk in the past week. While Ukraine has not verified these claims, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Thursday that Pokrovsk has become Russias primary target. Russian troops have reached the edge of Toretsk, where the regional governor noted last week that only 3,500 people remained, just over 10 per cent of the prewar population. Since then, authorities and humanitarian organisations have evacuated more residents. 08:40 AM BST Pictured: Prisoners touch down in the US Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, former US marine Paul Whelan, and journalist Alsu Kurmasheva touched down in Maryland last night. Reporter Evan Gershkovich, right, is greeted by his parents, Mikhail Gershkovich, and Ella Milman - AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta Reporter Evan Gershkovich greets colleagues - AP Photo/Alex Brandon Former US Marine Paul Whelan arrives in the US - JIM LO SCALZO/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock 08:16 AM BST Crimea building evacuated after being hit by ATACMS Authorities in the Russian-controlled city of Sevastopol in Crimea are evacuating a nine-storey residential building after it was hit by a fragment of an ATACMS missile, the Russian-appointed governor of the city said on Friday. Governor Mikhail Razvozhayev said no one had been hurt in the incident and warned locals not to approach other fragments of missiles intercepted by air defences in what he described as a massive overnight attack on the city. 07:57 AM BST Tearful phone call held in Oval Office A tearful phone call was held in the Oval Office on Thursday night as the freed prisoners spoke to their families for the first time. This is momma. Do you hear me? Its your mom, Evan Gershkovichs mother told her son in the emotional two-minute video of the virtual reunion, posted by President Joe Bidens social media account on X, formerly known as Twitter. We just want to say how overwhelmed we are, Joe Biden told the released detainees as the families stood around the presidential Resolute Desk. Youve been wrongfully detained for a long time, and we are glad you are home. Every parent, child, spouse, and loved one who joined me in the Oval Office today has been praying for this day for a long time. In just a few short hours when our fellow Americans return home, those prayers will be answered. pic.twitter.com/2xglu30HE9 President Biden (@POTUS) August 2, 2024 07:46 AM BST Prisoners greeted by Joe Biden On Thursday, the freed prisoners were greeted by US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, former US marine Paul Whelan, and journalist Alsu Kurmasheva were met by cheers from family and friends as they disembarked a plane, before each embracing Mr Biden and Ms Harris. It feels wonderful, it was a long time coming, Mr Biden told reporters at Joint Base Andrews near Washington at around 11:40 pm (3.40 GMT). Alliances make a difference. They stepped up and took a chance for us, Biden said of the deal, which also involved Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, and Belarus on the other side. San Francisco's Board of Supervisors has approved the ban on software that allegedly guides landlords to create schemes on rental prices. The ordinance was voted 10-0 on a first ready by the board and will undergo a final vote on September 3. Read Also : Google's Next Update Will Feature Browsing Chrome History Through Questions San Francisco Seeks Banning of Rental Price-Colluding Software The ban will affect software companies RealPage and Yardi. The board alleged that these companies have contributed to worsening the rent crisis and have empowered corporate landlords to intentionally vacant units. "These recommendations then effectively become the lay of the land, with multiple investigations finding they amount to illegal price-fixing," board president Aaron Peskin stated. Peskin also revealed that RealPage's executives told its investors that the software helped drive double-digit increases in rents, and boosted turnover units and vacancy rates. San Francisco Fights for Local Renters' Rights to Afford Houses Earlier this year, the Department of Justice declared that inflated rents caused by "algorithmic use of sensitive nonpublic pricing and supply information violate antitrust laws." The Federal Trade Commission also argued that using software to hike up prices is illegal. Both RealPage and Yardi are accused of collecting and combining large landlord data. The software is designed to make pricing and occupancy recommendations which eventually caused inflated results. RealPage previously denied the allegations and called it "false and misleading." The software company clarified that its service is beneficial to both house providers and renters. The proposal states that if an entity uses such a device on residential units within San Francisco or if a San Franciso landlord utilizes a similar software, civil action will be taken. Payment for damages and civil penalties of up to $1,000 per violation is also in place. Toby Young, the director of the Free Speech Union, says the decision to 'kill off' the legislation is 'a flagrant abuse of political power in pursuit of a narrow ideological agenda' - Andrew Crowley A free speech group is planning to sue the Government over its decision to scrap a law aimed at tackling cancel culture at universities. The Free Speech Union has threatened to launch a judicial review against Bridget Phillipson after she halted new protections for academics just days before they were due to come into force. The Education Secretary announced last week she had pulled the plug on the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 and would now consider repealing it. The flagship Tory policy was set to require universities, colleges and student unions to actively promote free speech on campus. Prof Arif Ahmed, the director for freedom of speech and academic freedom at the Office for Students (OfS), had also spent a year designing a complaints scheme to implement the law. It would have allowed him to take submissions from academics who had been cancelled over their personal beliefs. The Free Speech Union said the Governments decision to kill off the legislation would make it virtually impossible for students and academics to challenge radical progressive ideology on campus. Decision to axe legislation unlawful In a pre-action protocol letter, the first stage before a judicial review, it alleged Ms Phillipsons decision to axe the legislation was unlawful. The Secretary of State was not entitled to act as she has done because she opposes the legislation or its policy. Any repeal of the legislation is a matter for Parliament not the executive, the letter sent on Friday claimed. The Free Speech Union also accused the Education Secretary of acting unlawfully by removing protections for people of certain protected groups, such as gender critical persons or those who espouse minority political views. It called on Ms Phillipson to publish proof that she had considered the possible implications of repealing the free speech laws for certain groups. The Act was introduced after a series of rows over the so-called cancellation of academics and students over their views. They include Dr Kathleen Stock, a philosophy professor, who resigned from Sussex University in 2021 after what she described as a witch-hunt over her views on transgender issues. Ms Phillipson insisted last week that her decision to pause the new free speech laws would save universities from costly legal action - Amanda Rose/Alamy Toby Young, the director of the Free Speech Union, said: Bridget Phillipsons decision to kill off a piece of legislation that enjoyed cross-party support in the last parliament gives the lie to her claim that shes too high-minded to engage in culture war politics. This is a flagrant abuse of political power in pursuit of a narrow ideological agenda. At a stroke, she has made it virtually impossible for students and academics to challenge radical progressive ideology on campus. He also accused Ms Phillipson of being a culture warrior first class, far more brutal and merciless than any of her Tory predecessors. The Telegraph has also seen an open letter sent to Ms Phillipson on Friday calling on her to reinstate the vitally important piece of legislation. Signed by more than 150 academics, it said that free speech duties on universities have long been neglected, despite being enshrined in law. The decision to halt Higher Education [Freedom of Speech] Act appears to reflect the view, widespread among opponents of the Act, that there is no free speech problem in UK universities, that the very idea of such a problem is a fiction put about to divert attention from bigger issues. Nothing could be more false, the letter said. Hundreds of academics and students have been hounded, censured, silenced or even sacked over the last 20 years for the expression of legal opinions This state of affairs has serious consequences for all of us. Law could have created platform for hate speech Ms Phillipson insisted last week that her decision to pause the new free speech laws would save universities from costly legal action. She said the legislation could have also created a platform for hate speech on campus that would disproportionately impact some groups such as Jewish students. In a letter to MPs, the Education Secretary said many universities felt that the burden that the Act would impose was not outweighed by the issues it intended to solve. Ms Phillipson also said that for too long, universities have been a political battlefield. Edward Skidelsky, a philosopher at Exeter University and director of the committee for academic freedom, told The Telegraph it was sad that the Government has swallowed the myth put about by opponents of the Act that there is no free-speech crisis in British universities. To many university vice-chancellors and administrators, the whole issue of free speech is a big distraction from the real business of universities, which is making money by roping in students, he added. Claire Coutinho, the shadow energy secretary, said: Our Free Speech Act protected students, academics, and visiting speakers from no-platforming and cancel culture on campus. Labour fought us every step of the way and now one of their first steps in government is to stop it dead in its tracks. We cannot go on as a society silencing people who hold views we disagree with. A truly tolerant society is one where we can have free, open debate even on difficult issues. Thats not the cause of division, its the only way to heal it by creating space to find common ground. In a statement last week, Ms Phillipson said: We are absolutely committed to freedom of speech and academic freedom, but the Free Speech Act introduced last year is not fit for purpose and risked imposing serious burdens on our world class universities. This legislation could expose students to harm and appalling hate speech on campuses. That is why I have quickly ordered this legislation to be stopped so that we can take a view on next steps and protect everyones best interests, working closely with a refocussed Office for Students. Sunderland Central Police Station on fire - Twitter A Sunderland police station caught fire on Friday night as riots continued to spread after three girls were killed at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport. Hundreds of people took to the streets in Liverpool and Sunderland in the latest in a series of outbreaks of unrest thought to have been orchestrated by far-Right agitators. Footage of the blaze showed flames leaping from the property next door which appeared to spread to the police station. Separate images showed the buildings windows shattered. The station was marked permanently closed on Google Maps and was no longer listed on a police station finder on Northumbria Polices website. A car was overturned and set ablaze, as police were subjected to serious violence, Northumbria Police said, when rioters pelted them with beer barrels and stones. Sunderland police station went up in flames - @TeesPix Police in protective gear came under sustained attack as rioters set off fire extinguishers on High West Street. The scenes of violence followed a march through the city at around 7pm in which protesters raised St George Cross flags and chanted songs about the far-Right agitator Tommy Robinson. Police said eight people were arrested and three police officers taken to hospital following the riots in Sunderland. Chief Supt Helena Barron of Northumbria Police said in a statement: We can confirm that three officers were taken to hospital for treatment of injuries. One has since been discharged with the other two remaining in hospital for further treatment. We also thank our partners for the significant support they have shown throughout the evening. Protesters set a car on fire - Mark Pinder Anyone involved in the disorder we have seen can expect to be dealt with robustly - and that action has already begun. Eight people have so far been arrested for a range of offences, including violent disorder and burglary. A full investigation is now under way to identify anyone else responsible. Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, said those stoking the scenes of disorder do not represent Britain. She posted on X, formerly Twitter: Criminals attacking the police and stoking disorder on our streets will pay the price for their violence and thuggery. Fire raged on the street - Mark Pinder The police have the full backing of Government to take the strongest possible action and ensure they face the full force of the law. In Liverpool, riot police were also forced to intervene after far-Right demonstrators came close to clashing with counter-protesters outside the Abdullah Quilliam Society mosque. The anti-fascist activists, who number around 200, responded to the protesters by chanting: Nazi scum off our streets. Section 60 orders Ahead of the unrest, a section 60 order was introduced to give officers enhanced powers to stop and search. The measure was implemented in a bid to clamp down on the scenes of violence witnessed in Southport, Hartlepool and London in recent days, in which more than 50 police officers were injured and dozens of protesters arrested. It comes as police forces across the country brace for a wave of more than 30 planned incidents at the weekend and next week in up to a dozen cities and towns. Nottinghamshire Police said they were aware of two possible planned outbreaks of disorder this weekend, adding there would be an increased high-visibility police presence. Protesters attacked police in riot gear in Sunderland - Mark Pinder In a statement, the force said: Anyone who comes into the city or our neighbourhoods to cause any kind of disorder can expect a robust police response. It simply will not be tolerated. Meanwhile, Thames Valley Police said they were aware of a potential planned protest this weekend and that officers would swiftly respond if it escalates into violent disorder. South Yorkshire Police said they were also aware of a planned protest and there may be an increased police presence across the county. Protesters raised flags and chanted in the streets - Mark Pinder In Northern Ireland, the PSNI said it was aware of calls to block roads using women and children for a march to an Islamic centre. Lord Hanson, the Home Office minister, warned organisers that we will be watching you to prevent the summer madness from spreading following a string of violent clashes. Police chiefs said they would not tolerate far-Right thugs exploiting the nations grief. The Muslim Council of Britain said on Friday that hundreds of mosques were strengthening their security and putting in place protective measures ahead of more planned protests. There are fears Islamic places of worship could be targeted during demonstrations expected to take place at the weekend. Kim McGuinness, the North East mayor, said: Im appalled by scenes from Sunderland. Make no mistake, if your response to tragedy is to use it to commit violence, to abuse others, attack the police and damage property you stand for nothing except thuggery. Its not protest. Its crime and disorder. You dont speak for Sunderland. You dont speak for this region. Those grieving in Southport will take no comfort from this. 11:53 PM BST Thats all for today Thank you for following our live coverage on the riots in Sunderland. 11:11 PM BST Pictured: Police on the ground in Liverpool and Sunderland Police ringfence demonstrators and counter-protesters in Liverpool - Joel Goodman Police vans and fire engines on the streets of Sunderland - TEBL 10:38 PM BST Pictured: Firemen put out the blaze at Sunderland Central police station A Police station has been set alight in Sunderland during riots - TEBL/GV Sunderland Firefighters battle the flames - TEBL 10:08 PM BST Pictured: Fire breaks out at next to a Sunderland police station Fire breaks out at site of Sunderland Central Police station 09:53 PM BST Sunderland MP slams criminal thuggery Sunderland Central MP Lewis Atkinson said he was appalled by disorder in the city centre on Friday night. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, he said: Our city is not represented by a tiny minority causing trouble. (Northumbria Police) have my full support as they respond to criminal thuggery and work to protect all the communities of our city. Tomorrow the people of Sunderland will come together and continue to build the bright future that we have - a future where every community of our city feels safe and prospers. I am appalled by the disorder in the centre of Sunderland tonight. Our city is not represented by a tiny minority causing trouble.@northumbriapol have my full support as they respond to criminal thuggery and work to protect all the communities of our city. Tomorrow the people Lewis Atkinson MP (@LewisAtkinson) August 2, 2024 09:47 PM BST Watch: Sunderland Central Police Station on fire Sunderland Police station is on fire as the town centre is looted #SunderlandRiots pic.twitter.com/JGgI5iDOad TeesPix.Photos (@TeesPix) August 2, 2024 09:12 PM BST Mayor condemns violence and thuggery in Sunderland North East Mayor Kim McGuinness has said protesters in Sunderland stand for nothing except thuggery. He said: Im appalled by scenes from Sunderland. Make no mistake, if your response to tragedy is to use it to commit violence, to abuse others, attack the police and damage property you stand for nothing except thuggery. Its not protest. Its crime and disorder. You dont speak for Sunderland. You dont speak for this region. Those grieving in Southport will take no comfort from this. A car is toppled over and set alight during scenes of disorder in Sunderland - Raoul Dixon 09:08 PM BST Pictured: Rioters attack police with fire extinguishers Rioters have set off fire extinguishers at police in protective gear in Sunderland city centre. The clashes came as part of a sustained attack on officer. An overturned car was set on fire as the disorder continued. Protesters spray fire extinguishers at riot police officers - Raoul Dixon 08:52 PM BST Pictured: Police cordon off protesters in Sunderland People, including anti fascists, crowd outside the Sheikh Abdullah Quilliam Mosque in Liverpool - Joel Goodman Police officer raises wooden stake - Raoul Dixon 08:46 PM BST Beer barrels launched at Sunderland Police Disorder started back at Sunderlands newly refurbished Keel Square where the demonstration began. Police had beer barrels thrown at them as they tried to contain the several hundred protesters. As a helicopter flew overhead, young men threw stones at the police and chanted whose streets, our streets. 08:44 PM BST EDL could be proscribed as terrorists, says former police chief Former counter-terrorism police chief Neil Basu has said it could be time to proscribe the English Defence League as a terrorist organisation after the group crossed a line this week. Mr Basu told Times Radio: The EDL used to be a protest group which started off, they have reprehensible views in my view and as a police officer I couldnt say that, our job was to effectively facilitate lawful peaceful protest. They very quickly descended into becoming a group of violent thugs and hooligans. Theres something about not wanting to glorify them as terrorists but when I look at the scenes from Southport and the extraordinary number of injuries they caused and the terror, the sheer terror they caused the Muslim community in Southport and the wider community in Southport, in my view they crossed a line. So I would be looking to, if I was still doing my day job, I would be sitting down with my counterpart at MI5 and I would be looking at the intelligence for what picture I could produce for the Home Secretary to make a decision as to whether it was time to proscribe them. 08:38 PM BST 20 riot police descend after confrontation breaks out in Liverpool Around a 20 officers in riot gear have descended on the scene here in Liverpool after a small confrontation between a far-right protestor and a counter-demonstrator. Those defending the mosque have begun chanting refugees are welcome here and Nazi scum, off our streets 08:34 PM BST Pictured: Protesters clash with police outside Sunderland mosque Tensions boil over as protesters gather at Millfield Mosque in Sunderland - Raoul Dixon man wearing a balaclava is arrested by police as security is tightened ahead of a planned protest - Raoul Dixon 08:31 PM BST Hard-Right protesters target anti-fascist activists Riot police are intervening after counter-protestors and far-Right demonstrators came close to clashing. Several demonstrators attempted to cross and towards the anti-fascist protestors after they chanted Nazi scum off our streets. Police holding helmets are now lining west Derby Road between the two groups. There are around 40 people at the protest who are currently outnumber by counter demonstrators. 08:21 PM BST Watch: Sunderland protests turn violent 08:19 PM BST Protesters hurl missiles at riot police There was a standoff between police and protesters outside a mosque on Sunderlands St Marks Road. Police in riot gear came under attack with stones and beer cans thrown. Some protesters argued about two-tier policing as the police threw a protective ring around the mosque. Mounted police pushed back demonstrators, some of whom were in masks. Meanwhile, customers in the next door Aldi filmed the scenes on their phones through the shop window. 08:17 PM BST Pictured: Arrests made in Sunderland as anti-Fascists march in Liverpool A man wearing a balaclava is arrested by police as security is tightened ahead of a planned protest in Sunderland - Raoul Dixon /NNP People, including anti fascists, crowd outside a Liverpool mosque, where far right activists have planned a demonstration - Joel Goodman/LNP 08:14 PM BST 70-year-old activists opposes hard-Right protesters A few counter-protesters wearing masks and hoods have gathered outside the mosque in Liverpool in anticipation of disorder. But Pat, 70, who has been protesting for 50 years, stood defiant with a sign that read Nans against Nazis. She said it was horrendous that far-right thugs were targeting mosques. anti-fascist demonstrators launch counter-protest - Joel Goodman The problem is the nazis just go wherever this is trouble, she said. Theyre not interested in what happened to those children. Were telling them wherever they go we will be there. Weve never allowed them in the city of Liverpool. 07:58 PM BST 200 counter-demonstrators gather in Liverpool Around 200 anti-fascist counter demonstrators have gathered at the Abdullah Quilliam Society mosque in Liverpool. There is a visible but not yet heavy police presence ahead of a far-Right protest tonight. Police have brought in a reconnaissance plane to monitor the city from above with a National Air Police device aircraft circling over the city. The Vulcanair P.68r which took off from Chester has been monitoring from 2.000ft for around two hours. 07:35 PM BST Hundreds gather in Sunderland protests Hundreds of people have gathered in Sunderland city centre for a planned protest. Drivers tooted their horns as vehicles passed the gathering at Keel Square in the centre of town, and there was a loud cheer as a march set off shortly before 7pm. A large police presence was watching the marchers, some of whom were draped in England flags. 07:25 PM BST Extra officers deployed and police powers enhanced in Liverpool Stop and search powers have been enhanced and extra police officers deployed in Liverpool city centre. Merseyside Police announced a Section 60 order has been put in place until 4am, allowing officers the right to search people without reasonable grounds in order to prevent violence. The boost to policing comes after social media accounts were said to be organising a rally and counter-protesters intended to attend. Inspector Leigh Price said: We have taken the pro-active measure of introducing a Section 60 in this area in light of the disgraceful disorder we witnessed in Southport on Tuesday evening. These extra powers will allow officers to stop and search people suspected of carrying weapons or planning any criminality as we seek to keep the public safe. He added that residents should expect to see a highly visible police presence which he hoped would be reassuring. 07:10 PM BST Officers to Muslims in London as mosques strengthen security measures Trustee and president of the London Islamic Cultural Society (LICS) Bibi Rabbiyah Khan speaks to Police officers at the London Islamic Cultural Society (LICS) and Mosque in Haringey - Jonathan Brady/PA Police officers speak to a staff member at the London Islamic Cultural Society (LICS) and Mosque in Haringey, north London. - PA/Jonathan Brady 06:44 PM BST PM: Southport stabbings ripped through the fabric of the community Sir Keir Starmer has said that the Southport stabbings ripped through the very fabric of this community. On his second visit to the grieving town this week, the Prime Minister said: As a nation, we stand with those who tragically have lost loved ones in the heinous attack in Southport, which ripped through the very fabric of this community and left us all in shock. It is truly inspiring to hear of all the ways in which people have come together in the face of such horrors to demonstrate true bravery, resilience and solidarity. I cannot begin to imagine the pain that people are going through right now, but I am determined to make sure that Southport and its leaders have all the support they need to preserve and nurture this strength of community spirit - not just in the immediate aftermath, but also in the years to come. Sir Keir also announced further support for Southport, including mental health support for those affected by the attack and a programme of events to help build community cohesion. 06:08 PM BST Two men charged in Hartlepool for wielding wooden plank and throwing bricks at police Two more men were remanded in custody after being charged with joining in the trouble in Hartlepool on Wednesday night. John Barton, 33, and Dylan Wiley, 28, appeared in the dock together at Teesside Magistrates Court, charged with violent disorder. Wiley is also charged with possession of an offensive weapon, namely a plank of wood. Paul Doney, prosecuting, said Barton threw bricks at the police and was arrested after he was bitten by a police dog. The prosecution said Wylie was caught on body-worn camera footage throwing missiles, shouting at police and threatening to hit them with a large piece of wood. The defendants, who denied all the offences, were remanded in custody to appear before Teesside Crown Court on September 2. 05:35 PM BST Police chiefs ready to tackle violent disorder as protests loom Police chiefs have promised to boost police presence this weekend in response to planned protests. Chief Constable Gavin Stephens, National Police Chiefs Council Chair, said officers will crack down on unnecessary violence and vowed offenders will face the full force of the law. He said: Police will not stand by and let criminals carry out unnecessary violence in our communities. Id like the public to know there is a robust and united response in place across the country, and police chiefs have agreed to step up resourcing this weekend. Mr Stephens added: It is our job to be prepared and forces are working together at a local, regional and national level to gather and share intelligence and to make sure we are ready to tackle any violent disorder which might arise. Our message to anyone thinking of getting involved in this type of criminality is clear - if you cause violence, you will face the full force of the law and we have the full backing of our criminal justice partners. 05:10 PM BST PM lays wreath for Southport stabbing victims Sir Keir Starmer returned to Southport for the second time this week to lay a wreath for the three victims of the stabbing attack. The Prime Minister met with members of the local community, according to the Liverpool Echo, along with metro mayor Steve Rotheram, Merseyside Chief Constable Serena Kennedy and representatives from the police, faith groups, health services and the education and voluntary sectors. He also paid a visit to Alder Hey Childrens Hospital in Liverpool, where many of the victims of Mondays attack were treated. Sir Keir thanked staff for their hard work and professionalism in responding to the attack. 04:38 PM BST Pictured: Residents lay flowers for Southport stabbing victims Residents move flowers, in Maple street, to allow more people to pay their respects to the victims of a knife attack, in Southport - Manon Cruz/Reuters 04:28 PM BST Mosque invites protesters inside for burgers and chips A Muslim chaplain has offered cold drinks, burgers and chips to anyone who turns up outside his Liverpool mosque this weekend. Adam Kelwick issued an invitation on X, formerly Twitter, to demonstrators to come inside the mosque for a discussion about the issues affecting the community. He also said he had been made aware of a counter-protest planned in the area, which he said was not how we do things. News has reached me of a planned protest outside the Abdullah Quilliam mosque this evening. While I have no idea what our mosque has to do with anything the crowd will be protesting, the spirit of the mosque has always been one of serving our community and opening our doors 1/3 pic.twitter.com/hVlY3vw6O1 Adam Kelwick (@adamkelwick) August 2, 2024 Anybody who attends the protests tomorrow, were going to be handing out free cold drinks to you, were going to be handing out burgers and chips, and also an invitation, if you would be so kind, to come into the mosque, Mr Kelwick said. Bring your concerns in, lets have a discussion about issues that are affecting our communities and how we can work together to solve them. The key word here being together. He added: I have a feeling that you will be learning a lot of new things, because there is a lot of misinformation and ignorance spread out there about the religion of Islam. 04:11 PM BST There is too much disrespect for police, says Robert Jenerick Tory leadership hopeful Robert Jenerick has said there is too much disrespect for police, as he he launched his bid to be the next Tory leader. Speaking at a campaign launch event in Newark, the former immigration minister said there is an important lesson to learn from the riots that have followed the Southport stabbings. He said: I want to back the police, I want to ensure that they can take the robust action they need against these individuals and against people like them in all of the incidents we have seen in recent months, right across the country. Because I do not want to live in a country where incidents like this, where disturbances are happening, ever again. 03:45 PM BST Hartlepool rioter who was bitten by dog cries in court An agitator who was bitten on the bum by a police dog cried in court after admitting joining in a riot in Hartlepool on Wednesday night. Ryan Sheers, 28, and Steven Mailen, 54, admitted violent disorder during a hearing at Teesside magistrates court. Paul Doney, prosecuting, said Mailen was constantly in the face of officers and was gesticulating towards them, shouting, until he was struck on the leg by an officers extendable baton. His partner Sheers, who wept during the hearing, was then bitten on the hip by a police dog, the court heard. He had been trying to push through the police cordon, shouting and refusing to move away. The defendants, who have no previous convictions, were granted bail by District Judge Helen Cousins to appear before Teesside Crown Court for sentencing on Sept 2. Sheers, formerly a McDonalds worker, was emotional and said: Thank you judge, thank you. 03:15 PM BST Russia claims it is not to blame for far-Right riots Russia has claimed it is not responsible for stoking far-Right riots which erupted in England following the fatal stabbings of three young girls in Southport. Its embassy in London said it rejected assertions made by a former head of MI6 that Vladimir Putins government amplified false claims about the attackers identity as a form of grey warfare against the UK. Sir Richard Dearlove said the spread of fake news was a fundamental tactic used by Putins regime. The Russian Embassy described his comments as irresponsible and predictable gaslighting. Police have intelligence that the far Right and unaligned hooligans intent on violence are planning to stir up public disorder this weekend and for most of the summer following the attack at a Taylor Swift themed dance class in Southport on Monday. 03:13 PM BST MP receives reports of targeting of mosques The MP for Milton Keynes Central has condemned any violent acts amid reports of mosques being targeted by protesters. Labour politician Emily Darlington posted on X, formerly Twitter: Getting reports of targeting mosques in Milton Keynes. She added: This is not reflective of our inclusive and diverse city and I absolutely condemn any violent acts. We are an amazing city and we will not let people that engage in this destructive behaviour damage us #loveMK Her warning comes as rumours swirl on social media of protests in cities across the UK in the coming days. Getting reports of targeting of mosques in Milton Keynes. This is not reflective of our inclusive and diverse city and I absolutely condemn any violent acts. We are an amazing city and we will not let people that engage in this destructive behaviour damage us #loveMK Emily Darlington MP (@emily4MK) August 2, 2024 02:32 PM BST Expert on Right-wing extremism calls for tougher online laws Urgent action is needed to tackle the tsunami of lies on social media which fanned the flames of protest across the UK, a leading expert on Right-wing extremism has said. Professor Matthew Feldman said that within 30 hours of fake news emerging online about the suspect in the Southport stabbings, it had spread across multiple platforms, and sparked riots that led to 53 police officers being hurt. He welcomed Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmers announcement of a new national response to the violent disorder but called for a corresponding response online. Prof Feldman said: Tougher laws are needed. There has been much debate about the long delayed Online Harms Bill. It is difficult to think of a much better example of online harms breaching the real world than a fake story demonising Muslims and people of colour and leading to riots on the streets. This is only the latest wake-up call to a problem that we know exists and continues to get worse. I dont doubt the social media companies would prefer this not to be on their platform but I strongly feel they are not doing enough. 02:24 PM BST Rioter accused of flashing buttocks and genitalia to police Three man alleged to have taken part in violent disorder in Hartlepool on Wednesday night have been remanded in custody. Anthony Allen, 42, of Ormesby Road, Hartlepool, appeared at Teesside Magistrates Court, charged with violent disorder and assaulting an emergency worker. James Elliott, 41, of Raby Road, Hartlepool, was with him in the dock, charged with violent disorder. Peter Clark, 47, of no fixed address, appearing separately, was charged with violent disorder and exposure after allegedly showing his buttocks and genitalia to police. No pleas were entered to any of the charges. 02:03 PM BST Nottinghamshire Police vow robust response to disorder Nottinghamshire Police said it was aware of two protests that may be taking place in Nottingham city centre this Saturday, and that there would be a robust police response to any disorder. In a statement, the force said: We are aware of two protests that may be taking place in Nottingham city centre this Saturday (August 3) following the tragic events in Southport. The public can expect to see an increased high-visibility police presence in Old Market Square, on our transport routes, and within our communities throughout the weekend. Anyone who has any concerns then please do speak to our officers who will be very happy to help. Anyone who comes into the city or our neighbourhoods to cause any kind of disorder can expect a robust police response. It simply will not be tolerated. 01:33 PM BST Hartlepool alleged rioters appear in court Three man alleged to have taken part in violent disorder in Hartlepool on Wednesday night have appeared in court. Anthony Allen, 42, of Ormesby Road, Hartlepool, appeared at Teesside magistrates Court, charged with violent disorder and assaulting an emergency worker. James Elliott, 41, of Raby Road, Hartlepool, was with him in the dock, charged with violent disorder. Peter Clark, 47, of no fixed address, appearing separately, was charged with violent disorder and exposure after allegedly showing his buttocks and genitalia to police. No pleas were entered to any of the charges. 01:26 PM BST Liverpool imam invites far-Right agitators to mosque for dinner The imam of the Abdullah Quilliam Mosque in Liverpool has invited far-Right agitators intending to demonstrate outside the mosque to have dinner with him inside. He said: I have seen some calls online for a counter-protest, thats not the way how we do things at the Abdullah Quilliam Mosque we have a history of opening our doors and welcoming people in. So just to let you know anybody who attends the protest tomorrow [Friday] we will be handing free cold drinks to you. We are going to be handing out burgers and chips and also invitation, if you would be so kind, to come into the mosque, bring your concerns in. Lets have a discussion about issues which are affecting our communities and how we can work together. The Imam of Sheikh Abdullah Quilliam Mosque in Liverpool has invited far right agitators planning a protest there tomorrow into the mosque for free food and a chat pic.twitter.com/8bGlhtrbNt Faz (@hacksupreme) August 1, 2024 01:06 PM BST High Wycombe next target of agitators Thames Valley Police said it is aware of a potential planned protest this weekend in High Wycombe and that officers would swiftly respond if it escalates into violent disorder. A spokesperson for the force said: Thames Valley Police is aware of a potential planned protest this weekend in High Wycombe. We are committed to facilitating a peaceful protest and the right to freedom of expression, while also keeping the community safe and so officers will be out in the area tomorrow. Should this planned peaceful protest escalate into violent disorder seen elsewhere in the country, officers will swiftly respond and deal with those choosing to cause harm to our communities. We have a plan in place for this weekend to deal with any issues that may arise. 01:01 PM BST Belfast protesters plan to march on mosque The Police Service of Northern Ireland said it is aware of calls to block roads using women and children and for a march to an Islamic centre in Belfast to be held on Saturday. PSNI Chief Superintendent Stephen Murray said: Police are aware of social media posts calling for protests across Northern Ireland this Saturday, 3rd of August. We are aware of specific calls to block roads using women and children between 12 midday to 2pm in Newtownabbey, Carrickfergus, Bangor and north, south, east and west Belfast. We are also aware of calls for protest at 12 midday at Belfast City Hall and a 1pm march to the Islamic Centre, University Road, Belfast. 12:35 PM BST Police identify woman involved in protest after appeal Police have identified a woman who was one of eight people being sought after protesters threw objects and shouted racist abuse at a demonstration outside a hotel housing migrants in Aldershot, which left one officer injured. Hampshire Police said a minority of the 200 people who gathered outside the Potters International Hotel became involved in the disruption on Wednesday evening. 12:20 PM BST Hundreds of mosques strengthen security amid fear of riots Zara Mohammed, the secretary-general of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), has said hundreds of mosques across the country will be strengthening their security and protective measures this weekend. He said: There is really deep-seated anxiety amongst Muslim communities, particularly for this weekend. Yesterday we hosted a mosque security community briefing and we had representation from hundreds of mosques across the country and there was palpable fear. We had mosques saying that theyd had threats on the phone about targeted attacks... we had a lot of anxiety around security and having enough protection. Asked about how mosques are preparing, she said: So its around protective measures: ensuring that the doors and windows are secure, carrying out a risk assessment, making sure CCTV cameras are working, and having some paid security staff on site. Rioters smashed the windows of Southport's Islamic Society Mosque - PA 12:17 PM BST Manchester protester charged with attempted ABH A man has been charged in connection with an investigation into disorder in Newton Heath on Wednesday 31 July. Joshua Stokes (09/12/1998), of Ten Acres Lane, Manchester, has been charged with violent disorder and attempted ABH of a police officer. He was remanded into custody to appear at Manchester and Salford magistrates court on Friday. 12:11 PM BST Police brace for protests in Cardiff this weekend. South Wales Police said a policing operation will be in place for planned events being held in Cardiff on Saturday. A policing operation will be in effect for the duration of the events and we will be working to ensure that they take place safely, lawfully with minimum disruption to the wider public. 12:08 PM BST Protest planned in Rotherham South Yorkshire Police said it was aware of a planned protest in Rotherham this weekend and that there may be an increased police presence across the county. A force spokesman said: We are aware of heightened tensions nationally following the tragic incident in Southport earlier this week. We are engaging with our communities across all areas of the force, and are continuing to monitor any local concerns. People may see an increased police presence across the county, as we carry out this work. We are also aware of a planned protest in Rotherham this weekend. As with all protests, our role at any planned events will be to balance the rights of those who wish to protest, together with those who may be impacted by it. 11:17 AM BST Elon Musk weighs in on Southport riots Elon Musk engaged with Right-wing activist Tommy Robinson on X, hours after the Prime Minister warned that social media carries responsibility for tackling misinformation which sparked disorder in parts of the UK. Mr Musk, who owns the site formerly known as Twitter, responded with two exclamation marks to a post by Robinson real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon commenting on the Prime Ministers response to the disorder in the wake of the Southport stabbings. The billionaire SpaceX and Tesla boss has had a controversial reign at X since taking over the company in 2022, and has been accused of allowing misinformation and other harmful content to flourish on the site since then. On Thursday, Sir Keir had warned social media companies after misinformation spread online about the identity of the 17-year-old suspect, Axel Rudakubana, including false claims that he was an asylum seeker. It should be brought to people's attention that the owner of this platform is engaging with Tommy Robinson and seems to take him seriously yet he probably doesn't even know that's not his real name. pic.twitter.com/ekISdRVQwq Alexander Richards (@AlxdrRchrds) August 1, 2024 11:06 AM BST Extensive plans in place to tackle protests in Merseyside Merseyside Police is aware of online speculation about future protests and has extensive plans and considerable police resources in place to deal with them, a senior officer has said. Assistant Chief Constable Jenny Sims said: I want to reassure residents that we are fully prepared for any possible disorder in the future. Police and our partners also want to remind people of the dangers of misinformation and speculation online, and how it can have real-world consequences that put innocent people in harms way. People who maliciously spread misinformation want to cause division and hatred in our communities, and its completely unacceptable. I would continue to ask people to be mindful of the damage that such actions can cause and to always question the source of information when viewing anything on social media. Finally, I want to make this absolutely clear: anyone who intends to cause future damage and harm to our communities will be dealt with robustly, using all our available powers. There are extensive plans and considerable police resources in place to quickly deal with anyone intent on causing disorder over the coming days. We will look to bring to justice every person who is identified committing criminal damage and acts of violence against police staff, officers and our communities. 11:03 AM BST Seven arrests over Southport protests Merseyside Police has made seven arrests, with further arrests to be made over the coming weeks, after protests following the Southport attack, the force has said. Detective Chief Inspector Tony Roberts said: Following the disorder on Tuesday evening, we have now made seven arrests and further arrests will be made over the coming weeks. Extensive work is ongoing to identify all those responsible for the despicable actions and we are determined to find everyone involved in this incident. We continue to explore all lines of inquiry, which includes a specialist team who are currently reviewing hundreds of hours of footage as well as images to identify everyone involved. If you took part in this disorder, you can expect to receive a knock on your door by our officers. We would continue to appeal to anyone who has information or video footage of those involved in the shocking disorder on Tuesday night to come forward so we can identify and arrest those responsible. 10:53 AM BST Where are the protests expected to happen? The protests are expected to happen in up to more than a dozen cities and towns across the UK tonight. 10:30 AM BST Police hunt eight involved in mob-type protests at migrant hotel Police are trying to identify eight people involved in mob-type protests outside a hotel housing migrants sparked by the killing of three girls in Southport. Hampshire Police have released photographs of the seven men, and one woman, who took part in the protests outside the Potters International Hotel on Wednesday in Aldershot. A police and crime commissioner said the riots resembled mob-type protests. Around 200 people took part with a minority throwing missiles at officers and shouting racial slurs, the force said. Hampshire Police are seeking these eight individuals in relation to the disorder - Hampshire Police 09:50 AM BST Lucky that knife missed artery, says survivor of Southport stabbing A man who survived being stabbed during the attack in Southport said he is lucky the knife missed an artery. John Hayes, a 63-year-old businessman, was stabbed in the leg while trying to disarm the attacker. Mr Hayes praised police and paramedics while speaking to the Guardian from his hospital bed. He told the newspaper: I am perhaps lucky. While the knife only narrowly missed my femoral artery, I will recover in time. Others are not so fortunate. The real heroes are the police and paramedics who did an amazing job in dreadful circumstances. John Hayes was hailed for trying to disarm the attacker at the Taylor Swift themed dance class for children 09:20 AM BST 11-year-old-boy arrested after police car set on fire An 11-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of arson after a police car was set on fire in Hartlepool. It follows the arrests of 11 other people, as police officers were attacked with missiles, glass bottles and eggs in Murray Street area on Wednesday. Cleveland Police said it believed the disorder, was linked to protests over the fatal knife attack on children in Southport, Merseyside, on Monday. A police car was set alight in Hartlepool - PA 09:13 AM BST Who is Axel Rudakubana Axel Muganwa Rudakubana, 17, was born in Cardiff to Rwandan parents. He is accused of murdering three girls with a kitchen knife and attempting to murder eight other children. He has been charged with the murders of Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine. His identity was revealed after a judge lifted a reporting restriction on Thursday. Liverpool magistrates court heard that he had an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis and had been unwilling to leave the house and communicate with family for a period of time. Axel Rudakubana 09:00 AM BST Concerted and co-ordinated attempt to spread violence Lord Walney, the UK Governments adviser on political violence and disruption, says police should be prepared to step in if it appears troublemakers are travelling to incite riots. John Woodcock, who is a crossbench peer, said disinformation contributed to the unrest which broke out in a number of locations around England following the Southport murders. Lord Walney told the BBCs Good Morning Scotland radio programme there was a concerted and co-ordinated attempt to spread the violence. He said: Clearly, some of those far-Right actors have got a taste for this and are trying to provoke similar in towns and cities across the UK. The peer said there is a symbiotic relationship between far-Right activists and hostile states on social media. 08:50 AM BST Buildings to light up pink in memory of victims Buildings across the North West will light up pink this weekend in memory of those killed in the Southport attack, as fundraisers for the victims families raised tens of thousands of pounds. Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, were killed when a knifeman attacked them during a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on Monday. Eight other children were injured along with two adults - yoga instructor Leanne Lucas and businessman John Hayes. Axel Rudakubana, 17, from Banks in Lancashire, has been charged with their murders and attempted murders. Sefton Council said the Atkinson arts venue in Southport, where a vigil was held outside on Tuesday, would be one of a number of buildings to light up pink on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings in tribute to those who died. Dot Stancombe Bebe King and Alice Dasilva Aguiar - Merseyside Police 08:43 AM BST Nigel Farage gives legitimacy to violent protests, says Liverpool Mayor Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram said Nigel Farage was giving legitimacy to violent protesters and excusing them in the wake of the Southport stabbings. Mr Rotheram told ITVs Good Morning Britain: Whilst senior politicians like Farage should be condemning these people - hes not, hes excusing them. Hes giving them some legitimacy to go out and perpetrate some of these acts. Former head of counter-terrorism policing Neil Basu said Mr Farage should think very carefully about the power of his words. 'He [Nigel Farage] doesn't speak for tens of thousands of people, the PM does.' Former Head of Police Counter Terrorism Neil Basu reacts to Mr Farage's comments after the PM announced plans to help police stop riots like the ones seen in Southport, London and Hartlepool. pic.twitter.com/0Y3H9wXHvS Good Morning Britain (@GMB) August 2, 2024 08:42 AM BST We will be watching you Home office minister tells protesters A Home Office minister has warned protesters we will be watching you as he admitted there may be more violence on the streets. Asked how concerned the Government is about the prospect of further disorder this weekend, Lord Hanson told LBC Radio: There is that potential. But I always say to anybody whos organising this, we will be watching you. If you are organising this now, we will be watching you. We have powers under existing legislation to stop you organising this now and to take action accordingly, and if you do take action and are not part of any organised group, be prepared to face the full force of the law on this criminal activity. Asked whether those involved are from the far Right, he said: Some individuals will have far-Right opinions, in my view, some might be caught up in the summer madness. Some might be people whove got genuine concerns. Stephen Lawrence, victim of a racist murder - FAMILY HANDOUT/PA The father of Stephen Lawrence has said he is appalled at the decision to return his sons body to the UK 31 years after his murder. It comes after Baroness Lawrence, the 18-year-olds mother, said his family had decided to bring Stephen home to be closer to us after originally burying him on Jamaica because they felt he would not be at peace in this country. However, Dr Neville Lawrence said he was not informed of the decision to exhume his sons body, and only found out after he was shown a video of the damage done to his sons grave by his body being moved. He said his son had been at peace in Jamaica and that he would not take his son back to the place where he was murdered. Dr Lawrence said: I would not desecrate and leave my sons grave in the terrible way it was left after his body was exhumed Dr Neville Lawrence at vigil to pray for the Stephen Lawrence inquiry - ANDREW SHAW Stephen was at peace in Jamaica and he has now been disturbed and taken away from what I believed would be his final resting place. I am appalled that my sons grave has been vandalised in this way and left in such a terrible mess. I would not take my son back to the place where he was murdered. However, he said he was confident that his sons legacy would be sustained. Dr Lawrence added: I am confident, regardless of the decisions made without my knowledge and consent, that Stephens legacy will be sustained. Baroness Lawrence arrives for a memorial service in London last year to mark 30 years since the death of Stephen - JEFF GILBERT I also reaffirm my commitment to keep fighting until I secure justice for my son. Stephen Lawrence was murdered by a gang of racists in Eltham, south-east London, in April 1993 as he went to catch a bus with his friend Duwayne Brooks. Only two of his five or six killers have been brought to justice. The original police investigation into the 18-year-olds death was marred by institutional racism in the Met, incompetence and alleged corruption. Years after the original police investigation, it emerged that undercover police officers had spied on campaigners supporting the Lawrence family in their fight for justice. Stephen Lawrence was fatally stabbed in London in April 1993. Photograph: PA Stephen Lawrences father has said he was not informed of the decision to exhume his sons body in Jamaica and return it to the UK, and that he is appalled at the condition his grave was left in. It comes after Stephens mother, Doreen Lawrence, said her family had decided to bring Stephen home to be closer to us after originally burying him on the Caribbean island because they felt he would not be at peace in this country. However, Dr Neville Lawrence said he was not told of the decision to exhume his sons body, and only found out after he was shown a video of the damage done to the grave. He said: I would not desecrate and leave my sons grave in the terrible way it was left after his body was exhumed. Stephen was at peace in Jamaica and he has now been disturbed and taken away from what I believed would be his final resting place. I am appalled that my sons grave has been vandalised in this way and left in such a terrible mess. I would not take my son back to the place where he was murdered. However, he said he was confident that his sons legacy would be sustained, adding they he reaffirmed my commitment to keep fighting until I secure justice for my son. Lawrence was murdered by a gang of racists in Eltham, south-east London, in April 1993 as he waited for a bus with his friend Duwayne Brooks, and only two of his five or six killers have been sentenced. The original police investigation into the 18-year-olds death was marred by institutional racism in the Metropolitan police, incompetence and alleged corruption. Years after the original police investigation, it emerged that undercover police officers had spied on campaigners supporting the Lawrence family in their fight for justice. Jessica Higgs was found to be over the limit for benzoylecgonine a metabolite of cocaine on the day of the crash A teenage driver on cocaine fell asleep at the wheel and killed a couple going on a glamping trip for a 70th birthday. Jessica Higgs, then 19, took drugs at a party the night before crashing into Tony Mist and Thelma Huses Fiat 500 on the A303 near Yeovilton in Somerset in May last year. Taunton Crown Court heard Higgss vehicle, which was travelling eastbound up to the speed limit of 50mph, suddenly drifted over the white line and into the westbound lane at around 2.40pm. The van crashed head-on into a Fiat 500 being driven by Mr Mist with his partner Ms Huse in the passenger seat. The couple, both 69, from Mytchett, Surrey, were on their way to Charmouth, Dorset, for a glamping trip to celebrate Mr Mists 70th birthday two days later. They both suffered fatal injuries in the collision, with the father of two pronounced dead at the scene and the grandmother of five dying in hospital in Bristol the next day. Higgs, from Warminster, was found to be over the limit for benzoylecgonine a metabolite of cocaine when her blood was tested at 8pm on the day of the crash. The electrical apprentice pleaded guilty to two counts of causing death by careless driving while under the influence of drugs. Judge Paul Cook jailed Higgs, who had no previous convictions, for three years and five months and disqualified her from driving for five years after she is released from custody. Mr Mist and Ms Huse had been together for 30 years and were both due to celebrate their 70th birthdays - Avon and Somerset Police The judge told Higgs: What all the impact statements make clear is the heartbreaking devastation that has been suffered by the family members and those who loved them. They say these were two people with so much more life to live for and to give. The judge said character statements provided for Higgs described her as caring, loving and thoughtful. He added: While physically you have recovered, you are consumed by guilt and remorse and described as a shell of the person you were. The judge said Higgs, who wept throughout the court hearing, was driving within the speed limit and other motorists did not note anything unusual until the van drifted across the road. He told Higgs: I accept that you didnt know you had cocaine still in your blood, however nodding off as you did was a consequence of being overtired. Drug consumed 36 hours before crash The court heard Higgs went to a party on May 13 and took cocaine, last consuming the drug in the early hours of May 14 around 36 hours before the crash. She went to bed early that day and awoke at 6am before being collected for work at 6.25am. Later that morning, she was tasked with driving her work van from Salisbury to Axminster. Higgs picked up a water pump at Axminster and had an hours rest before setting off to drive back to Salisbury at 2pm. Rupert Russell, prosecuting, said Mr Mist would not have had the time or space to avoid the collision once Higgss van had crossed over the white line. He told the court Higgs had been up all night on the Saturday to Sunday taking cocaine which had caused her to be tired. It is the tiredness which clearly led to this tragedy, Mr Russell said. The court heard Mr Mist and Ms Huse had been together for 30 years and were both due to celebrate their milestone 70th birthdays. Kate Cory, Ms Huses daughter, described how they had been travelling to Charmouth for a much-anticipated glamping holiday for Mr Mists birthday before celebrating Ms Huses birthday with a theatre trip. She added: Their 30-year love story came to an abrupt end far too soon and thats something none of us will ever get over. Malcolm Galloway, representing Higgs, said she was aged 19 at the time of the collision and had held her driving licence for just nine months. The remorse is genuine, Mr Galloway said. Of course, if she could turn the clock back, she would. Tony Hall, an officer with Avon and Somerset Police, added: It is every motorists responsibility to make sure they are fit enough to drive before getting behind the wheel and it is clear Higgs was not. This is another painful and devastating reminder that driving while under the influence of drugs is a deadly decision that puts yourself and innocent road users at serious risk. The US Department of Justice released a scathing report about the Texas juvenile justice department. Photograph: Andrew Harnik/AP Youth lockups in Texas remain beset by sexual abuse, excessive use of pepper spray and other mistreatment including the prolonged isolation of children in their cells, the justice department has said in a scathing new report that accused the state of violating the constitutional rights of hundreds of minors in custody. The report comes three years after a federal investigation began into alleged widespread abuse and harsh practices within the Texas juvenile justice department, which incarcerates hundreds of young people every year. Staff in the detention centers have engaged in sexual acts with children, kept some for stretches of 17 to 22 hours of isolation in their cells and pepper-sprayed minors in their faces, US assistant attorney general Kristen Clarke said in releasing Thursdays report. Clarke also noted that about 80% of detained Texas children are Black or Hispanic. This is a racial justice issue, she said. Our children deserve to be protected from harm and [given] access to essential services. The states juvenile justice department said it has a zero-tolerance policy toward abuse and neglect and had worked closely with federal investigators during their site visit in 2022. Spokespeople for the office of the states Republican governor, Greg Abbott, did not immediately return emails seeking comment on Thursday. The governors office said it would cooperate with the federal investigation when it was opened. Mental health concerns, such as suicidal ideation and self-harm, were ignored while children were routinely punished, according to the report. The facilities inability to address or treat these issues violated the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, officials said during the announcement. The justice department said that it looks forward to cooperating with Texas, while also floating a potential federal lawsuit. This report makes clear that we are failing our youth, that we are not providing the care they need to be successful, said Elizabeth Henneke, the founder and chief executive officer of the Lone Star Justice Alliance advocacy group. In 2021, the justice department began investigating Texass five juvenile facilities after advocates filed a complaint. About 900 youths are detained in understaffed and outdated juvenile facilities across the state, Henneke said. She said judges and lawmakers should think creatively about other rehabilitation efforts. Meanwhile, Kentucky, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey are also being investigated or sued over allegations of harsh treatment of incarcerated children. The Associated Press and Report for America contributed reporting Anti-racism campaigners fear online tools will make it easier for extremist groups to recruit and organise. Photograph: Vuk Valcic/ZUMA Press Wire/Rex/Shutterstock Less than three hours after the stabbing attack on Monday that led to the death of three children, an AI-generated image was shared on X by an account called Europe Invasion. It depicted bearded men in traditional Muslim dress outside the Houses of Parliament, one waving a knife, behind a crying child in a union jack T-shirt. The tweet, which has since been viewed 900,000 times, was captioned: We must protect our children! and shared by one of the most potent accounts for misinformation about the Southport stabbings. AI technology has been used in other ways, including an anti-immigration Facebook group that illustrated a call to attend a rally in Middlesbrough by generating an image of a large crowd at the towns cenotaph. Platforms like Suno which employs AI to generate music complete with vocals and instruments have been used to create online songs combining references to Southport with xenophobic content. Titles include Southport Saga featuring an AI female voice singing lyrics such as hunt them down somehow. Related: The Guardian view on the Southport riot: a towns pain is exploited | Editorial Experts have warned that new tools and ways of organising have seen Britains fractured far right exploit the Southport attack to unify and rejuvenate its presence on the streets. In a surge of activity not seen for years, more than 10 protests are being promoted across social media platforms such as X, TikTok and Facebook in the aftermath of violent disorder up and down the country. Death threats against the UK prime minister, incitement to attack government property and extreme antisemitism were also among the comments on the Telegram channel of one extreme-right outfit this week. Amid fears of violence spreading, a leading counter-extremism thinktank warned there was a risk that the far right could achieve a mobilisation not seen since the English Defence League (EDL) burst on to the streets in the 2010s. An added new dimension has come with the advent of easily accessible AI tools that extremists have been using to create material ranging from inflammatory images to songs and music. Andrew Rogoyski, a director at the Institute for People-Centred AI at the University of Surrey, said advances with image-generating tools now widely available online mean anyone can create anything. He added: The ability for anyone to be able to create powerful imagery using generative AI is of tremendous concern. The onus then switches to providers of such AI models to strengthen the built-in guardrails within the model to make it harder to create such imagery. Joe Mulhall, the director of research at the campaign group Hope Not Hate, said the use of AI-generated material was nascent but reflected the growing overlap and collaboration online between a range of individuals and groups. While far-right organisations such as Britain First and Patriotic Alternative continue to be at the forefront of mobilising and agitating, just as important are a range of individuals not affiliated to any particular group. These are made up of thousands of individuals who offer micro-donations of time and sometimes money to collaborate towards common political goals, completely outside traditional organisational structures, Mulhall said. These movements lack formal leaders but rather have figureheads, often drawn from an increasing selection of far-right social media influencers. In terms of the promotion of the protests, the hashtag #enoughisenough has been used by some rightwing influencers according to Joe Ondrak, a senior analyst at Logically, a UK company that monitors disinformation. Whats key is how that phrase and hashtag has been used with prior anti-migrant activism, he said. The use of bots was also highlighted by analysts. Tech Against Terrorism, an initiative launched by a branch of the UN, cited a TikTok account that began posting content only after the Southport attack on Monday. All posts were related to Southport, with most calling for protests near the attack site on 30 July. Despite having no previous content, the posts relating to Southport amassed over 57,000 cumulative views on TikTok alone within hours, said a spokesperson. This suggested that bot networks were actively promoting this material. A central role is being played by a constellation of individuals and groups around Tommy Robinson, the far-right activist who fled abroad earlier this week before a court hearing. Others include Laurence Fox, the actor turned rightwing activist who has been sharing misinformation in recent days, and conspiracy theory websites such as the Unity News Network (UNN). On the channel that UNN operates on Telegram a largely unmoderated messaging platform commentators rejoiced in violence seen outside Downing Street on Wednesday. I hope they burn it to the ground, said one. Another called for the hanging of Keir Starmer, the prime minister, saying: Starmer needs the Mussalini [sic] treatment. Among those spotted on the ground during riots in Southport were activists from Patriotic Alternative considered one of the fastest-growing far-right groups in recent times. Other groups, including those who have split over their positions on conflicts such as the war in Ukraine, or Israel, have also sought to engage. Dr Tim Squirrell, the director of communications at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue counter-extremism thinktank, said that the far right had been seeking to mobilise on the street in the past year, including on Armistice Day and at film screenings by Robinson. This is a febrile environment and is only exacerbated by the health of the online information environment which is the worst its been in recent years, he said. Robinson remains one of the more effective organisers in the UK far right. However, we have also seen the rise of accounts, large and small, which curate news stories that appeal to anti-migrant and anti-Muslim sensibilities, and are unconcerned by spreading information that is unverified. There is a risk that this moment could be exploited to attempt to create street mobilisation that more closely resembles the 2010s. Tokyo at night. Energy tariffs operate successfully in many countries and regions, including Japan, China, India and California. Photograph: Charly Triballeau/AFP/Getty Images More than half of the worlds population lives under an energy system that its advocates say can tackle fuel poverty, improve crumbling housing stock and reduce energy demand. And to cap it off when properly designed it would not cost the taxpayer anything. The so-called rising block tariff or national energy guarantee system (NEG) are almost unknown in Europe but operate successfully in many other countries and regions from Japan, South Korea and China to Bangladesh, India and California. The idea is simple: the first block of energy, which is calculated to meet essential needs from heating to cooking and lighting, is either given at a reduced rate or free. The cost a unit then rises in additional blocks, meaning wealthier homes with excessive or non-essential consumption pay more. According to its champions, the benefits that flow from this system are numerous: fuel poverty is reduced or eradicated with those on the lowest incomes getting affordable energy to cover the essentials from heating to cooking and light. Excessive consumption overwhelmingly linked to wealthier households is charged at a higher rate, subsidising the cheaper tariff. And everyone is incentivised to reduce consumption and improve their homes through insulation, smart technology and other energy efficient measures in an effort to stay within the cheapest block. Related: Great British Energy is becoming a reality bringing with it cheap, clean and secure energy | Ed Miliband A further advantage, its backers say, is that the lowest tariff could be directly linked to the rollout of renewable energy. In this scenario cheap wind and solar power would determine the size of the lowest tariff, which would then be split between all consumers, giving the public a direct stake in the transition to a low-carbon energy system. Experts say the current energy pricing system in Europe and the UK needs an urgent overhaul, after the energy crisis caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine drove tens of millions of people into fuel poverty. The crisis forced countries across Europe to pump billions of pounds into the energy markets. In the UK alone the government introduced an energy price guarantee (EPG) costing about 20bn thought to be the most expensive energy policy in the countrys history. Michael Pollitt, an energy expert professor from Cambridge university, said: We had one of the most expensive energy policies ever implemented. But this cap applied to all consumption which was crazy, because you were subsidising people with swimming pools whereas, actually, we could have done something more sophisticated and targeted and cheaper which has all these other benefits. Governments in the UK and across Europe are now looking at wholesale reform of the energy market to reduce exposure to the international fossil fuel fluctuations, encourage a reduction in demand and rally support for renewable energy. Enter the rising block tariff also known as the increasing block tariff or the national energy guarantee. According to Alex Chapman, a senior economist at the thinktank the New Economics Foundation, who recently published a paper on the potential for a National Energy Guarantee scheme, there is growing interest in the idea in the UK and across Europe. Over the next few years large amounts of cheap, new renewable energy will be connected to the grid, in the UK that is particularly thanks to the new governments plans for onshore-wind and solar. He argues that rather than seeing this energy disappear into the mix of national consumption, it should be directed into a new rising block tariff. An initial block of ultra-cheap energy should be offered to every household in the country as a dividend on our national mission to net zero, he adds. However, some assessments of the system, which is widely in use for water and energy utilities around the world, have been less sure of its benefits. A World Bank paper that looked at different kinds of water tariffs argued that they are a blunt instrument at best and at worst can produce perverse outcomes, citing large poor families that use more water and end up paying the higher rates. The report concluded that a (simple) uniform volumetric tariff where water provision is charged at its full cost could improve social welfare by removing price distortions and would be easier for households to understand. Jorg Muhlenhoff, the head of the European energy transition programme at the German thinktank the Heinrich-Boll-Stiftung, said there was a growing interest in a radical reform of the energy market in the EU. He backed some sort of rising tariff reform but said the devil would be in the detail. We need to think carefully about how you define the right quantity of electricity for the lowest block, what is a household, is it based on the number of adults, do you take health vulnerabilities into account there is a lot still to work out. He said the ideal model would have a reduced cost block to cover the essentials, with the higher rates linked to fluctuating market rates and energy generation to incentivise not just energy efficiency but also to steer consumers away from using electricity at times of high demand or when renewable generation is low. We need to have a system that as well as tackling the cost of living crisis enables people to tap into the potential of renewables, meaning they have access to enough electricity for the essentials but that they also know that when there is a lot of wind, a lot of sun, there will be lower wholesale market prices, so that is the time to switch on your electric devices, your electric vehicle, your electric heat pump etc, he says. Related: Starmer to take on Labour councils that block pylons delivering clean energy Muhlenhoff said there could be wider benefits to a reformed energy system in the context of the rise of populist parties across the EU and in the UK. He says: You really need to ensure that the benefits of the switch to renewables come to households and that people can see it on their bill. Otherwise, as we saw during the European election campaign, the far right, the populists will pick it up and campaign against the energy transition, when in reality if we get this right the transition to renewables, energy efficiency, is the answer to a lot of problems people are experiencing. In the UK Chapman said the reform of the energy markets is also on the cards under the new Labour government. Labour realise that the offer of a green dividend is paramount if they are to get the public behind their clean power mission. The NEG offers that and whats more, it can do so in a cost-neutral way, not upsetting the chancellor in the process, he says. A Kenyan policeman in Haitis capital, Port-au-Prince, which has been gripped by violence since President Jovenel Moise was assassinated in 2021. Photograph: Jean Feguens Regala/Reuters The UN has called for the deployment of international security forces in Haiti to be accelerated after a report that at least 1,379 people were killed or wounded in gang warfare and 428 people kidnapped in the country between April and June this year. Service providers report receiving an average of 40 rape victims a day in some areas of the capital, warns the new report from the UNs office in the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince. While the number of casualties from the warring factions had fallen in recent months, the number of children being recruited into gangs and the rates of sexual violence were rising, the quarterly review said. Armed gangs have controlled most of the Haitian capital since the former president Jovenel Moise was assassinated in July 2021. They forced his successor, Ariel Henry, to resign in April this year by paralysing the Caribbean nation with a wave of unprecedented violence. To quell the anarchy and facilitate free elections next year, the first detachment of an international taskforce overseen by the UN was deployed to Port-au-Prince on 25 June. The Haitian prime minister, Garry Conille, a former gynaecologist who took office on 3 June, has pledged to use the 400 Kenyan police officers to retake control of the country house by house. The new figures suggest the chaos that swept the nation in April seems to have calmed a little after Henrys exit, with killings falling 45% in the three months since the president resigned. But street shootouts and human rights violations are still commonplace and in some cases are rising, particularly in Port-au-Prince, where fighting is concentrated and where 88% of death and woundings were documented. Armed gangs have besieged neighbourhoods and killed civilians suspected of collaborating with the police or civilian defence groups. In one period of 11 days , 128 people including 13 children were killed or wounded in Solino, a middle-class district where the most powerful gang coalition, Viv Ansanm (Live Together), vied with a self-defence group for control. While most of the victims were hit by stray bullets, others were targeted in the streets for their alleged support of the self-defence group, the report said. In the notorious slums of Cite Soleil, the Viv Ansanm gang killed at least 28 people for offences deemed to challenge their authority, such as petty theft or leaving the neighbourhood. The sexual abuse of women and girls has become alarmingly commonplace, with gangs using rape as a weapon to stamp their authority on communities before shooting them dead and burning their corpses or dumping them in rubbish, the report said. There are reports of children as young as three being raped in homes and refugee camps. The number of women and girls forced into prostitution and sexual relationships with gang members is also on the rise, the report says. UN Women warned last month of the extreme vulnerability and alarming living conditions and lack of security faced by the 300,000 Haitian women and girls displaced by the violence without basic safety and health services. Rape in refugee camps was often to control womens access to the scarce humanitarian assistance available and, of the women surveyed, 88% had no source of income and one in 10 had resorted to or considered sex work as a result, the UN Women statement said. Growing violence against children was particularly worrying, the new report added. Forty-nine boys and girls were killed or wounded between April and June, with some dying after being recruited as fighters. Related: It is simply best not to get pregnant: women left terrified as Haitis maternity services collapse Diego Da Rin, a Haiti specialist from the International Crisis Group, said the arrival of Kenyan forces in Haiti had led to some early minor victories against armed groups and showed they could help to turn the tide. Bolstered by new officers and armoured vehicles, the police have begun patrolling areas that Haitis national forces had previously abandoned, including gang territory. Beating back the gangs and liberating the millions of Haitians under their control will require thousands more officers, however. The Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Benin, Chad and Jamaica have also offered to send forces to Haiti but the initiative has been held up by domestic political opposition and a lack of funds. The UN has raised $21m with Kenyas officials estimating its own missions cost will cost up to $600m (470m). Da Rin said: There is a worrying lack of resources to continue the deployment of personnel from Kenya and other countries that have expressed a willingness to join the mission. Rev Matthew Firth giving evidence to the parliamentary Home Affairs select committee - UNPIXS The priest who blew the whistle on fake church baptisms for asylum seekers is to stand as an anti-woke, anti-establishment candidate for Oxford university chancellor. Reverend Matthew Firth lifted the lid on what he claimed was a conveyor belt of asylum seeker baptisms used by migrants with the complicity of the Church of England to remain in the UK. Rev Firth, who first made the allegations in The Telegraph, claimed senior figures in the Church knew about the practice but did nothing about it. It followed the disclosure that Clapham chemical attack suspect and sex offender Abdul Ezedi, was granted asylum by a judge after claiming he was a Christian convert despite concerns about his honesty. The declaration of intent to stand for the vacant Oxford chancellorship could put Rev Firth up against former Tory Leader Lord Hague and Lord Mandelson, an architect of New Labour, who are both considering standing. Theresa May, former Tory prime minister, was also said to be a possible contender, until apparently ruling herself out. Boris Johnson, another ex-prime minister, has been linked with the post but is not putting his name forward, according to an ally. Rev Firth announced his candidacy in a tweet, saying he had decided to let his name go forward after much reflection. He added: I am the anti-establishment anti woke candidate. In his statement of interest, he said: As an ordained Anglican clergyman with significant experience in parish ministry, university chaplaincy, and church planting, and with a background in astrophysics, I have always sought to be shaped by the transcendental values of truth, unity, beauty, and goodness. As an academic institution with its roots firmly buried in the Christian faith and bearing the motto Dominus illuminatio mea the Lord is my light the University of Oxford must also seek to be shaped by those values. As Chancellor, I would encourage the university and hold it to account in maintaining its adherence to those values. At a time when so many great academic institutions are being ruined by woke ideology, I would seek to call the University of Oxford to walk a different path: a path of truth, unity, beauty, and goodness, in the light of the Lord. Where the university walks in this way, I would champion it and encourage it. In contrast, should the university or any college or department walk the way of wokery, or should any part of the university erode freedom of speech and academic enquiry, I would offer a strong public rebuke. Truth, unity, beauty and goodness Many will seek to install a woke establishment candidate as Chancellor, but if you want to encourage the values of truth, unity, beauty, and goodness, please vote for me: your anti-woke candidate. Lord Chris Pattens retirement as chancellor at the age of 80 later this year has sparked an election where for the first time more than 250,000 Oxford graduates and former staff members will be able to vote online. Voting will take place the week beginning Oct 28. Patten, former Tory chair and Britains last governor of Hong Kong, has held the largely ceremonial role since March 2003 and is the latest in a select list of politicians to have been in the post, which dates back to 1224. Since 1960, only Harold Macmillan, former Tory prime minister, Roy Jenkins, former Labour home secretary and president of the European Commission, and Patten have held the role. Rev Firth fell out with the Church of England establishment and left the church in 2020 and is now a vicar for the Free Church of England. In evidence to MPs, he claimed even the Archbishop of Canterbury the Rt Rev Justin Welby was unwilling at the moment to be totally honest about those dynamics (of fake baptisms) that were seeing in this area. California's Department of Motor Vehicles has tapped blockchain technology in a move to digitize car titles against fraud schemes and supposedly smoothen the title transfer process. First reported by Reuters on Tuesday, the California DMV has already digitized over 42 million car titles on the Ava Labs' Avalanche blockchain to detect illegal activities faster. Ava Labs president John Wu claimed the cooperation would allow residents to claim and monitor their car titles just through their phones. The digitalized car titles are expected to become accessible as soon as early next year, although the DMV has already started testing for the customer infrastructure of its planned app. Also Read : California Drivers May Soon Receive Automatic Warnings for 'Overspeeding' US Gov't Partners with Blockchain Companies for Digitalized Operations This is the second time Ava Labs has been contracted by a Federal agency as the US government further integrates blockchain technology in digitalizing services and properties. In 2021, financial consultant firm Deloitte partnered with Ava Labs to develop cloud-based platforms to "streamline disaster reimbursement applications" with the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The collaboration is touted to help state and local governments distribute disaster response reimbursements efficiently "while minimizing fraud, waste, and abuse." The Department of Homeland Security has also opened plans to utilize blockchain technology for "enhanced transparency and auditing of public service operations" against counterfeit products and digital fraud schemes. California Taps into Modern Tech to Automate Operations Blockchain technology is also not the modern tool the California government, which is dead center in Silicon Valley's trends, has employed to improve operations and services. California Gov. Gavin Newsom earlier signaled plans to use generative AI to automate customer services and solve traffic congestions in the state. So far, the state is currently in talks with several AI firms and startups to test potential applications of their technology to address California's long-lying issues. This is in addition to California's recent policies to encourage residents and companies to switch to solar panels through incentives and tax deductions. A man who taunted riot police with cries of I pay your wages was bitten on the backside by a police dog, footage suggests. Disorder erupted in Hartlepool on Thursday night in the aftermath of three young girls being stabbed to death in Southport on Monday. A number of officers were injured, and an 11-year-old was arrested on suspicion of arson after a police car was set on fire. Mobile phone footage from Thursday shows a rioter with a beer can in one hand pointing at a row of police officers, armed with riot gear and truncheons. He shouts: Dont touch me I pay your wages. A dog handler repeatedly tells the man to step back before the dog jumps forward and grabs his shorts from behind with its teeth. The man yelps and stumbles forward as the dog continues to pull hiss shorts down. Police officers then march forward, shouting: Get back. Seven men were later charged with violent disorder. A 42-year-old man was also charged with assault by beating of an emergency worker, and a 28-year-old man was charged with violent disorder and possession of an offensive weapon in a public place. It comes after footage captured a man in the Southport violence being struck in the head and then the crotch by bricks thrown by fellow rioters. Footage of the incident, which quickly spread on social media, showed a man, dressed in a grey tracksuit, appearing to taunt police by putting his hands on his hips and dancing. He was then struck in the back of the head by a projectile object and retreated back into the mob, holding his head in his hands and checking for blood. As he walked away, another brick hit him, this time in the groin, with such force that it caused him to double over and wince in pain. He was then helped away by rioters, including one wearing a balaclava. One man could be heard saying: Ooh, d--- shot. Another said: F---ing hell, boys. Vladimir Putin welcomes the Dultsev family to Moscow - MIKHAIL VOSKRESENSKIY/AFP Two Kremlin spies freed in a historic prisoner swap were so deep undercover their children didnt know they were Russian until they arrived in Moscow. Anna and Artem Dultsev, and their children, were greeted by Vladimir Putin after being flown back to the Russian capital as part of the largest East-West exchange since the Cold War. The sleeper agents had been arrested and convicted in Slovenia of pretending to be Argentinians as they secretly worked for Russian intelligence. Upon meeting the pairs children, Putin greeted them in Spanish, the language they had grown up speaking at home given their parents role as spies trained to impersonate foreigners. Later, the Russian president was recorded wiping tears from the face of the Dultsevs daughter as they walked down a red carpet together. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters: They didnt know that they were Russian and that they had anything to do with our country. And you probably saw that when the children came down the planes steps that they dont speak Russian and that Putin greeted them in Spanish. He said Buenas noches. The spies were arrested in late 2022, accused of being illegals, agents that do not operate under diplomatic cover from embassies. They had been posing as Maria Mayer and Ludwig Gisch, an Argentinian couple, living in Slovenia. She ran an online art gallery and he had an IT business, but all the while they were believed to be abusing the European Unions Schengen free-movement zone to carry out intelligence tasks. The couple pleaded guilty to charges of spying and falsifying documents last week at a Ljubljana regional court. They were sentenced to more than a year-and-a-half in prison, after which they would have been expelled from the country. Shortly after their sentencing, Slovenian media outlets reported that the couple would be part of the prisoner swap, which at the time was in the final stages of negotiations. Mr Peskov said Putins decision to meet the Dultsevs, and other freed Russian prisoners, on the tarmac was a a tribute to people who serve their country and who after very difficult trials, and thanks to the hard work of many people, have been able to return to the Motherland. The trade involved 24 prisoners, 16 sent from Russia to the West and eight prisoners held by Western governments handed back to Russia. The Kremlin used the occasion to acknowledge that Vadim Krasikov, who was jailed for murdering a Chechen rebel in Berlin in 2019, was a member of Russias most powerful security agency. The former FSB agent was Moscows main target in the prisoner swap that included Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reporter, and Paul Whelan, a former US marine. The Kremlin had previously denied that Krasikov, who pleaded not guilty during his trial in Germany, was a Russian agent, and maintained that he was Vadim Sokolov, a tourist visiting Berlin. But Mr Peskov announced on Friday: Krasikov is an employee of the Federal Security Service. He served in Alpha [a special forces unit]. Its interesting that when he served in Alpha he did so with several officers of the presidents security detail. So naturally they [Putin and Krasikov] greeted each other yesterday when they saw each other. At least 15 demonstrations are being advertised online and planned for areas such as Southport, Leeds and Bristol - Getty Images People planning violent disorder have been told by a Home Office minister that the police will be watching you. Lord Hanson told would-be rioters to be prepared to face the full force of the law on this criminal activity, amid the prospect of more than a dozen riots over the weekend and next week following the killings of three young girls in Southport. Police have intelligence that the far-Right and unaligned hooligans intent on violence are planning to stir up disorder this weekend and for most of the summer following the fatal stabbings at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport on Monday. Lord Hanson said forces had the powers, under intelligence-led policing, to track people who may be travelling to cause trouble and to cause conspiracy and to use facial recognition technology and other evidence to bring prosecutions. Asked how concerned the Government was about unrest this weekend, he told LBC: There is that potential. But I always say to anybody whos organising this we will be watching you. If you are organising this now, we will be watching you. We have powers under existing legislation to stop you organising this now and to take action accordingly and if you do take action and are not part of any organised group, be prepared to face the full force of the law on this criminal activity. Asked whether those involved were from the far-Right, he said: Some individuals will have far-Right opinions, in my view. Some might be caught up in the summer madness. Some might be people whove got genuine concerns. He urged people to protest peacefully and raise issues with their MP. What they cant do is throw rocks at police officers, break windows in mosques, attack people in the streets and undertake street robbery as happened in some of the shops in Southport. That is simply not acceptable, he said. At least 15 demonstrations are being advertised online, some calling for participants to take England flags, and a number containing phrases such as enough is enough, save our kids or stop the boats. The protests are being planned for areas such as Southport, Leeds and Bristol. Announcing a new violent disorder unit at a press conference in Downing Street on Thursday, Sir Keir Starmer said the Government would not allow the breakdown of law and order and would ensure that the threat was met with the most robust response in the coming days and weeks. The national violent disorder unit was agreed after a Downing Street summit with police chiefs and ministers. It will enable all 43 police forces to better share intelligence on potential protest hotspots so extra officers trained in public order can be dispatched to those areas. British Transport Police will monitor passenger flows to identify unusual surges in travellers, which will be used as an early warning for forces to prepare for any influx of potentially violent people. Mobile facial recognition cameras, which are currently used only in London and by a handful of other forces, will be deployed at demonstrations to identify troublemakers who may be wanted for other offences or have previous convictions. Police forces are to be issued with new guidance, specifically on violent disorder, which will advise them to use criminal behaviour orders on people convicted of disorder. These can impose travel bans with breaches carrying a penalty of up to five years in jail. They may be applied retrospectively to those already convicted. The guidance will set out officers current powers and the range of public order offences that can be used to arrest and prosecute troublemakers, including those who use face masks to hide their identities. Officers will be deployed at stations to exploit railway byelaws, which will enable them to stop anyone suspected of being drunk or disruptive from travelling to a demonstration. Police Scotland have launched a campaign to keep people safe during the Edinburgh festivals, as the citys population is expected to double to around one million throughout August. Festival season combines events including the international festival, the Fringe and book festival, and police have boosted resources with Operation Summer City 2024. National and specialist departments within Police Scotland will be deployed to the capital, while officers from Edinburgh will be supported by colleagues from neighbouring divisions. Chief Inspector Paul Gillespie, from Edinburgh division, said: Edinburgh during the festival is one of the most exciting places in the world. We want to ensure all those enjoying the festivities remain safe throughout. Fringe performer Garry Starr poses in front of the Forth Bridge (Jane Barlow/PA) Over one million people will be within the capital throughout August. Those visiting the city centre can expect to see a high-visibility police presence who are happy to speak with the public to address any issues they may have, as well as to respond to any reports of crime. To enhance our presence and ability to respond to any incidents, we will have our mobile police station set up in Cockburn Street. Anyone wishing to speak face-to-face with an officer is welcome to drop in during the stations opening hours. We want everyone to have an enjoyable, memorable and safe festival and we are doing everything we can to maintain Edinburghs status as one of Europes safest cities to live, work and visit. Police said they have received information about an unauthorised event planned for Saturday similar to one that led to a machete fight on Southend seafront. As a result, Essex Police have been given extra stop and search powers over the weekend. A video shared on social media showed at least four people dressed in black brandishing machetes in front of the Adventure Island theme park on Tuesday. Essex Police said it believes the conflict occurred within groups of young men and women who had travelled to Southend and that another unauthorised event is being planned for Saturday. As a response, police said a dispersal order was being put in place giving officers the power to direct people who cause or are suspected of causing crime and anti-social behaviour to leave an area or face arrest. A further dispersal order & Section 60 authority will be in place in Southend following information about an unauthorised event which may lead to disorder. The dispersal order's in place from 2pm on Sat for 24 hours & the Section 60 from 3pm for 24 hourshttps://t.co/RAgDSg2ZZe pic.twitter.com/jHAuSyiO8m Essex Police (@EssexPoliceUK) August 2, 2024 This order is in place from 2pm on Saturday until 2pm on Sunday. A Section 60 is also in force from 3pm on Saturday for 24 hours, giving officers in uniform powers to stop and search any pedestrian or anything carried by them, any vehicle, its driver and passengers, for offensive weapons or dangerous instruments. Both orders cover the entire Southend city area, south of the A13, including railway stations and transport hubs, police said. On Friday morning, police said eight men and boys arrested in connection with numerous offences, including violent disorder and possession of offensive weapons, following the incidents on Tuesday remained in custody after officers were given more time to question them. Nicola Tiney, who runs the Borough Hotel on the seafront, told the PA news agency that she believed around a thousand young people descended on the resort town, many from London, in an organised meet-up during the hot and sunny weather. Ms Tiney said groups began arriving in the afternoon before pockets of violence and disorder started at around 7pm on Tuesday. She went on: Lots of them had their hoods up and were wearing masks and hats, just coming to the seafront resort to cause trouble. They congregated at the other end of the seafront and they started kicking off amongst themselves and running aroundthere were machetes out in the middle of the road. Seven weapons were seized following the violence and two of the people detained were taken to hospital with injuries which were not life-threatening or life-changing, Essex Police said. An East of England Ambulance Service spokesman said at around 7pm it received reports that a man had been stabbed. People enjoy the warm weather at Southend-on-Sea (Ian West/PA) One patient was transported by air to Royal London Hospital while another patient was taken by police to Southend University Hospital. Another person was discharged at the scene. Superintendent Leigh Norris said: Southend is a really safe place to be and the incidents we saw on Tuesday are not common. However, we have information to suggest another incident similar to that which led to the issues we saw is planned for Saturday and we are acting now to prevent disorder. My message is clear if youre planning to come to Southend to cause problems, dont bother. We will have officers waiting to meet you at our railway stations and ensure you cant come into our city. There will be a very visible police presence, as there has been this week, and we will be utilising tools like the knife arch and OpenGate weapon detection system. She continued: Our concerns do not relate to a pre-planned family community event being held by the Sierra Leone community. We have been aware for some time, weve engaged with the organisers, and they have gone through the proper process, she added. More than a dozen protests have been planned for the coming days in the wake of the Southport stabbings, as Sir Keir Starmer announced a new national response to the violent disorder linking police forces across the country. The PA news agency found evidence of at least 15 protests advertised online, some calling for participants to bring England flags and a number contain phrases such as enough is enough, save our kids or stop the boats. The protests are being planned for areas such as Southport, Leeds and Bristol. Two counter-protests are also being advertised online. It comes after the 17-year-old charged with the murder of three girls in the knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class appeared at Liverpool Crown Court and was named as Axel Rudakubana, from Banks in Lancashire. The defendant is charged with the murder of Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, in Southport on Monday. Court artist drawing by Elizabeth Cook of 17-year-old Axel Rudakubana (centre) covering his face as he appeared in the dock at Liverpool Crown Court (Elizabeth Cook/PA) He is also charged with the attempted murder of yoga class instructor Leanne Lucas, businessman John Hayes and eight children, who cannot be named for legal reasons, as well as with possession of a kitchen knife with a curved blade. He was remanded to youth detention accommodation and will next appear in court in October. The attack, which happened at a dance class on Hart Street in Southport just before midday on Monday, has sparked incidents of violent disorder in some towns in England. Undated handout photo issued by Merseyside Police of (left to right) six-year-old Bebe King, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, the three children killed in a knife attack during a Taylor Swift event at a dance school on Monday (Merseyside Police/PA) Thousands of people turned out to pay their respects to the victims at a vigil in Southport on Tuesday evening, but violence later erupted outside a mosque in the town with 53 police officers and three police dogs injured. On Wednesday evening, more than 100 protesters were arrested on Whitehall, where bottles and cans were thrown at police, and violence broke out in Hartlepool, County Durham. Cleveland Police have so far made 12 arrests, one of which was an 11-year-old boy arrested on suspicion of arson after a police vehicle was set alight. Police in Manchester confronted another demonstration outside the Holiday Inn on Oldham Road before dispersing the crowd after protesters started throwing beer bottles at officers and members of the public. During a press conference on Thursday, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer condemned far-right hatred in the wake of the Southport stabbings as he announced a new national response to the violent disorder. People look at floral tributes on Maple Street, Southport (Danny Lawson/PA) Sir Keir said: The far right are showing who they are we have to show who we are in response to that. The new national capability will involve sharing intelligence, wider deployment of facial recognition technology and criminal behaviour orders to restrict the movement of those involved, Sir Keir said. The Prime Minister also sounded a note of caution to social media companies after misinformation spread online about the identity of the 17-year-old suspect, including false claims that he was an asylum seeker. The press conference was held shortly after police chiefs from Scotland Yard, Merseyside and West Yorkshire were summoned to Downing Street for crisis talks with the PM and his ministers following the violence. He hit out at a gang of thugs who descended on Southport to riot following the initial attack, saying that as a result the community had been forced to suffer twice. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer (Henry Nicholls/PA) Meanwhile, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage had been criticised for posting a video on social media after the Southport stabbings where he insinuated the truth was being held from the public as to the identity of the attacker. Posting to X on Thursday evening, the MP for Clacton warned that recent rioting is nothing compared to what he believes is to occur. He said: We need to start getting tough. We need to use stop and search, regardless of the colour of the skin of anyone that gets stopped. We need tougher prison sentences for anybody carrying a knife. We need folks to get real. Because Ill tell you what, what youve seen on the streets of Hartlepool, of London, of Southport, is nothing to what could happen over the course of the next few weeks. Lets have proper law and order. But Mr Starmer, just to blame a few far right thugs, to say thats the root of our problems, doesnt work. The chairman of the mosque that was attacked in Southport has said hate will never prevail as police across the country are bracing for more protests following the stabbings in the town. Muslim, Jewish and Christian religious leaders gathered outside the mosque on Friday afternoon in a call for communities to reject hatred and stand together. The knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on Monday which left three girls dead sparked violent disorder in some cities and towns in England. (PA Graphics) Thousands of people turned out to pay their respects to the victims at a vigil in Southport on Tuesday evening, but violence later erupted outside a mosque in the town with 53 police officers and three police dogs injured. On Thursday, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced a new national response to the disorder linking police forces across the country. The PA news agency found evidence of at least 15 protests advertised online, some calling for participants to take England flags, and a number containing phrases such as enough is enough, save our kids or stop the boats. The chairman of the mosque that was attacked in Southport on Tuesday said he feels like the luckiest man in the whole country after seeing the support of the local community. Speaking outside the mosque on Friday evening, Ibrahim Hussein said: On Tuesday night I thought I was the unluckiest man in the whole of the country. On Friday evening, I feel the luckiest man in the whole of the country. Look at all of these beautiful people. Look at all these faces, and different faiths. We have people here from the church and from the synagogue. He said he was old friends with some of the other faith leaders. But it is not about Southport Mosque, it is not about our suffering, Mr Hussein said. We should have been focused all along about these poor people who have suffered in the most horrific way. And we should have been standing here giving them as much support as we can. We should have been standing here, praying for them, supporting them, focusing on them. Instead these people try to destroy what is so beautiful about our community. Mr Hussein also said hate will never prevail. He said: This beautiful community came together. And before we came to clean here, they were here six oclock in the morning, cleaning and sweeping and asking what can they do in order to help. So we thank them very much. And the last word is to say they will never win. Hate will never prevail. Always love will prevail in the end. Before Mr Hussein spoke, Qari Asim, chair of the Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board, read a joint statement outside the mosque standing alongside Pete Spiers, Archdeacon of Knowsley and Sefton and chair of the Sefton Faith Forum, and Rabbi Robyn Ashworth Steen, co-chair of the Assembly of Reform Rabbis and Cantors in the UK. Imam Sheik Ibrahim Hussein (James Speakman/PA) He said the British Muslim community was anxious because of the planned protests this weekend before he started the statement. The joint statement from the religious leaders said Islamophobia must not be allowed to fester in our society. There are some who have chosen to use what should be a moment of collective grief to sow the seeds of division, spread Islamophobia and attack the mosque here in Southport, Mr Asim said, reading the joint statement. People from all of our faiths live as minority communities in different places across the world and understand what it is like to be persecuted. And in times like this, we must all stand together and not let division destroy community cohesion in our cities and towns. We stand here today, united in our grief and resolute in our condemnation of those opportunists who have shamelessly attempted to undermine and divide our communities. We believe that the community here in Southport, and the country as a whole, must now come together to challenge hatred based on peoples identities. In particular, the rising levels of Islamophobia must not be allowed to fester in our society. The joint statement added that they are united to defeat all forms of hatred and extremism in our country. Mr Asim said: We have seen the power of ordinary people of all faiths and beliefs coming together here in Southport, joining efforts to clean up the streets and repair the damage caused to the mosque here, which was so heartening to see and this is what makes our country so special. This is what characterises Britain, where diversity is celebrated and nourished. This is what makes us proud to stand here representing our different faiths, but united in humanity. We are united for humanity, and we stand up for one another, that we can extend a hand of friendship, even in the darkest of times, that we can build community instead of breaking it. | This video features footage of the violent disorder on Tuesday evening in Southport, which our officers faced and was witnessed by many members of the public | Tragic events should unite us, not divide us. Following the violent disorder, we have made seven arrests and further pic.twitter.com/3C9tJWzpFK Merseyside Police (@MerseyPolice) August 2, 2024 As communities, we have a lot more in common than that which divides us and this symbolic show of diversity in backgrounds, in faiths, in gender, in our thoughts, shows that we are united to defeat all forms of hatred and extremism in our country. Thank you. The Metropolitan Police said the force has sufficient resources in place to deal with protests in central London this weekend but officers have not been informed of a demonstration in response to the Southport stabbings. The Palestine Solidarity Campaign is planning a march from Park Lane to Whitehall on Saturday while a counter-protest, which must remain static, is also expected. But there has been no notice of a protest of the kind that took place on Wednesday, which saw more than 100 people arrested when violence broke out and police were pelted with beer bottles and cans. It is understood that an extra 70 prosecutors will be on standby this weekend to charge people who set out to cause violent disorder. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister returned to Southport on Friday, visiting the town for the second time this week after Mondays knife attack. Sir Keir announced further support for Southport, including mental health support for those affected by the attack and a programme of events to help build community cohesion. The 17-year-old charged with the murders of three girls in Southport appeared at Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday, and was named as Axel Rudakubana, from Banks in Lancashire. Court artist drawing of 17-year-old Axel Rudakubana (centre) covering his face as he appeared in the dock at Liverpool Crown Court. (Elizabeth Cook/PA) He is charged with the murders of Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven. Rudakubana is also charged with the attempted murders of yoga class instructor Leanne Lucas, businessman John Hayes and eight children, who cannot be named for legal reasons, and with possession of a kitchen knife with a curved blade. He was remanded to youth detention accommodation and will next appear in court in October. Sir Keir Starmer has warned social media carries responsibility over tackling misinformation in the wake of violent protests around the country following the stabbings in Southport. The Prime Minister said the Government would uphold the law everywhere, including online, where far-right groups have been accused of inciting violence and stirring division in the wake of the tragedy, which has led to unrest in Southport, London and Hartlepool. Speaking directly to social media firms during a press conference in Downing Street, Sir Keir said: Violent disorder, clearly whipped up online, that is also a crime, its happening on your premises, and the law must be upheld everywhere. That is the single most important duty of government, service rests on security. We will take all necessary action to keep our streets safe. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer answers questions during a press conference in Downing Street (Henry Nicholls/PA) But he added that it was important for Government and tech firms to work together to keep the country safe, saying government blaming everybody else and pointing fingers does not work well. The Prime Minister said there is a discussion to be had about companies striking the right balance, warning social media carries responsibility, but suggested he wanted to work together to keep the country safe. He added: What has not worked well recently with the previous government, in my view, is the performative politics of a government blaming everybody else and pointing fingers. That approach to me is not effective. My approach is different, which is to roll my sleeves up, get the relevant people around the table and fix the problems, and meet the challenges that we have as a country. We did that with law enforcement and police this afternoon similar approach with social media, which is not performative politics which gets us nowhere, but the politics of service, which is to actually work together to address the challenges that we have and make sure that we keep the country safe and respect the values of our fellow citizens, which are about law enforcement, security and safety. Earlier this week, Merseyside Police issued a warning over the spreading online of an incorrect name for the Southport attacker now named as 17-year-old Axel Rudakubana and a false story around his background. People attending the Enough is Enough protest in Westminster (Jordan Pettitt/PA) Sunder Katwala, director of the think tank British Future, highlighted a number of high-profile online figures, including Laurence Fox and former kickboxer Andrew Tate, who were sharing that false information on X, formerly Twitter. A number of experts said this misinformation had been used by a vocal minority to sow division and fuel their own agenda and trigger a summer of thrill-seeking impulsive insurrection following violent disorder in Southport, London and Hartlepool in the days since the attack. John Coxhead, a professor of policing at Staffordshire University, said groups were being cynically stirred up by opportunistic populists with nothing better to do. Social media giant X has come under increased scrutiny since being taken over by billionaire Elon Musk in late 2022. Mr Musks approach to running the platform has been heavily criticised after he substantially cut staff numbers and rowed back on the sites verification and content moderation systems, claiming he wanted to allow absolute free speech on the site. Under his leadership, the company has also restored the accounts of many figures previously banned for breaking site rules around hate speech, including far-right figures in the UK such as Tommy Robinson real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon and Katie Hopkins. Since then, many users claim to have seen an increase in hateful content, as well as pornography and spam posts and accounts, despite Mr Musk claiming he would defeat the bots after taking over the company. WASHINGTON An hour before he ended his reelection campaign, President Joe Biden was working the phones to try to secure the release of Americans who the U.S. says were wrongly held prisoner in Russia. It was Sunday afternoon, July 21. Biden, recovering from COVID-19 at his home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, had been under siege for weeks from Democrats who wanted him to drop out of the presidential race. His own future now in doubt, Biden concentrated on the fate of the prisoners in Russia. His administration had been working for months and in some cases years, to bring them home. With an agreement finally within reach, Biden phoned one of his counterparts, Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golog, to work out the final pieces of a deal that would set the prisoners free. An hour later, Biden informed the world he was abandoning his campaign for a second term. Eleven days after that, the now lame-duck president stood in the White House State Dining Room, with some of the prisoners families by his side, and announced that their loved ones had been freed from Russian custody and were on their way home. Their brutal ordeal is over, Biden said, and they are free. The deal that freed the Americans and others held in Russia announced Thursday and finalized during a period of political and personal turmoil for Biden is the largest prisoner exchange between Washington, Moscow and four other governments since the Cold War. Analysts credited the Biden administration and U.S. allies with pulling off a historic agreement that involved months of delicate negotiations with Russia amid the ongoing fury over Russian President Vladimir Putins war against Ukraine. Biden called the deal a feat of diplomacy. Ive done a lot of these operations, and I can tell you this stuff is extremely delicate, very, very hard and takes a lot of care and thought and talking to people who may not have our interests in mind, said Bryan Stern, who has successfully negotiated the rescue of numerous hostages but was not involved in the prisoner swap discussions. Freed as the result of the deal were Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who Russia convicted of espionage charges in July, and former Marine Paul Whelan, who had been imprisoned in Russia on espionage charges since December 2018. The U.S. says the charges against both men were baseless. All told, 24 prisoners were released under the agreement. They include 16 people previously detained in Russia in exchange for eight individuals held in the U.S., Germany, Norway, Slovenia and Poland. For the families of the Americans detained, the nightmare was finally coming to an end. 'Their brutal ordeal is over': Biden hails largest prisoner swap since Cold War President Biden speaks about hostage swap that included Paul Whalen and Evan Gershkovich Biden on prisoner swap: 'Get it done' Since taking office, the Biden administration had been working to free Whelan, who had been detained in Russia while Donald Trump was president. The arrests of Gershkovich in March 2023 and Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva the following October complicated the negotiations. Putin, it seemed, had made an art of kidnapping innocent civilians and then attempting to use them as bargaining chips to persuade other governments to return violent criminals to his regime. Russia would not agree to release any of the three Americans without an exchange that included Vadim Krasikov, a Russian assassin who had been jailed in Germany since 2021, said a senior administration official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Because he was in German custody, Krasikov was not someone the U.S. could offer to free as part of a prisoner swap. Biden reached out directly to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. But Germany was initially reluctant to help. Krasikov was serving a life sentence in Germany for killing a Georgian citizen who had fought Russian troops in Chechnya and later claimed asylum in Germany. Zelimkhan Khangoshvili was gunned down by Krasikov in Kleiner Tiergarten, a central Berlin park, in 2019. Witnesses said Krasikov killed Khangoshvili by using a handgun with a silencer fitted onto it, which he then threw into the nearby Spree River, along with a bike and a dark wig he'd been wearing to disguise his identity. "Germany was hit hard in the center of its capital when that thug ruthlessly killed a human being. No country can accept this and let this easily go," said one German official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the topic. The German official said there was reluctance to free Krasikov as part of the prisoner swap with Russia. Doing so, Germany feared, would send a message that it cannot always protect its citizens or refugees who reside within its borders. The shooting had represented a "humiliation" for Germany's security services, the German official said. Meanwhile, another influential party, Gershkovich's mother, Ella Milman, was working behind the scenes to get the negotiations moving. Milman, who was raised in Leningrad around the same time as Putin but who now lived in Philadelphia, continuously contacted Biden administration officials about her son's case, according to an account published by the Wall Street Journal. She worked backchannels and official channels on her son's behalf. She traveled to Moscow for his appeal hearing. She walked up to Scholz at a gala dinner in New York and pressed him to help free Gershkovich. She approached Biden in a photo line at the annual White House Correspondents' Dinner in Washington and urged him to call the German leader to speed things along. A visit by Scholz to the White House on Feb. 9 helped move negotiations forward. During their meeting, Biden again implored Scholz to help. Scholz relented. For you, I will do this, Scholz told Biden, the senior U.S. administration official recalled. Biden then turned to National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and said: Get it done. Negotiators had originally hoped a deal would include the release of Alexei Navalny, a Russian opposition leader and outspoken Putin critic. Navalny, arrested in what was widely viewed as an act of retribution by Putin and the Kremlin, died in February while serving a 19-year prison sentence. On the day the U.S. learned of Navalnys death, Sullivan held a previously scheduled meeting with Gershkovich's parents. The White House team working to free the prisoners worried that Navalnys death was a blow to their efforts to free Gershkovich and Whelan. Sullivan, though, thought a deal was still possible. It would be a rocky path and would take longer but it was still possible, the administration official said. Sullivan instructed his team to come up with additional options to make a deal politically viable, particularly for the Germans. A few months later, roughly in April, Biden sent Scholz an outline of the proposal, drafted by Sullivan, that reflected more than a year of work. The deal would include the release of the Russian assassin Krasikov. Keep up with the political stories that matter in Washington and around the world. Sign up for our OnPolitics newsletter. More: Beyond Paul Whelan, who else was released in the US-Russia prisoner swap Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan and Alsu Kurmasheva, who were detained in Russia, pose with others aboard an aircraft after they were released, in this undated handout photograph obtained on August 1, 2024. The deal is done There were clues that a final deal was close. Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., who represents the district in which Whelan lived and has advocated for his release, said she heard earlier this week that his whereabouts were unknown. Is he getting punished? Are the Russians playing games? What's going on? she recalled. And then we started to hear some rumblings. Stevens, who co-chairs the Congressional Task Force on American Hostages, was at the White House on Thursday morning for an unrelated meeting when she heard of the impending exchange before it was made public, she said. Stevens said her office is working to ensure Whelan can find a new home in Michigan and rebuild his life. She called for continued efforts to deter such wrongful detentions. The pressure only remains. Foreign actors are going to continue to use Americans as pawns and target Americans to take them prisoner wrongfully, she said, adding: And we have to continue to push for the release of those remaining. The prisoner exchange came nearly a decade after the U.S. undertook a hostage policy overhaul that created a hostage envoy and recovery team. In 2022, Biden declared hostage-taking and wrongful detention a national emergency, adding new tools such as financial sanctions and visa bans. In recent years, families have more publicly pressed the U.S. government to find ways to return their loved ones. A report earlier this year from the Foley Foundation, which advocates for the freedom of Americans held captive abroad, found there were more than 40 American nationals known to be held captive unjustly in 16 countries. The foundation was created by Diane Foley less than a month after her son, James Foley, an American freelance journalist, was beheaded by ISIS in Syria in 2014. The foundation's report noted that the number of U.S. nationals in detention, after peaking in 2022, has fallen amid efforts to secure their freedom. The key complication in the latest prisoner swap Russias demand to release a prisoner held by Germany, not the United States required painstaking conversations, not just between adversaries, but also between allies, said Danielle Gilbert, a professor at Northwestern University who researches hostage policy. Gilbert is part of a commission at the Center for Strategic and International Studies working to develop strategies to disincentivize the practice without closing the door to exchanges, such as by enlisting pressure from third-party countries. But its a challenge, she said, in part, because such governments are often already under U.S. economic sanctions. It's heartening news to know that even in the midst of war and tensions that these backchannels do exist and the negotiations are possible, she said. But it also leaves open the question of how do governments like the United States try to curb this practice going forward and ensure that they don't have to make these deals so often? While successful exchanges often come with worries they will embolden some bad actors to imprison another journalist or traveler, the difficult calculus should favor detained Americans, said Cameron Hume, a former U.S. ambassador and consultant with the Richardson Center, which has advocated on behalf of Whelans family for his return but was not involved in Thursdays prisoner swap. I think our society has a duty to bring folks home that, on balance, outweighs the merit of another year in prison for an assassin, Hume said. More: Brittney Griner on Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich being released: 'It's a great day' 'Everybody stepped up' At the White House on Thursday, with the prisoners' family members by his side, Biden thanked U.S. allies for their role in making the prisoner swap happen. He specifically cited German chancellor Scholz. Russia's demands that the assassin Krasikov be released as part of a deal required "some significant concessions from Germany, which they originally concluded they could not do because of the person in question," Biden said. The final agreement "is a powerful example of why its vital to have friends in this world friends you can trust, work with, and depend upon, especially on matters of great consequence and sensitivity like this," Biden said. Near the end of his remarks, Biden brought to the lectern Miriam Butorin, the young daughter of Kurmasheva, the Russian American journalist who was among those prisoners freed. Miriam turns 13 on Friday. And Biden had a surprise for the young girl. He hugged her and then asked the room to sing "Happy Birthday." Biden led the singalong in a grandfatherly voice that was at times slightly off-key. Evan Gershkovich greets his mother Ella Milman after he arrived back in the United States as U.S. President Joe Biden looks on on August 1, 2024 at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. Their release, negotiated as part of a 24-person prisoner exchange with Russia that involved at least six countries, is the largest prisoner exchange in post-Soviet history. Remember, no serious guys till you're 30, he teased. Turning serious, Biden said Miriam will now get to celebrate her birthday with her mom like they should have been able to do all along. Contributing: Tom Vanden Brook, Francesca Chambers and Joey Garrison This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How prisoner swap that freed Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan unfolded Apple CEO Tim Cook brushed off an iPhone sales decline in Greater China while boasting a revenue record of $85.8 billion for the June quarter during an earnings call on Thursday. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images; Chelsea Jia Feng Apple reported a decline in iPhone revenue for its third quarter. But revenue, along with overall profit, still beat Wall Street's expectations. With its Q3 results, Apple just bought itself some time before it has to show payoffs on AI. Apple may have just bought itself some time to show off any returns from its big artificial intelligence investments despite a decline in its critical iPhone business for the third quarter. The company reported on Thursday that Q3 revenue from iPhone sales was $39.3 billion, down year-on-year from $39.67 billion. The tech giant has been struggling to drive handset sales in the major market of China as rivals in the country, including Huawei, fight to take a bite out of Apple's dominance in the smartphone market. Still, Apple was buoyed by the fact that those numbers, along with overall profit, beat analysts' expectations. Wall Street analysts had expected Apple to report $38.6 billion in sales for its iPhone segment. The Cupertino company also reported $21.45 billion in profit, an 8% increase. And Apple services, which include app store revenue, also beat expectations, with the company reporting $24.2 billion in revenue against a projection of $23.9 billion. Plus, overall, sales for Apple increased for all geographic regions except China. Iphone sales in Greater China fell 6.5% to $14.73 billion. Apple CEO Tim Cook framed the decline to investors on an earnings call on Thursday as an "improvement from the first half of the fiscal year" when considering foreign exchange headwinds. Apple's stock narrowly fluctuated in late trading after the news. Moving forward, analysts say they'll be looking toward Apple's September launch of the iPhone 16, which will feature Apple Intelligence, the company's AI software. The new iPhone model will be a key indicator of the payoff from Apple's multibillion-dollar investment in artificial intelligence, analysts say. Cook has previously said that the company spent over $100 billion on R&D for AI. "In future quarters, the effectiveness of these AI investments will be primarily evaluated through device sales and potential growth in subscription revenue," Jacob Bourne, an analyst for Emarketer, a sister company to Business Insider, said in a statement. "The company faces significant challenges, including economic headwinds and intensifying competition in China. While discounted iPhone prices likely helped bolster sales this quarter, the company's future success depends on two factors: keeping AI development costs low and ensuring that new AI-driven features compel price-sensitive consumers to upgrade their devices." Meantime, Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, who maintained an "outperform" rating for Apple ahead of the earnings call, said that analysts were "not expecting anything special this quarter, but that the "iPhone 15 remains strong and is a positive data point speaking to Apple's iPhone strength." Read the original article on Business Insider Firefighters in Colorado made progress in the battle against several wildfires that broke out along the foothills of the Rocky Mountains this week as emergency crews in California struggled to put out one of the largest blazes in state history. Fueled by a persistent drought and stretches of intense heat, four wildfires broke out between Monday and Wednesday along the Front Range, which runs from central Colorado into Wyoming, passing near several major cities including Denver. The fires grew rapidly and encroached on populated areas, forcing hundreds of people to flee. Several dozens of homes have been destroyed, officials said. The Alexander Mountain Fire, the largest of the blazes, has scorched 8,134 acres of land west of the city of Loveland. Firefighters have contained it by 5% as of Friday morning, while officials have closed major roads, issued several mandatory evacuations and adopted fire restrictions, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Smoke fills the sky as firefighters work to control the Park Fire along Highway 32, near Jonesville, California, U.S., July 28, 2024. In north Boulder County, firefighters contained the southern edge of the Stone Canyon Fire, which has destroyed at least five homes and killed one person near Rocky Mountain National Park, officials said. The blaze has engulfed over 1,500 acres some 20 miles north of Denver. And while it remains the second largest fire in the state, the progress allowed residents in several subdivisions to return to their homes. "We're feeling really good about this," Nathan Hallam, the fire incident commander on scene, said in a video posted on X. He added that he anticipated the fire to shrink significantly through the weekend. The consistent 90-degree temperatures and steep terrain have proved dangerous for firefighters as they attempt to quell the flames. In Jefferson County, at least five firefighters were injured on Wednesday, including four who suffered heat exhaustion, said Mark Techmeyer, a spokesperson for the county sheriff's office. Meanwhile, more than 6,700 fire personnel continue to battle northern California's Park Fire, the fourth largest in state history. The inferno, which has been burning since July 24, has swallowed 614 square miles, an area larger than New York City. Some 25,000 people have fled their homes as the blaze has torched over 540 houses, businesses and other structures, according to Cal Fire. Scars from historic blaze may blunt growth of spreading wildfire With fire crews trying to protect structures and critical infrastructure on the western, southern and eastern edges of the Alexander Mountain Fire, officials are hoping the northern edge will run out of fuel as it moves into the burn scar from the 2020 Cameron Peak Fire. That fire, the largest ever in Colorado, burned 326 square miles over more than four months, threatening but not quite reaching the town of Masonville and neighborhoods just west of Horsetooth Reservoir. The northern edge of the Alexander Mountain Fire is burning southwest of Masonville, and fire crews are working to build a containment line that will keep it from moving east toward homes in that area and tie into the fuel break to the north that they believe the Cameron Peak Fire burn scar will provide, said Jayson Coil, operations section chief for Southwest Area Incident Management Team 1. We have a limited number of resources, so if theres an area we dont think the fires willing to move through, then it prevents us from having to commit resources there, Coil said at a media briefing late Thursday afternoon. Kelly Lyell, the Coloradoan Large fires rage on in California As of Thursday, more than 700 structures across California had been destroyed by the Park Fire, as fuel for the flames remained dry and susceptible, Cal Fire said. "Heavy fuels continue to exhibit near record-level low moistures and are very receptive to fire," the agency said Friday. The massive Park Fire was burning more than 397,000 acres and was 24% contained. After starting in Chico, California, the Park Fire has spread north through gulches and canyons, impacting cities like Red Bluff and other mountain communities. Further south, a group of other large fires continue to burn in the hills about 100 miles north of Los Angeles. The group, which includes the Borel Fire, is burning more than 90,000 acres and is nearly 50% contained, according to Cal Fire. Fire officials warn of continued summer heat National forecasters are warning temperatures will continue to be above average through November, and that fall in much of the U.S. could feel like a second summer. In the western U.S., the heat has rapidly created dry fuel for wildfires in California and the northwest, and August and September are expected to bring more above normal fire conditions, according to the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho. The most recent report from the group said even larger areas of the western U.S. are expected to face the fire risks compared to the geographic outlook published just one month ago. The findings come after temperature records were broken in July in Palm Springs, California, and Las Vegas, which reached 124 and 120 degrees Fahrenheit, the report said. Contributing: Reuters This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Wildfires still rage in California; progress made against Colo. blaze WASHINGTON Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan and journalist Alsu Kurmasheva landed in the U.S. late Thursday night, capping an extraordinary return home from Russian prisons after the largest and most extensive West-East swap of prisoners since the Cold War. The three Americans landed at Joint Base Andrews outside Washington at 11:37 p.m. ET following a long journey from Turkey, where they were initially taken after their release from Russian custody. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic nominee, greeted them at the tarmac along with family members who were at the White House earlier in the day. It feels wonderful, it was a long time coming," Biden told reporters after the families reunited. Harris, speaking with the press, called it an extraordinary day and thanked the president. This is an extraordinary testament to the importance of having a president who understands the power of diplomacy and strengthening alliances, she said. This is an incredible day and you can see it in the families and in their eyes. More: Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan are free: Russia releases Americans in prisoner swap The historic swap followed months of negotiations and involved 24 prisoners across six countries 16 individuals detained in Russia in exchange for eight people held in the U.S., Germany, Norway, Slovenia and Poland. The key concession was the return of Russian hitman Vadim Krasikov, who was in jail in Germany. Gershkovich, 32, was detained in Russia in 2023 during a time of heightened tensions between the West and Russia over the war in Ukraine. Russian prosecutors accused the New Jersey native of gathering information on behalf of the CIA. Gershkovich, the Journal and the U.S. government denied the charges, saying he was doing his job as a journalist. Whelan, 54, was arrested in 2018 on espionage charges. At the time of his arrest, Whelan was working as head of global security for the Michigan-based auto supply company BorgWarner. The Russian Foreign Ministry alleged Whelan was caught "red-handed" in an act of espionage, while Whelan insisted that he was set up and that he was simply a tourist. Former prisoner held by Russia US journalist Evan Gershkovich waves as he arrives at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on August 1, 2024. Journalist Evan Gershkovich and fellow prisoners released by Russia landed in the United States late August 1, an AFP journalist saw, as part of an extraordinary swap deal struck between Washington and Moscow. A plane carrying Gershkovich, former US marine Paul Whelan, and journalist Alsu Kurmasheva landed at around 11:40 pm (0340 GMT) at Joint Base Andrews near Washington, where President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were waiting to greet them. Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Russian-British dissident and American green-card holder, was also released from Russian prisons in the exchange. Alsu Kurmasheva's relatives Pavel Butorin, Bibi Butorin and Miriam Butorin hug as U.S. President Joe Biden speaks about the release of Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva, and Vladimir Kara-Murza, who were detained in Russia, during a brief event where some of their relatives are in attendance, at the White House in Washington, U.S., August 1, 2024. REUTERS/Nathan Howard Whelan was the first one off the plane, and quickly shook the presidents hand as they exchanged words. How you doing, sir?" Whelan said when greeting Biden. He then shook Harris hand and the two also had a short conversation. He embraced both Biden and Harris before waving to the press and heading to greet his sister, Elizabeth. As Whelan embraced his sister, Gershkovich was the next one to walk off the plane where he was met with cheers by his press colleagues. Harris first, greeted Gershkovich, who held his hands open. The two embraced and exchanged words before the Wall Street Journal reporter turned to Biden to shake his hand and speak with the president. Gershkovich then walked towards his family. His mom, Ella Milman, who advocated for his release for over a year, quickly ran towards him. He scooped her up in his arms, lifting her off the ground, as they kissed each other's cheeks. He then turned to his dad and hugged and kissed his cheek. President Joe Biden looks on as Evan Gershkovich who was released from detention in Russia, is greeted by his mother Ella Milman, upon his arrival at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on August 1, 2024 Kurmasheva was last off the plane and quickly embraced the president after descending down the steps. As the two exchanged words, Biden put his forhead towards her. She then went on to speak with Harris. Bibi Butorin and Miriam Butorin, Kurmashevas daughters, ran toward their mother, letting out a loud cry as they met their mothers arms. Her husband, Pavel Butorin, appeared to be wiping away tears as his daughters were reunited with their mother. To me, this is about the essence of who we are as a country. It really is about personal relationships, about families, Biden told reporters. The president emphasized how the release of the Americans could only be possible through diplomacy and having allies. President Joe Biden embraces Paul Whelan, who was released from detention in Russia, upon his arrival at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on August 1, 2024. Biden also had a one-word message to Russian President Vladimir Putin: Stop. Whelan, after meeting with his sister, went back to speak with Biden. The president appeared to take his American flag pin off and affix it to Whelan's lapel. "The deal that made this possible was a feat of diplomacy and friendship," Biden said earlier Thursday as he announced the swap. "For anyone who questions whether allies matter, they do. They matter." Harris said Gershkovich, Whelan and other prisoners showed "incredible courage in the face of atrocious and devastating circumstances" and called their detention "an appalling perversion of justice." Former prisoner held by Russia US-Russian journalist Alsu Kurmasheva with her husband Pavel Butorin and their daughters Miriam Butorin and Bibi Butorinas cheer as she arrives at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on August 1, 2024. Journalist Evan Gershkovich and fellow prisoners released by Russia landed in the United States late August 1, an AFP journalist saw, as part of an extraordinary swap deal struck between Washington and Moscow. A plane carrying Gershkovich, former US marine Paul Whelan, and journalist Alsu Kurmasheva landed at around 11:40 pm (0340 GMT) at Joint Base Andrews near Washington, where President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were waiting to greet them. Whelan spoke with reporters shortly after arriving back in the U.S. He said he felt good, but was a little tired. While he was in custody, Whelan, a former Marine, said he sang the U.S. national anthem every day. After meeting with his family, Gershkovich also walked towards the press where about a dozen Wall Street Journal reporters and other members of the media were waiting and cheering his arrival. Evan! How does it feel to finally be home? one reporter shouted as he walked over. Not bad, Gershkovich responded. Feels good. President Joe Biden greets Paul Whelan, a prisoner freed by Russia, as he arrives on August 1, 2024 at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. Their release, negotiated as part of a 24 person prisoner exchange with Russia that involved at least six countries, is the largest prisoner exchange in post-Soviet history. More: 'Their brutal ordeal is over': Biden hails largest prisoner swap since Cold War Harris said that bringing the prisoners home was a daunting task. "We never stopped fighting for their release," Harris said, speaking to reporters in Houston before boarding Air Force Two Thursday afternoon. A plane carrying Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva, all prisoners freed by Russia, sits parked on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews on August 1, 2024 at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. Their release, negotiated as part of a 24 person prisoner exchange with Russia that involved at least six countries, is the largest prisoner exchange in post-Soviet history. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the release of Alexei Navalny, the deceased Russian opposition leader of President Vladimir Putin, was originally discussed in the deal before he died in a Russian prison in February. Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan and Alsu Kurmasheva, who were detained in Russia, pose with others aboard an aircraft after they were released, in this undated handout photograph obtained on August 1, 2024. Ahead of the return flight home, the Gershkovich family released a statement thanking Biden and his administration, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and Gershkovich's colleagues of the Wall Street Journal. "We have waited 491 days for Evans release, and its hard to describe what today feels like. We cant wait to give him the biggest hug and see his sweet and brave smile up close. Most important now is taking care of Evan and being together again. No family should have to go through this, and so we share relief and joy today with Paul and Alsus families," the family said. Reach Joey Garrison on X, formerly Twitter, @joeygarrison. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan return to US after prisoner swap The Wall Street Journal is celebrating the release of reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was sentenced to 16 years in a Russian prison for espionage. The U.S. considered Gershkovich wrongfully detained and he and the government have denied that the journalist was a spy. Gershkovich, along with former Marine Paul Whelan and Alsu Kurmasheva, arrived in the U.S. overnight following a multinational prisoner swap. Ann Simmons, the Russia bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal who hired Gershkovich, told Scripps News that she is "absolutely elated" to know her colleague is free. "Him being home now has really shown that basically, you know, that journalism is not a crime," Simmons said. RELATED STORY | U.S. citizens released in Russian prisoner swap return to American soil In an article about Gershkovich's release, The Wall Street Journal notes that he had to make an official request for clemency to Russian President Vladimir Putin. In that request, Gershkovich reportedly asked if Putin would be willing to sit down for an interview. Despite that request not being granted, Simmons said it shows the world how dedicated Gershkovich is to his job. "After 16 months in a Russian prison, he's still thinking journalism, he's still thinking, 'You know what, this is an opportunity for me to ask the president of Russia for an interview,'" Simmons said. "It really speaks to Evan's character." While it appears Gershkovich is ready to get back to work, he will have to wait. He was flown to Brooke Army Medical Center at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston in Texas after meeting with his family and the president. Gershkovich and the others who were wrongfully detained will be provided with medical and psychological care. RELATED STORY | Gershkovich, Whelan among Americans released in massive prisoner swap with Russia By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The leaders of foreign affairs committees of the U.S. Congress and legislatures across Europe have joined to condemn the Venezuelan government's handling of last weekend's disputed election, according to a statement seen by Reuters, an unprecedented show of unity intended to pressure Caracas to release full vote tallies. Senator Ben Cardin, who chairs the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, worked with his counterparts across Europe to work collectively to put pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's government. "Our governments are closely monitoring the situation in Venezuela, and will work together to hold Maduro accountable should he continue to disregard the democratic will of Venezuelan voters to steal yet another election," said the statement, seen by Reuters ahead of its expected release. By early Friday, leaders of foreign affairs committees from legislatures in Armenia, Moldova, Latvia, Italy, Poland, Lithuania, Germany, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Denmark and Romania had signed on to a statement, said a source familiar with the discussions. Venezuela's electoral council proclaimed Maduro, who has been in power since 2013, the winner of the July 28 election with 51% of the vote, immediately sparking fraud accusations. The country's opposition says its tally of about 90% of the votes shows its candidate Edmundo Gonzalez received more than double the support of the incumbent president, in line with independent polling conducted before the contest. Maduro's government insists he won a third term despite the opposition's claims. "As Chairs of Foreign Affairs Committees of our respective national parliaments, we strongly condemn the ongoing attempts in Venezuela to undermine the will of the voters and repress the Venezuelan people following Sunday's election," said the statement seen by Reuters. The parliamentary leaders called for Maduro's government to allow for transparent, independent verification of the election results immediately, end repression of protests and begin negotiations with Gonzalez and Maria Corina Machado, another opposition leader. (Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Don Durfee and Paul Simao) NEW YORK Ever since Terry Strada's husband Tom died on the 104th floor of the World Trade Centers North Tower on 9/11, she's been waiting for justice. And when she got word this week that it finally arrived, it wasn't what she wanted to hear. Taking the death penalty off the table was outrageous, Strada told USA TODAY on Thursday, a day after U.S. defense officials informed her that 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was allowed to plead guilty, get a life sentence and avoid a death penalty trial. They murdered nearly 3,000 Americans on American soil. Strada, the National Chair of 9/11 Families United, called the U.S. plea a victory for Mohammed, or KSM as hes often called, and his al Qaeda accomplices Walid Bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawasawi. All three had been jailed at Guantanamo prison for nearly two decades with no formal prison sentences imposed. Many close to the case see the agreement that spares Mohammeds life as the practical solution to what had become an intractable legal effort. But experts worry it will deprive the public of evidence tied to the case and some families say it amounts to no justice at all. The Department of Defense announced the deal with the 9/11 trio Wednesday. It closes the book on a saga thats seen U.S. government operatives deployed worldwide to find and capture the al-Qaeda operatives; their decades of detainment at overseas prisons and Guantanamo Bay, where they were tortured; and years of litigation aimed at bringing them to justice under the law. The exact terms of the agreement have not been made public but according to a Department of Defense letter obtained by USA TODAY, the three agreed to plead guilty to all of the charged offenses, including the murder of the 2,976 people listed in the charge sheet. As part of the plea, the three will not face the possibility of a death penalty trial, the letter says. Lightning is seen behind the One World Trade Center on the day of the 22nd anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks, viewed from Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S., September 11, 2023. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon They will be sentenced by a panel of military officers at a sentencing hearing expected to happen in the summer of 2025, according to the letter. Family members of victims will be able to testify at the hearing and provide a statement for the jury to use in determining a sentence. The families will also be able to ask the al-Qaeda operatives questions about their role in the attacks and motives. Mohammed and the others will have to answer as part of the plea agreement, according to the letter. The decision to enter into a pre-trial agreement after 12 years of pre-trial litigation was not reached lightly; however, it is our collective, reasoned, and good-faith judgment that this resolution is the best path to finality and justice," military prosecutors wrote. Not all families opposed The reaction from families has been mixed, with many supporting the plea arrangement. Elizabeth Miller is the project director of September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, an organization that has been advocating for a plea deal for KSM and others for years. Millers dad, Douglas Miller, was a New York City firefighter who died among hundreds of others in the attacks. Pursuing the death penalty would have dragged on for decades and let the attacks continue to loom over the lives of victims' families, she said. I really thought I would be doing this for a considerable amount of time," said Miller. "Im going to be 30, I was nervous about having kids, about having them alive in a world where nobody was guilty for what they did to their grandfather. The best part of the deal she said was the chance for families to ask KSM direct questions about their role in 9/11. She anticipated asking KSM about his connections to Osama Bin Laden, for instance. Others disapproved of pursuing the death penalty, citing how many of the 9/11 detainees were tortured while in U.S. hands. I am very pleased about the Plea Agreements," said Phyllis Rodriguez, whose son Gregory worked at Cantor Fitzgerald, the financial services firm that was headquartered in the North Tower above where the first plane struck. Everyone who reported to work that day died. All these men were tortured at CIA black sites, which is against our rule of law and human rights law. Interrogators subjected Mohammed to waterboarding 183 times, among other enhanced interrogation techniques, according to the Senate Intelligence Committee's 2014 report on the agencys detention and interrogation programs. The torture inflicted on KSM and others is part of what made bringing the case to trial so complicated, as did much of the evidence being classified, according to Christopher A. Kojm, the deputy executive director of the 9/11 Commission. The George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs professor called the deal practical. It became nigh impossible to conduct a trial," Kojm said, "therefore guilty pleas are your pragmatic outcome. In a statement provided to USA TODAY, the White House said federal prosecutors cut the deals independently of President Joe Biden. The President and the White House played no role in this process, said National Security Council spokesperson Sean Savett. The President has directed his team to consult as appropriate with officials and lawyers at the Department of Defense on this matter. Biden publicly opposed the deal last year when the Department of Defense first disclosed the possibility of reaching an agreement. The costs of the deal Collectively, KSM and his accomplices have spent over half a century in U.S. custody and the costs of keeping them at Guantanamo Bay have been tremendous. Human Rights First, an American nonprofit anti-torture nonprofit, published a brief in 2017 based on Department of Defense disclosures that estimated the annual costs of holding the few dozen Guantanamo Bay detainees to be over $440 million. A Department of Defense release from 2016 estimated the costs of holding the detainees to be $85 million per year more than other U.S. facilities. But, as much as the plea agreements save American taxpayers, there's another cost to the deals, experts say: The chance for a public reckoning over the 9/11 attacks and the legacy of the U.S. response at Guantanamo Bay. Guantanamo Bay expert Muira McCammon said the trial could have been a Nuremburg moment for the post-9/11 United States, referring to the post-World War II trials where evidence of the Holocaust was documented. As we as a nation still grapple with the legacy of Guantanamo, and what future we might face with respect to acts of terrorism, this deal challenges our chance to have meaningful closure, said the Tulane University scholar. The evidence presented would have been damning for the terrorists, but also U.S. officials, who she said have been allowed to get away with extrajudicial practices unchecked. The U.S. government has helped normalize this idea that powerful nations can detain people for extended periods of time without justice or trial, she said. It also makes it harder for the international legal community to revisit the human rights violations enacted on the people at Guantanamo. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 9/11 guilty plea: Case closed on terrorist attacks? Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, will face sentencing for his three-count felony conviction on Nov. 13, just one week after the presidential election. Biden was found guilty in June by a Delaware jury of violating the law when he obtained a firearm in 2018, at a time when he was addicted to drugs. For the three felony convictions, Hunter Biden could face up to 25 years in prison -- though legal experts believe he will not serve time as a first-time and nonviolent offender. PHOTO: Hunter Biden arrives to the J. Caleb Boggs Federal Building on June 6, 2024 in Wilmington, Del. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images, FILE) Hunter Biden had sought a new trial in the case, saying his "convictions should be vacated" because trial commenced before a circuit court formally issued a mandate denying one of his many pretrial appeals. But last month, his attorneys withdrew their bid for a new trial, conceding in court papers that the motion misunderstood a technicality in the district court's capacity to carry out a trial. He had tried several times to get the federal charges tossed before the trial began, but to no avail. MORE: What's next for Hunter Biden following conviction on federal gun charges President Joe Biden has repeatedly pledged to not pardon his son, including in an interview with "World News Tonight" anchor David Muir. While the trial was still ongoing, Biden was asked if he would respect the outcome, to which he responded, "Yes," and if he would rule out a pardon for Hunter Biden. Again, he responded, simply, "Yes." Hunter Biden faces a separate criminal trial in September on federal tax charges. He has pleaded not guilty. Hunter Biden to be sentenced on gun crime a week after Election Day originally appeared on abcnews.go.com The Houston Police Department is trying to contact thousands of sexual assault victims whose cases were suspended because of what the former police chief says was a "bad policy." The policy allowed officers to improperly classify investigations because of staffing issues, effectively halting more than 260,000 cases, including over 4,000 reported rapes, former interim police Chief Larry Satterwhite told city leaders on Tuesday. The policy, implemented in 2016, affected "real victims" and that the police are "not running from anything," Satterwhite told Houston Mayor John Whitmire and the city council. "Where we made mistakes, where we failed, we're going to tell you," Satterwhite said. Houston police released a comprehensive report on Wednesday that goes in depth about how the policy began, how it affected cases and what the department is doing to solve this issue. Here's what you need to know. A Houston Police Officer badge is seen on Jul 8, 2016. 'How could this happen?' The department's Special Victims Division used an "SL" code, meaning Suspended-Lack of Personnel," for 9,012 cases, while the Homicide division inputted the "SL" code for 6,537 cases, according to the report released Wednesday. Houston police did not know how often the code was being used until Sept. 9, 2023, when officers responded to a robbery at a grocery store, Satterwhite said. The suspect in the case had robbed the grocery store, but by the time officers arrived, he had fled into a nearby neighborhood, broke into a home, tied up a man and sexually assaulted his wife as the couple's children slept, according to the former chief. As the police investigated the rape, detectives learned that the physical evidence left behind by the suspect at the scene matched evidence collected from a sexual assault kit in September 2022, according to Satterwhite. When police went to look up the case from 2022, they saw that the "SL" code was inputted although the victim gave the officers her offender's description, name and vehicle, he added. After going back to the investigation from 2022, police were able to identify the suspect and bring him into custody. "At the time, the question across everybody's minds was, 'How could this happen,'" Satterwhite recalled. "So we did a deep dive, which was the first time, into how it actually happened and how this could have been done." Former Houston police chief retired amid probe Former police chief Troy Finner retired in May amid the internal investigation into the suspended cases. His retirement came after local television stations reported that Finner knew about the policy in 2018 when he received an internal email about a suspended hit-and-run case. "The biggest mistake that I've been able to see is just a failure to recognize what was going on and a failure to go in and truly to correct it, or verify and follow up and make sure that it was corrected," Satterwhite said about previous leadership overlooking the use of the code. Finner told the Houston Chronicle last month that the department's "failure" would come back and bite the city, adding how it was something he "was trying to prevent." Houston police introduced J. Noe Diaz, a former Texas Ranger and police chief of the Houston suburb of Katy, as the new chief on Thursday. Diaz's official first day as chief will be Aug. 14, after Houston's city council approves him. Former Houston chief of police Troy Finner speaks at a press conference Saturday, Nov. 6, 2021, after a crowd surge at Astroworld Festival resulted in eight deaths and hundreds of injuries in Houston, Texas. What are Houston police doing to solve the suspended sexual assault cases? In the report, Houston police say in February that it "launched a department-wide effort to triage and review the cases associated with the 264,371 incidents." To help solve the suspended sexual assault cases, the department temporarily assigned a special team of 24 investigators, five sergeants, two lieutenants and a commander to assist its Special Victims Division, according to the report. "With additional personnel in place, the division prioritized the review of 4,017 sexual assault-related incidents," the report says. The department's Special Victims Division also launched a call line and main email address for anyone "seeking information or clarification regarding the previously suspended incident," according to the report. The email and call line offer a direct point of contact with Houston police personnel. Police have made attempts to contact victims via phone calls, texts, emails and letters. Victims who could not be reached through those avenues of communication had their last known address or probable place of residence visited by officers, the report says. Of the more than 9,000 Special Victims cases coded as "SL," 726 had been closed with no subsequent arrests, 398 were cleared following arrests or the death of suspects, and more than 3,800 have been deactivated due to a lack of leads, according to the report. That leaves more than 4,000 that need investigating. 'Nonviolent crime will suffer' One drawback of putting resources toward solving the suspended cases is that the department will not be prioritizing property crimes, according to Satterwhite. "Nonviolent crime will suffer because we don't have enough people," the former chief said. No department employee has faced disciplinary action for using the "SL" code, Sadderwhite said, adding how he is "not ready to say anybody nefariously did anything. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'We made mistakes' Houston police tackle over 4,000 shelved rape cases By Kanishka Singh WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Tears of joy flowed in the Oval Office the moment families of prisoners such as Evan Gershkovich, freed by Russia in the biggest such swap since the Cold War, first spoke by telephone to their loved ones, a White House video showed on Thursday. "This is momma. Do you hear me? It's your mom," Gershkovich's mother tells her son, a Wall Street Journal reporter, in the emotional two-minute video of the virtual reunion, posted by President Joe Biden's social media account on X. "We just want to say how overwhelmed we are," Biden tells the released detainees as the families stand around the presidential Resolute Desk. "You've been wrongfully detained for a long time, and we are glad you are home." Russia freed Gershkovich, ex-U.S. Marine Paul Whelan and others on Thursday as part of the elaborate multi-country exchange that the White House said involved 24 prisoners, including Russian hitman Vadim Krasikov, released by Germany. "Every parent, child, spouse and loved one who joined me in the Oval Office today has been praying for this day for a long time," Biden posted about the deal, which was negotiated in secrecy for more than a year. At the start of the video, Biden tells the families the detainees have been released and are on a bus, heading to board the plane that will take them from Russia to the United States. "No word is strong enough for this. I was sure I was going to die in prison," Russian opposition politician Vladimir Kara-Murza tells his family as they weep. "I still think I am sleeping in my prison cell in Omsk instead of hearing your voice." Biden tells the returnees that he and the families will meet them when they land at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, adding with a chuckle: "Don't pretend you don't know us, OK?" (Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by William Mallard and Clarence Fernandez) By Lisa Barrington (Reuters) -Airlines are avoiding Iranian and Lebanese airspace and cancelling flights to Israel and Lebanon, as concerns grow over a possible conflict in the region after the killing of senior members of militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah this week. Singapore Airlines stopped flying through Iranian airspace from early Friday morning and is using alternative routes, saying safety is its top priority, it told Reuters in a statement. Taiwan's EVA Air and China Airlines also appeared to be avoiding Iran airspace for flights to Amsterdam on Friday which previously had flown over Iran, Flightradar24 data showed. The airlines did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the route changes. In a bulletin, OPSGROUP, a membership-based organisation that shares flight risk information, advised traffic between Asia and Europe to avoid Iranian and Iraqi airspace, a day after sources told Reuters that top Iranian officials will meet the representatives of Iran's regional allies from Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen to discuss potential retaliation against Israel. Many airlines, including U.S. and European airlines, already avoid flying over Iran, especially since the reciprocal missile and drone attacks in April between Iran and Israel. Singapore Airlines' flight to London Heathrow early on Friday went north of Iran through Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan, rather than crossing through Iran as it did the day before, Flightradar24 showed. However, a significant number of airlines on Friday were still flying over Iran, including United Arab Emirates carriers Etihad, Emirates and FlyDubai, as well as Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines. Over the past two days, Air India, Germany's Lufthansa Group, U.S. carriers United Airlines and Delta Air, and Italy's ITA Airways said they had suspended flights to Tel Aviv. Airlines this week have also been cancelling and delaying flights to the Lebanese capital Beirut after a strike in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Saturday. Israel has blamed the attack on Lebanon-based armed group Hezbollah, which denied involvement. Canada on Thursday issued a notice to Canadian aircraft to avoid Lebanese airspace for one month due to the risk to aviation from military activity. Britain has for the past month advised pilots of potential risk from anti-aircraft weaponry and military activity in Lebanon's airspace. Should an all-out war break out in the Middle East, OpsGroup said civil aviation will likely face the risk of drones and missiles crossing airways, as well as the increased risk of GPS spoofing - a growing phenomena around Lebanon and Israel where militaries and other actors broadcast signals that trick a plane's GPS system into thinking it is somewhere it is not. (Writing by Lisa Barrington; editing by Miral Fahmy and Ros Russell) NEW YORK (AP) Antitrust tensions are heating up in the chipmaking industry. Rivals have accused Wall Street darling Nvidia of abusing its market dominance in selling chips that power artificial intelligence and the U.S. Justice Department is now investigating these complaints, technology news site The Information reported. According to the news outlet, which cited unnamed sources familiar with the discussions, Justice Department officials are looking into concerns Nvidia is potentially cornering the market and pressuring its customers to unfairly retain business. That includes allegations of Nvidia threatening to punish those who buy products from both the Santa Clara, California-based tech giant and its competitors. The Information also reported that U.S. officials had reached out to several Nvidia competitors about the complaints. The Justice Department declined to comment or provide further information when reached by The Associated Press on Friday. But a statement from Nvidia said the company wins on merit and competes based on decades of investment and innovation, scrupulously adhering to all laws." Without directly acknowledging details of The Informations Thursday report, the company added that it is happy to provide any information regulators need. Nvidia has faced calls for an antitrust investigation from some Democratic lawmakers and progressive groups before. Earlier this week, 10 progressive advocacy groups including Demand Progress Education Fund and Tech Oversight Project penned a letter to Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter in support of an antitrust investigation into the chipmaker. Nvidia is the worlds chip gatekeeper, the groups wrote, arguing the company had bullied its way into a prominent investment position by leveraging scarce supply alongside tactics like blocking customers from doing business with competitors. Such a company deserves the most aggressive scrutiny that the Department of Justice can bring to bear. Nvidias has cemented itself as a poster child for the artificial intelligence boom and in the process become one of the most valuable companies in the world. In June, the tech giant briefly reached a market value of more than $3.3 trillion. Some of that market momentum has stalled a little since and any stock climbing to such heights is vulnerable to some investors selling shares to lock in profits. On Friday afternoon, shares for Nvidia were down 3%. SEOUL, South Korea (AP) When Ri Il Gyu, North Koreas No.2 diplomat in Cuba, finally decided to flee to South Korea in frustration over his highly repressive, corrupt homeland last November, he finished all necessary prep work alone. About a week later, he told his family to be ready to leave Cuba together in just six hours. My wife first told me not to make such a dreadful joke. So I showed her our plane tickets, and she was speechless, Ri said in an interview with The Associated Press on Friday. I told my kid that there is no future or hope for North Korea. His family followed him to a Havana airport at dawn the next day, taking a flight to a third country and then South Korea in one of the most high-profile and dramatic defections by North Koreans in recent years. The defection by Ri a former political counselor at the North's Embassy in Cuba was only made public last month. It likely has angered North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, because it could prompt his other diplomats to follow suit in a blow to his grip on the countrys elites, observers say. Ri said the North Korean Embassy in Cuba has about 20 diplomats, making it the Norths third biggest mission abroad after China and Russia. Ri, 52, is the highest-ranking North Korean to defect to South Korea since Tae Yongho, a former minister of the North Korean Embassy in London, arrived in South Korea in 2016. Ris defection has come as animosities between the rival Koreas are at one of the highest points in years, with North Korea flying more than 3,000 trash-carrying balloons toward South Korea and continuing its provocative weapons tests in recent months. South Korea has responded by restarting frontline loudspeaker broadcasts of anti-Pyongyang messages and K-pop songs, a challenge to Kims efforts to limit access to foreign news for his 26 million people. The Kim Jong Un regime will likely be in a very bad mood if they see me speaking publicly in media interviews like this, Ri said. They might think it's in their interest to eliminate a person like me. But I'm not going to worry about that so much, because the South Korean government has made a priority of keeping me safe." About nine months after his arrival in South Korea, Ri is under a South Korean government protection program. North Korea allegedly has a long history of assassinating or making attempts to kill high-level defectors, the estranged relatives of the Kim family living abroad and top South Korean officials. Kim might personally remember Ri, because Ri said he briefly met Kim many times with other officials in 2018 over preparations to receive top Cuban officials on two occasions. Sometimes Kim asked him questions. In each meeting, Ri recalled that Kim smoked continuously and was short of breath like an asthmatic patient so he could hear the rasp of Kims breathing. South Koreas spy agency told lawmakers Monday that North Korean officials are looking for new medicines abroad to treat Kims suspected obesity-related health problems such as high blood pressure and diabetes. At the first meeting, I clearly shuddered though it wasnt like I couldnt answer. But during the second and third meetings, I didnt shudder. Ri said he had long thought about fleeing North Korea, which he called a world of darkness" and a republic of corruption. He said his monthly pay was about $500 so he smuggled Cuban cigars to China via diplomatic pouches to make a living. He said North Korean diplomats in other countries have been involved in the smuggling of liquors, ivories, rhino horns, whiskeys and automobiles. But he said what decisively triggered his defection was the North Korean Foreign Ministry's rejection in early November of his hope to visit Mexico to treat a ruptured disc in his neck. He suspected his boss in Pyongyang was behind that decision because Ri earlier had refused his request for bribe. That made me so mad, Ri said. Without that incident, I probably would have kept thinking about defecting, but without ever leaving." Ri's defection came before Cuba established diplomatic ties with South Korea in February this year. As there was no embassy of South Korea in Cuba at that time, he said he couldn't get as much support from South Korean diplomats as other North Korean defectors managed to get elsewhere. South Korean officials were eventually involved in Ri's defection. But the government in Seoul and Ri declined to provide details about that because that could cause potential diplomatic troubles for countries involved, and could help North Korea thwart future escape attempts by other North Koreans. At the Havana airport, Ri said he and his family waited for the plane for an hour that felt "like hell. He fretted that fellow North Korean embassy officials might find out he was leaving and chase him. He looked at his wrist-watch about 100 times before he and his family finally boarded the plane safely, he said. If caught, he said he and his family would have faced a future worse than death in a prison camp where people have to eat insects to survive. Ri is not sure yet what he will do in South Korea, but is encouraged by other North Koreans who have successfully resettled in the South. Tae, the former North Korean minister, was elected to the South Korean parliament before receiving a vice minister-level job last month. Ri said he read Taes memoir about ten times. About 34,000 North Koreans have resettled in South Korea since the late 1990s to escape poverty and political oppression at home most of them women from the North's poorer northern provinces. Last year, about 10 North Koreans considered to be elites arrived in South Korea, the highest such number in recent years, according to South Korea's government. I can't guarantee that my departure will lead to more defections by North Korean diplomats, Ri said. But I think my defection will surely encourage others to defect. Fact checked by Nick BlackmerFact checked by Nick Blackmer Office chair butt refers to the negative effects of prolonged sitting, such as weakness in the gluteus maximus muscle. Excessive sitting without regular exercise can alter the appearance of the butt over time, as inactivity leads to a loss of muscle tone and shape. To avoid office chair butt, take regular breaks from sitting, use a standing desk, or do glute exercises after work, experts recommended. Office chair butt is the latest concern to your healthspecifically your glutespicking up steam on TikTok. The term has been sparking widespread discussion amongst content creators, who are speculating about whether sitting at work can cause a decline in the strength and appearance of a person's glutes. TikTok user Alexandra posted a video in early July warning her followers about office chair buttits since gained over 7 million views. Just found out about office chair butt so I will be using the standing desk feature for all 8 hours every day, she wrote. In another video that has over 2.6 million views, a TikToker named Itzel called office chair butt her new fear. But is office chair butt something people should actually be concerned about? Heres what experts had to say about how sitting frequently affects your body, and how to keep your muscles healthy while working your 9-to-5. Pekic / Getty Images Can Sitting for Too Long Actually Cause Office Chair Butt? Office chair butt is a common phrase that really doesnt have a true medical meaning or definition, Evan Johnson, DPT, director of Och Spine Care Outpatient Physical Therapy at NewYork-Presbyterian, told Health. However, sitting for prolonged periods of time can certainly affect your butt. By sitting in a chair for hours, days, weeks, and years like many of us do, we neglect our glutes and they can become very deconditioned and lose muscle mass as a result, Andrew Bach, DO, physical medicine and rehab specialist at Cedars-Sinai. told Health. When the body is sedentary, musclesincluding the glutes, but also the deltoids, pectorals, hamstrings, and morearent engaged or working, Bach said. Over time, this can cause them to weaken. Weakened muscles can also be infiltrated by fatty tissue, Johnson added, making them less resilient. Excessive sitting can also cause muscles to have an altered appearance, said Johnson. People might notice office chair butt in particular when their gluteus maximuswhich has the largest cross-sectional area, or muscle volume, in the bodystarts to decline. Sitting on the muscle all day and not exercising it results in the muscle losing tone and eventually shape, Johnson said. This can result in a flat butt appearance or a very soft, fleshy butt if muscle is replaced with adipose tissue [or] fat. Excessive sitting can also cause muscles to shorten or tighten, Bach added, changing our appearance. The effect is that our bodies tend to mold into the shape of our chairs, he said. Related: Sitting All Day? This Is How It Could Be Affecting Your Heart Health Does Sitting Injure Your Glutes? Luckily, sitting for prolonged periods of time doesnt usually harm your glutes directly, Johnson said. However, weak gluteal muscles can lead to problems over time, including strain on other muscles in the thigh and back. Technically, if someone were to sit in the same position for a long time, its possible that their butt bones could put too much pressure on the gluteal muscles, said Bach. However, this is quite rare. This is how a pressure wound happens, he said. The good news is that the average person shifts their weight every few minutes, typically without even thinking about it, to avoid this from happening. Otherwise, if someone is experiencing pain from sitting for long periods of time, they might have what some people call dead butt syndrome, rather than office chair butt. Pain deep in the butt from sitting could be caused by sciatica or tendinopathy (tendon injury) in one of the other gluteal musclesthe latter is commonly referred to as dead butt syndrome, said Johnson. But dead butt can also refer to gluteal amnesia, or issues with your muscles ability to contract due to prolonged sitting, Bach added. Muscle activation is easier the more you do it, he said. If you are sitting down all day, you are not activating your muscles and the effect can be that when you do use them, they might not be as reliable as before. This dead butt weakness can come with numbness, tingling, and pain, Bach added. If youre experiencing these symptoms, he recommended speaking with a healthcare provider. Does Office Chair Butt Require Medical Attention? Office chair butt alone doesnt require medical attention, but the effects of sitting for prolonged periodssuch as muscle weakness and poor posturemay, Bach said. Its very common to develop back or neck pain as a result of prolonged sitting, he explained. I often find that transitioning to a desk job or a sedentary lifestyle often precipitates pain in many of my clients. What Can You Do to Prevent Office Chair Butt? Anyone who sits for prolonged periods of timeincluding those in sedentary jobsis at risk of developing office chair butt, Bach warned. In particular, women may be more likely to get office chair butt, as theyre more likely to work jobs that require them to sit all day. The same goes for older and middle-aged people, Johnson said, who have collectively spent more hours sitting at work. Additionally, with age, we tend to lose muscle flexibility and tone unless we work to counter that process with exercise, he said. But like many chronic health conditions, office chair butt is avoidable, Johnson said. The best way to prevent it is simply to stay active and activate your glutes regularly throughout the day. That could mean getting up regularly from your desk, walking your dog, or taking the stairs at the office. You may also want to use a standing desk to avoid the negative effects of prolonged sitting at work, Bach added. If you don't have a standing desk, you can activate your muscles while you're seated by doing glute squeezes or calf raises every 15 minutes or so, he advised. Outside of the office, there are also specific exercises you can do to strengthen your glutes, including bridges, clamshells, squats, and step-ups, said Johnson. However, proper form is important to avoid faulty movement patterns. If you dont know how to do these exercises properly, it is a good idea to schedule a few sessions with a healthcare provider to review proper form, Johnson added. In the end, practicing a few healthy behaviors can help people reap the benefits of a stronger and shapelier behind, he said. That said, it is worth celebrating the inherent differences of shape and size of individuals. The goal is to promote great health, self-esteem, and fitnessnot to body shame. Related: The 6 Best Under-Desk Treadmills, Tested and Reviewed by Our Editors For more Health.com news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on Health.com. By Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. military will deploy additional fighter jets and Navy warships to the Middle East, the Pentagon said on Friday, as Washington seeks to bolster defenses following threats from Iran and its allies Hamas and Hezbollah. The U.S. is bracing for Iran to make good on its vow to respond to the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh two days ago in Tehran - one in a series of killings of senior figures in the Palestinian militant group as the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza rages. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had approved sending additional Navy cruisers and destroyers-- which can shoot down ballistic missiles-- to the Middle East and Europe. It is also sending an additional squadron of fighter jets to the Middle East. "Austin has ordered adjustments to U.S. military posture designed to improve U.S. force protection, to increase support for the defense of Israel, and to ensure the United States is prepared to respond to various contingencies," the Pentagon said in a statement. There had been speculation that the Pentagon might not replace the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group in the Middle East once it completed its ongoing deployment. But Austin decided to rotate in the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier strike group to replace it. The Pentagon statement added it would increase readiness to deploy more land-based ballistic missile defenses. The U.S. military also intensified deployments prior to April 13, when Iran launched an attack on Israeli territory with drones and missiles. Still, the threat from Hezbollah in Lebanon could present unique challenges to any efforts by the United States to intercept drones and missiles given the group's vast arsenal and immediate proximity to Israel. At the time, Israel successfully knocked down almost all of the roughly 300 drones and missiles with the help of the United States and other allies. Biden, in a phone call on Thursday with Netanyahu, discussed new U.S. defensive military deployments to support Israel against threats such as missiles and drones, the White House said. Iran and Hamas have both accused Israel of carrying out the killing and have pledged to retaliate against their foe. Israel has not claimed responsibility for the death nor denied it. Haniyeh's death was one in a series of killings of senior Hamas figures as the war in Gaza between Hamas and Israel nears its 11th month and concern grows that the conflict is spreading across the Middle East. Earlier, Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh said the U.S. did not believe escalation was inevitable. "I think we are being very direct in our messaging that certainly we don't want to see heightened tensions and we do believe there is an off ramp here and that is that ceasefire deal," Singh said. An Israeli delegation will travel to Cairo in coming days for negotiations to reach a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on Friday. (Reporting by Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali; editing by Diane Craft and David Gregorio) PARIS (AP) Paris prosecutors said Friday that police have opened a hate speech investigation following a complaint by Olympics opening ceremony artistic director Thomas Jolly over death threats. The Paris prosecutors' office said in a statement that Jolly filed a police complaint on Tuesday, four days after the opening ceremony, for death threats, public insults and defamation." Jolly said he has been the target of threatening messages and insults on social networks criticizing his sexual orientation and his wrongly-assumed Israeli roots, the statement said. France's Central Office for Combating Crimes Against Humanity and Hate Crimes has been charged with the investigation. Jolly's complaint comes after the Paris Olympics opening ceremony prompted a storm of outrage, including angry comments from Donald Trump, in the wake of a contentious scene featuring drag queens and other performers. Although Jolly has repeatedly said that he wasnt inspired by The Last Supper, critics interpreted part of the show as a mockery of Leonardo Da Vincis painting showing Jesus Christ and his apostles. French President Emmanuel Macron extended full support to Jolly and all performing artists who were part of the Olympics opening show. I am outraged and sad, Macron said about threats and cyberbullying Jolly and others have suffered. Nothing justifies threats against an artist, Macron said. French people were very proud of the opening ceremony that presented Frances history, its adventurous spirit, its audacity and it was all done with artistic freedom, which is very important to us, Macron said. Jollys daring art in the opening ceremony made many people happy, he added. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo also expressed unwavering support of Jolly in the face of the threats and harassment. With his opening ceremony, Jolly held our values high, Hidalgo said in a statement Friday. It was a pride and an honor for Paris to be able to count on his talent to magnify our city and tell the world who we are. Hidalgo added: Paris will always be on the side of artists, of creation and therefore, on the side of freedom. Barbara Butch, a popular DJ and LGBTQ+ icon who performed in the show, also said she suffered a torrent of online threats. Butch has filed a complaint alleging online abuse and harassment, which police are also investigating. ___ For more coverage of the Paris Olympics, visit https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games. A Chinese citizen was arrested Wednesday after police said he repeatedly tried to get into former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, while he claimed that he had documents that tie his home country's government to the July 13 assassination attempt on the Republican nominee for president. Zijie Li, 38, of El Monte, California, faces a misdemeanor trespassing charge in the incident, and remained at the Palm Beach County Jail on Thursday morning on a $3,000 bond, according to court records. According to jail records, this is the first security-related arrest at Mar-a-Lago since July 13, when a gunman shot at Trump as he spoke at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The shooter, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, was killed by Secret Service agents after wounding Trump's ear and shooting three of his supporters, killing one. The Secret Service has increased security around Trump's estate and his other properties since that incident, including the agency's decision to close South Ocean Boulevard next to Mar-a-Lago. The closure, which extends from the Southern Boulevard traffic circle north to South County Road, went into effect at 5 a.m. July 20. Palm Beach County Sheriff's deputies stand guard over a U.S. Secret Service-implemented checkpoint on South Ocean Boulevard at the intersection with South County Road on July 20 in Palm Beach, as part of increased security measures to protect former President Donald Trump and his Mar-a-Lago Club. Li's first attempt to reach Mar-a-Lago was the day before, at about 8 p.m. July 19, when he pulled up to the estate's main gate on South Ocean Boulevard in a gray Toyota Prius and told Secret Service agents that he had documents showing China was involved in the attempted assassination, according to an arrest report. Trump was not at Mar-a-Lago at the time he was in Milwaukee, Wisconsin for the Republican National Convention that week. Local law enforcement officers told Li that he was trespassing and was not allowed into Mar-a-Lago, and the Palm Beach Police Department issued him a written warning, the report said. Police told Li that he could not return to Mar-a-Lago or he would be arrested. Town security cameras show that Li's next visit to Palm Beach was July 22, when he twice drove east and then west again over the Royal Park Bridge, first in the morning and then in the afternoon, the arrest report said. Trump was at Mar-a-Lago that day, having returned from Wisconsin very early the previous morning. President Donald Trump opened his private Mar-a-Lago Club in 1996. On July 30, Li was spotted at about 5:40 p.m. driving toward the security checkpoint for Mar-a-Lago at South County Road and South Ocean Boulevard, the report said. Li was blocking a lane of traffic, so a Palm Beach Police officer stopped him and noticed that Mar-a-Lago's address, 1100 S. Ocean Blvd., was on Li's GPS system, according to the arrest report. Li was released and left town heading west over the Royal Park Bridge, but returned less than an hour later when his car was spotted south of Mar-a-Lago on South Ocean Boulevard, the report said. This time, Palm Beach Police and Secret Service agents again stopped him and told him not to return to Mar-a-Lago. But, police said, Li kept trying. His car first traveled east and then west over the Royal Park Bridge north of Mar-a-Lago between 8 and 8:30 a.m., according to town security cameras. Li's Prius was then spotted minutes later going east over the Southern Boulevard Bridge next to Mar-a-Lago, and he drove past the Secret Service checkpoint and south to Lake Worth Beach, the arrest report said. He came back again about 10 a.m., driving east on Southern Boulevard across the Intracoastal Waterway and past the Secret Service checkpoints, trying to enter Mar-a-Lago at the estate's southern gate, police said. At that point, he was back on Mar-a-Lago property and in violation of the trespassing warning, the report said. When security told Li that he couldn't enter Mar-a-Lago, he left again but this time, officers were looking for him. Palm Beach Police found him back in Palm Beach, and Li was arrested at the intersection of Royal Palm Way and South County Road, north of Mar-a-Lago. The Secret Service referred the Daily News' request for comment to the Palm Beach Police Department. Police spokesman Capt. Will Rothrock said the town did not have a comment. The Secret Service thanked the town and Palm Beach County "for the unwavering assistance and support they provide to us every day to safeguard the former President," Anthony Guglielmi, Secret Service chief of communications, said in an email. Li is not the first Chinese citizen to face charges for trying to gain access to Mar-a-Lago. A 32-year-old Chinese woman was arrested in 2019 after the Secret Service said she lied to get into the club and then claimed she wanted to talk to Trump about economic relations between China and the United States. Kristina Webb is a reporter for Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at kwebb@pbdailynews.com. Subscribe today to support our journalism. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Police: man repeatedly tried to get inside Trump's Mar-a-Lago Club Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, former US Marine Paul Whelan and Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva have landed in the United States, following the biggest prisoner exchange between Russia and the West since the Cold War. The returnees were greeted with tears and embraces by their joyous families at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, where President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were also on the tarmac to welcome them after their plane touched down some 20 minutes before midnight on Thursday. Whelan, who was first to exit the plane, gave a salute before shaking hands with the US leaders, followed by Gershkovich, who embraced both Harris and Biden before hugging his ecstatic parents. Kurmasheva rushed into the arms of her husband and daughters after greeting Harris and Biden. Gershkovich went quickly to address media gathered at the tarmac, telling his Wall Street Journal colleagues the words they had been waiting more than a year to hear. Im home, he said. Biden observed the emotional family reunions, then removed his pin and placed it on Whelans lapel as Harris looked on. It feels wonderful. Long time in coming. I was absolutely convinced we could get it done. I meant it when I said alliances make a difference. They stepped up and took a chance for us and it mattered a lot, Biden told reporters, referring to the extensive diplomatic effort that resulted in the swap. The return marks the conclusion of what Biden called a brutal ordeal for the three Americans and their families following their detentions in Russia, where prisoners are often kept in harrowing conditions. Whelan, 54, had spent almost six years in Russian prisons after his arrest in Moscow in December 2018, while Gershkovich, 32, had been detained for more than a year. Both were sentenced on espionage charges and declared wrongfully detained by the US State Department. Kurmasheva, a 47-year-old journalist for the US-backed Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, was detained in October 2023 and found guilty of spreading false information about the Russian army charges her family and employer deny. Their release and that of Washington Post contributor and permanent US resident Vladimir Kara-Murza, 42 was orchestrated as part of a complex prisoner swap between Russia, the US and other Western nations involving 24 detainees in total. Sixteen people were released from Russian custody on Thursday, including five Germans and seven Russian citizens who were political prisoners in their own country. Moscow in return got former high-ranking FSB colonel Vadim Krasikov, as well as several individuals accused of spying or cybercrime. Elizabeth Whelan hugs her brother Paul Whelan at Joint Base Andrews following his release from a Russian prison. - Alex Brandon/AP President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris walk with family members of the returning Americans to greet them at Joint Base Andrews. - Alex Brandon/AP The prisoner exchange marks a major diplomatic achievement and legacy-defining moment for Biden less than six months before he leaves office. In a statement earlier Thursday, Biden hailed the agreement as a feat of diplomacy, in collaboration with US allies, including Germany, Poland, Norway, Turkey and Slovenia. Some of these women and men have been unjustly held for years. All have endured unimaginable suffering and uncertainty. Today, their agony is over, said Biden, who hosted the families of Gershkovich, Whelan, Kurmasheva and Kara-Murza at the White House. Whelan, Gershkovich and Kurmasheva flew roughly 10 hours from Ankara, Turkey, on top of a three-hour-and-45-minute flight from Moscow to Ankara. They were accompanied on their return plane by multiple medics, a psychologist and US government officials including representatives from the National Security Council and State Department, a US official told CNN. A little less than two hours after touching down at Joint Base Andrews, the three Americans and some of their family members continued on to San Antonio where they landed early Friday morning. At Kelly Field, Whelan thanked US authorities for their efforts to bring him home and criticized Putins government for their nonsense narrative that accused him of espionage. Im never going back there again, Whelan joked, referring to Russa. The three Americans will be taken to Brooke Army Medical Center to undergo medical evaluation and receive whatever care they need for as long as they need, the US official said. This is typical protocol for wrongfully detained Americans who return home. WNBA player Brittney Griner also went to the center right after she was released from Russian detention in December 2022. The returnees will also participate in a Defense Department program called PISA (Post Isolation Support Activities), which is meant to help them readjust to being back in the United States. Many recently freed US wrongful detainees have undergone this program to help them acclimate back to normal life. This story has been updated with additional developments. CNNs MJ Lee, Sam Waldenberg, Betsy Klein, Paul P. Murphy, Mariya Knight, Ivana Kottasova, Anna Chernova, Colin McCullough, Jennifer Hansler and Rosa Flores contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. Getty Images In a new legal filing, Donald Trump complains about Kamala Harris' "prosecutor vs. felon" taunts. Trump also complains that his hush-money judge's daughter worked as a consultant for Harris. It's Trump's third try at asking the judge to recuse himself. Vice President Kamala Harris framing the presidential race as "prosecutor vs. felon" may have touched a nerve with Donald Trump. Such framing is "false" and "inaccurate," says a new defense filing that asks the judge in Trump's hush-money case to voluntarily step down prior to a pending sentencing that Trump has also challenged. "Harris immediately framed her candidacy with a specific false reference to this case as a contest of 'prosecutor vs. convicted felon,'" Trump's filing says. Harris' framing is an "inaccurate attack," it adds, without describing an inaccuracy. Harris is a former district attorney for San Francisco and attorney general for California; in May, Trump became the first former president convicted of a felony. Trump's one-page letter, made public Thursday, is his third try at asking New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan to recuse himself, this time as the case nears the sentencing tentatively set for September 18. Like his earlier failed recusal attempts, this new one centers on the judge's daughter, Loren Merchan, a political consultant who has worked for Democratic campaigns, including Harris' 2019 run for president and the 2020 Biden-Harris campaign. Harris running as Trump's direct opponent adds new fuel to the recusal argument, the defense attorneys Todd Blanche and Emil Bove now say. "In light of the long-standing and extremely beneficial working relationship between Your Honor's daughter and Vice President Kamala Harris, who recently became the presumptive Presidential nominee of the Democrat Party, we respectfully submit this pre-motion letter to renew our request that the Court recuse itself," the letter begins. Trump is "the leading candidate in the 2024 Presidential election," Blanche and Bove continue. And Harris, they say, "emerged as his presumptive opponent after it became apparent to the public that the Biden Administration's lawfare against President Trump was motivated by President Biden's alarming decline." The letter says Trump's now four-month-old gag order, which he has also challenged, somehow prevents him from freely addressing Harris' "prosecutor vs. felon" gibes. "Your Honor has insisted on maintaining an unconstitutional Gag Order, backed by threats of imprisonment made during the trial, that prevents President Trump from responding fully to that inaccurate attack," the letter says. The gag bars Trump from attacking by name a limited set of people involved in the trial, including jurors, prosecutors, court staff, and their families. The gag was upheld on Thursday by a mid-level New York appellate court. Trump's letter to the judge reiterates that Merchan's daughter "has a long-standing relationship with Harris, including work for political campaigns." "She has obtainedand stands to obtain in the futureextensive financial, professional, and personal benefits from her relationship with Harris," it continues. In brief response papers filed Friday, prosecutors called Trump's latest recusal effort "vexations and frivolous." Trump's "regurgitated" complaints about Loren Merchan's work with Harris have already failed twice, including at the appellate level, and amount to little more than "overheated, hyperbolic rhetoric," prosecutors added. In addition to the recusal request and his battle against the gag, Trump has asked Merchan to throw out the hush-money case in its entirety on US Supreme Court presidential-immunity grounds. Merchan has said he'll issue a decision on the immunity request on September 6. Also Thursday, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Jim Jordan, sent a letter to Loren Merchan demanding all contracts, invoices, and communications from her Chicago firm, Authentic Campaigns, relating to her work for the campaigns of Harris and President Joe Biden and for the Democratic National Committee from January 1, 2023, to the present. The letter also seeks all documents and communications involving Authentic Campaigns and the Trump hush-money case. The letter gives her one week to turn the material over to the committee, as part of its "oversight of politically motivated prosecutions by state and local officials." The letter alleges that Authentic Campaigns earned "over $7 million in compensation" for its work on campaigns involving Harris. The letter doesn't allege that Authentic Campaigns' work for Harris ever overlapped with her father presiding over the hush-money case. In May of 2023, the New York Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics found that Merchan wasn't compromised by his daughter's political activities, writing, "A relative's independent political activities do not provide a reasonable basis to question the judge's impartiality." August 1, 2024: This story has been updated to include details of the Jordan letter and its demands on Loren Merchan. This story was updated on August 2, 2024, to add details of the prosecution's response filing. Read the original article on Business Insider Former President Trump pushed back on Democratic attacks that he and his running mate Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) are weird during a podcast interview Thursday. Nobodys ever called me weird, Trump said on The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Theyre the weird ones, Trump added of Harris and Democrats. Im a lot of things, but weird Im not. Trump added Vance is not at all weird. The Republican ticket has faced a relentless line of attack from Democrats over the past week labeling them as weird and not normal, a notable shift from the Biden campaigns focus on Trumps alleged threat to democracy. Trump said it was Democrats who were weird with their stances on immigration, taxes, transgender rights and elections. The whole thing is weird, he said. Its all a sound bite, the former president said. And the press picks it up. You notice the evening news, every one of ems talking, they introduce the word weird, and all of the sudden theyre talking about weird. No, were not weird people, Trump added. Were actually just the opposite, were right down the middle. Likely Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Harriss campaign has taken up utilizing weird against Trump and Vance after it was introduced into the national discourse by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), who is reportedly being considered as a potential running mate. You may have noticed Donald Trump has been resorting to some wild lies about my record. And some of what he and his running mate are saying, its just plain weird. I mean, thats the box you put that in, right? Harris said last weekend at a fundraiser. Harriss campaign also said in an email last week that the former president is old and quite weird? In response to the weird attack, Vance has said, It doesnt hurt my feelings. Look, the price of admission meaning, the price of getting to serve the people of this country is the Democrats are going to attack us with everything that they have. I think its an honor, Vance said in a Fox News interview that aired last weekend. Trump also slung the weird label back at Harris in a recent interview with Fox Newss Laura Ingraham that aired Tuesday. Listen, this whole thing is a con job. Just plain weird. Do you know who is plain weird? Shes plain weird, he told Ingraham. Shes a weird person. Look at her past. Look at what she does. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. by Mathias Hariyadi After the Nahdlatul Ulama, Muhammadiyah accepts President Joko Widodos proposal for religious organisations to run mining projects. Indonesias Catholic Church rejected the offer outright, but critical voices have also emerged in Indonesias Islamic organisations. Jakarta (Indonesia) Indonesia's second-largest Islamic organisation has accepted the Indonesian government's proposal to get involved in mining projects. Muhammadiyah President Haedar Nasir justified the decision after the organisation met in Yogyakarta earlier this week, saying that it would bring "huge financial benefits". If we were only occupied with our own needs, we would have said no to such decision, he explained, but We are obligated to be compassionate with others. Nasir noted that the decision was agreed upon by everyone at the meeting, stressing that public prosperity and environmental protection will not be sacrificed. If the projects are mismanaged, Muhammadiyah will not hesitate to return the Business Management License (IUP), he said. A moderate organisation, Muhammadiyah is the second religious organisation to accept the offer made by President Joko Widodo, whose mandate expires in October. A few months ago, the Nahdlatul Ulama, Indonesia's largest Islamic organization, had also agreed to the proposal. The Catholic Bishops Conference of Indonesia rejected the offer, saying that mining is certainly not the Churchs core business. Several times President Widodo said that he wants mining profits to be enjoyed by religious groups rather than only provide huge financial benefits to business entities. Following this argument, Muhammadiyah agreed to get involved in mining projects. Its secretary, Abdul Mu'ti, announced that the licence was accepted based on certain considerations, including the fact that the constitution authorises the exploitation of resources for the benefit of all Indonesians, and that Muhammadiyah had authorised, at an internal meeting, the promotion of economic activities. This requires cooperation with experienced business groups, while the licence will have a time limit. The decision did not go unchallenged within Muhammadiyah. Its former president, Busyro Muqoddas, who was not present at the meeting when the proposal was accepted, repeatedly criticised the decision. It is serious thing to accept the coal mining licence, like a natural disaster," he told media on Tuesday, adding that he wants Indonesians to realise the environmental damage caused by the quest for large profits. Muqoddas is the current head of the Muhammadiyah's legal and human rights office. In the past, he had pointed out that mining projects violate Indigenous peoples' land rights, from land grabbing. Conflicts have been reported in Purworejo, a district on Rempang Island, Riau province. Muqoddas also said that his position was supported by 11 other top Muhammadiyah members, including another former president, Din Syamsuddin. by Sumon Corraya After student protest and the harsh repression that cost more than 200 lives, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina bans Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing as terrorist organisations, blaming them for the violence. The party was created by Bangladeshis who fought for Pakistan in the 1971 War of Independence. The true unity for the good of the country remains a challenge. Dhaka (AsiaNews) The country's largest Islamist political party, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, together with its student organisation, Islami Chhatrashibir, and all affiliated bodies, have been declared terrorist organisations by the Dhaka government. The Ministry of Home Affairs issued the order yesterday under the 2009 anti-terrorism law. The latter follows the wave of protests that broke out over the disputed quota system, sparking clashes that cost the lives of 212 people. Discussions over the ban went on for days, culminating in the government's decision centred on allegations that the targeted groups were involved in destructive activities, including violence and vandalism during the student quota reform protests. Jamaat was allied with Pakistan during the 1971 War of Liberation. After independence, the government of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (the father of current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina) outlawed the party for abuse of religion, opposition to independence, and participation in genocide. However, in 1979, the ban was lifted by the government of then President Ziaur Rahman; thereafter, the party has generally aligned itself with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, currently the countrys largest opposition party. With the new ban, Jamaat "will go underground and try to destroy the nation, said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who heads the ruling Bangladesh Awami League, stressing that the Islamist party will have to be treated as a militant organisation. [W]e must all strive to fight them and protect our people. There will be no shelter for militants on the soil of Bengal, she added. The prime minister went on to say that the violence linked to the quota reform movement will be thoroughly investigated and the culprits will be brought to justice. "I want everything to be investigated. Who is behind it, how it happened, and what transpired. For that, I have appealed to the United Nations to send their experts. If any other country wishes, they can send experts as well. Because I want these incidents to be properly investigated. Action should be taken against whoever is responsible." Sheikh Hasina was particularly outraged over the case of a policeman killed in the protests whose body was hanged by protesters. What kind of movement is it to kill and hang people? she asked. "When the demands of the students have been accepted, what is the rationale for continuing the movement? Christian freedom fighters also expressed their support for the ban imposed on Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami. This decision ensures the safety and security of the people of Bangladesh and the assets of this country. I support and appreciate the government's action, said Robert R. N. Das, a Christian freedom fighter from Dinajpur, speaking to AsiaNews. For its part, the Sector Commanders Forum, a body that played a key role in training Bangladeshi forces for more than 50 years, stressed that the ban on Jamaat-e-Islami and its student organisation is not the final step. The agency believes that the joint efforts of the government, mass organisations, and civil society groups are necessary to run the country in a healthy, democratic, and progressive manner, in line with the ideals of the War of Liberation. Champion local news. Join our community of readers who value daily beat reporting and in-depth stories alike. Your membership allows us to continue the legacy of local, independent journalism in the Roaring Fork Valley. With your support, we can remain a free and accessible source of news for everyone, always without paywalls or corporate influence. Together, we can ensure that vital local stories are told. PLA strives for peace and development 08:20, August 02, 2024 By Jiang Chenglong ( China Daily (File photo) Peace Ark arrives at the Port of Dili, Timor-Leste on September 3, 2023. (Photo/Xinhua) As the People's Liberation Army celebrates its 97th anniversary, its naval hospital ship Peace Ark is on its 10th Mission Harmony, providing free medical services to people in 13 countries across Asia and Africa. At the same time, nearly 2,000 Chinese military personnel are participating in United Nations peacekeeping missions worldwide. Nearly a century after its founding, the PLA has grown stronger than ever. As Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said in his report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC in 2022, the PLA "has the confidence and capability to make greater contributions to world peace and development". Embarking on missions for peace has always been a distinct feature of the Chinese military. At the celebration of the PLA's 90th anniversary in 2017, Xi, who is also Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, said the nation's military will continue to engage in international military exchanges and cooperation, jointly addressing global security challenges and actively fulfilling responsibilities and obligations commensurate with China's international status, thereby contributing to building a community with a shared future for mankind. At a reception in Beijing on Wednesday to celebrate the anniversary, which fell on Thursday, Defense Minister Dong Jun said that the Chinese military is willing to engage in pragmatic and friendly cooperation with the armed forces of other nations, fostering a security framework characterized by fairness, justice, and joint construction and sharing, and creating a world of lasting peace and universal security. According to the Defense Ministry, since China first sent five military observers to the UN Truce Supervision Organization in 1990, the Chinese military has dispatched over 50,000 personnel to participate in UN peacekeeping operations in more than 20 countries and regions. Currently, China is the second-largest contributor to the UN peacekeeping budget and the top contributor of peacekeepers among the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, with nearly 2,000 Chinese troops serving in six peacekeeping missions. Zhao Xiaozhuo, a retired PLA senior colonel, said that engaging in UN peacekeeping missions is an important way for the Chinese military to maintain world peace. "Chinese peacekeepers are integrated into the UN peacekeeping system and operate under UN command," said Zhao, who served in the UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo from 2001 to 2002. Zhao also noted that China is one of the few countries able to effectively carry out peacekeeping missions, thanks to its strong and comprehensive capabilities. "Chinese peacekeeping forces undertake a significant amount of frontline work, mainly in security, engineering, transportation and medical units. Therefore, they also contribute to local development by improving infrastructure and medical conditions," he said. "Our military has become stronger, and we also hope to do our part to make the world a better place," he said. At the UN peacekeeping summit in 2015, Xi announced six measures that China would take to support these operations. All six measures have been fully implemented, including establishing a peacekeeping standby force of 8,000 troops and offering 20 training programs to over 1,500 peacekeepers from more than 60 countries. Zhao Lei, deputy director of the International Strategy Research Institute at the CPC's Central Party School, said that peacekeeping is a concrete manifestation of China shouldering its international responsibilities, emphasizing that peacekeeping is China's contribution to the international public good in the security domain. "Unlike the military forces of the United States, NATO and others, which have indeed caused conflicts and wars in many regions, the PLA soldiers, wearing the UN's blue helmets, carry out peacekeeping missions in conflict areas," he said. "We do not start wars, we stop them." Furthermore, the expert stressed that the Chinese military's peacekeeping participation is a crucial way for China to support the UN-centered international system and true multilateralism, and is one of the important ways in which China practices the concepts of a community with a shared future for mankind and the Global Security Initiative. Additionally, the Chinese military practices them in other ways, including sending naval escort task forces to the Gulf of Aden and Somali waters and the Peace Ark hospital ship to provide free medical services to underdeveloped countries. Peace Ark is currently on a seven-day friendly visit to Madagascar, offering medical services. During this mission, the ship's destinations include 13 countries, including Seychelles, Tanzania, Angola, Djibouti and Sri Lanka. Peace Ark provided medical services to over 8,000 Tanzanian citizens, and more than 80 operations were carried out on board, including cataract removal and scoliosis correction. A Tanzanian baby was born on the ship with the cooperation of Chinese and Tanzanian military doctors. The father named the baby Zakhir, which means "steadfastness". He hopes that when his child grows up, he will also become a steadfast defender of peace, according to a report by CCTV News. According to the Defense Ministry, since it was commissioned in 2008, the ship has conducted humanitarian medical missions overseas multiple times, visiting 46 countries and regions and serving over 290,000 people, and has seen more than 1,700 operations carried out on board. (Web editor: Tian Yi, Liang Jun) 2 August 2024 08:30 (UTC+04:00) Nazrin Abdul Read more Azerbaijan and the UAE continue to enhance their relationship, grounded in mutual friendship and respect. Shared values and a foundation of trust underpin their strategic partnership, aligning their common objectives. Following the UAEs successful hosting of COP28 last year, Azerbaijan is set to assume the chairmanship of COP29 this year. Despite both nations being prominent oil and gas producers, they are dedicated to advancing "green" initiatives and investing in renewable energy. On August 1, a meeting was held in Shusha between Mikayil Jabbarov, Azerbaijans Minister of Economy and Co-Chairman of the Joint Intergovernmental Commission on Economic, Trade, and Technical Cooperation with the UAE, and Abdulla Bin Toug Al Marri, the UAE Minister of Economy and Co-Chairman of the Commission. During the meeting, the crucial role of political will from the heads of state of both countries in advancing cooperation was emphasized. It was noted that mutual visits and discussions play a significant role in identifying new directions for relations. The activities of the Joint Intergovernmental Commission, which held its 9th meeting in Shusha, the Trade Representation of Azerbaijan in the UAE, and the Azerbaijan Trade House in Dubai are pivotal for enhancing business relations. The meeting highlighted the substantial potential for further cooperation, emphasizing the need to increase the volume of mutual trade and diversify its structure. Discussions also covered potential investment projects in green energy and tourism, as well as negotiations on the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between Azerbaijan and the UAE. Subsequently, the 9th meeting of the Joint Intergovernmental Commission on Economic, Trade, and Technical Cooperation between the governments of Azerbaijan and the UAE took place. Minister Mikayil Jabbarov remarked that the partnership between Azerbaijan and the UAE has advanced successfully in both governmental and business sectors, with increased trade turnover and positive outcomes from joint initiatives. He outlined the favorable business and investment environment in Azerbaijan, including industrial zones and the Alat Free Economic Zone, and invited UAE investors to leverage these opportunities. UAE Minister Abdulla Bin Toug Al Marri expressed satisfaction with his visit and the organization of the commissions meeting in Shusha. He noted Azerbaijans significant development and the successful implementation of major energy, transport, and logistics projects. He expressed confidence that ongoing efforts to strengthen multi-sectoral cooperation would foster new joint projects and enhance economic and trade relations. The parties discussed enhancing the partnership, implementing joint initiatives in green energy and other sectors, and exploring potential cooperation within COP29. They signed a Protocol outlining the results of the 9th meeting of the Joint Intergovernmental Commission, which included plans for expanded cooperation in trade and investment, support for SMEs, innovation and digitalization, energy (including green energy), industry, agriculture, food safety, environment, reclamation and water management, transport and logistics, communication and high technologies, science and education, tourism, healthcare, and culture. Azerbaijans evolving energy policy, which leverages its rich alternative energy resources, increasingly focuses on the development of green energy. Significant collaborative projects between Azerbaijan and the UAE underscore this shift. In recent years, substantial investments have been directed towards the creation and enhancement of energy infrastructure, with a notable surge in interest in alternative energy sectors. A key milestone was the commencement of operations at the Garadag Solar Power Station (GES) last year, marking the beginning of a new era in Azerbaijan's energy landscape. This station represents the first major foreign-invested energy project in the country, developed in partnership with the UAE's prestigious "Masdar" company. The Garadag Solar Power Plant, officially inaugurated on October 26, 2023, stands as the largest solar power facility in the Caspian region and the CIS. The plant, constructed with a foreign investment of $262 million, has a capacity of 230 MW. It is expected to produce 500 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, thereby saving 110 million cubic meters of natural gas and reducing carbon emissions by 200,000 tons. This transition to green energy reflects Azerbaijan's commitment to its environmental obligations, including a target to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent by 2050 and to establish a zero-emission zone in liberated territories. These initiatives are aligned with the strategic framework outlined in "Azerbaijan 2030: National Priorities of Socio-Economic Development," which was adopted in February 2021. Among its five national priorities, the focus on a clean environment and green growth sets ambitious goals, and Azerbaijan is making significant progress towards achieving these objectives. In conclusion, the deepening partnership between Azerbaijan and the UAE exemplifies a robust and evolving strategic relationship built on mutual respect and shared values. Both nations, despite their traditional reliance on oil and gas, are demonstrating a strong commitment to advancing green energy and renewable technologies. The recent meeting in Shusha underscored the importance of political will and collaborative efforts in identifying and pursuing new opportunities for bilateral cooperation. The ongoing initiatives, including the groundbreaking Garadag Solar Power Station, highlight Azerbaijan's dedication to transitioning towards a sustainable energy future and meeting its environmental commitments. The protocol signed during the 9th Joint Intergovernmental Commission meeting further solidifies the commitment to expanding cooperation across various sectors. As Azerbaijan prepares to chair COP29, the continued partnership with the UAE promises to drive forward significant advancements in green energy, economic diversification, and mutual growth. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 2 August 2024 10:38 (UTC+04:00) Nazrin Abdul Read more This September, the third business forum between Azerbaijan and the Gulf Cooperation Council will be held in Baku, Azernews reports citing the "Construction-Supply Union" LLC under the Ministry of Economy. According to the information, guests from Manama, Doha, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, and Riyadh are expected to attend the event. As part of the forum, a separate event is planned to be held in the city of Shusha. Guests will be organized visits to Baku's landmarks, including the Maiden Tower, Shirvanshahs' Palace, the National Carpet Museum, and the Heydar Aliyev Center, as well as other scenic regions of the country. The first business forum between Azerbaijan and the Gulf Cooperation Council was held in 2017. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 2 August 2024 11:02 (UTC+04:00) Ulviyya Shahin Read more During January-June 2024, trade turnover between Azerbaijan and the United States amounted to $436.484 million, Azernews reports. Access to paid information is limited Find the plan that suits you best. 2 August 2024 14:38 (UTC+04:00) Ulviyya Shahin Read more In the first half of 2024, Azerbaijan's non-oil exports to Italy experienced a significant decline, falling by $5.23 million, or 24%, compared to the same period in 2023, Azernews reports. Access to paid information is limited Find the plan that suits you best. 2 August 2024 15:43 (UTC+04:00) Ulviyya Shahin Read more "Azerbaijan has presented Slovenia with a new opportunity to diversify its gas sources." Azernews reports that Bojan Kumer, Slovenia's Minister of the Environment, Climate, and Energy said this while commenting on the contract signed with the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) on the supply of Azerbaijani gas in Ljubljana. Kumer praised the recent gas agreement with Azerbaijan's State Oil Company (SOCAR), calling it a vital move toward diversifying Slovenias energy portfolio. In Ljubljana, Kumer expressed optimism that this agreement will lead to successful long-term cooperation between the two companies and countries. He highlighted that this deal ensures a reliable supply of natural gas for Slovenia through the winter. Kumer also shared that during his visit to Baku on July 17, 2024, he and Azerbaijan's Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov agreed to explore potential collaborations in areas such as hydrogen, artificial intelligence, and renewable energy. SOCAR began gas deliveries to Slovenia on August 1, following a Memorandum of Understanding signed on July 17 between SOCAR and Geoplin, Slovenia's leading natural gas company, to enhance their gas supply partnership. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 2 August 2024 18:10 (UTC+04:00) Ulviyya Shahin Read more The Ambassador of Jordan to Azerbaijan, Omar Barakat Al-Nahar, met with the Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources, Mukhtar Babayev, Azernews reports, citing the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources. The sides exchanged views on the preparations for the upcoming 29th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP29) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The highly anticipated event is set to take place in Baku, Azerbaijan, in November this year. The sides also explored opportunities for further collaboration between Azerbaijan and Jordan in the field of environmental protection. The 29th Conference of the Parties (COP29) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is a significant international event focused on global climate action and environmental sustainability. The conference brings together representatives from member countries to negotiate and advance efforts to address climate change. This year's COP29 will be hosted in Baku, Azerbaijan, in November 2024. Azerbaijan, as the host nation, is expected to play a key role in shaping the outcomes of COP29, while Jordan's involvement underscores the broader regional and international interest in effective climate action. The meeting also underscored the significance of fostering cooperation between nations in the field of environmental protection, which is vital for addressing the global climate crisis. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 2 August 2024 13:25 (UTC+04:00) On August 2, around 11 o'clock, on the 29th kilometre of the Baku-Sumgait highway, a NEOPLAN bus with state registration number 99-JH-667, driven by Huseynov Nazim Kazim on the Baku-Sumgait express route, driven by Yunusov Adil Shamil oglu, collided with an "ISUZU" bus with state registration number 50-DO-539 moving along route number 42, Azernews reports, citing Operational Headquarters under the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan. After the collision, the "ISUZU" bus went off the road and overturned, and as a result, one passenger died on the spot, and 18 people were injured. Traffic police officers were involved in the area, and an investigation is underway. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 2 August 2024 19:45 (UTC+04:00) Fatima Latifova Read more Since Azerbaijan liberated Garabagh in 2020, many politicians have criticised Baku and defended Armenia's "rights." For 30 years, these forces ignored the occupation of Azerbaijani lands by Armenians, the destruction of historical, cultural, and religious monuments, the forced displacement of 1 million Azerbaijanis, and the nearly 4,000 missing Azerbaijanis. Now, their defence of Armenia's sovereignty is hypocrisy. Canada's Pro-Armenian Minister Melanie Joly, a young Canadian politician and Minister of Foreign Affairs, often makes pro-Armenian statements and threats against Azerbaijan. Recently, after Edmon Marukyan, leader of the Bright Armenia faction, called for the release of Armenian separatists imprisoned in Azerbaijan, Joly also demanded that Azerbaijan respect Armenia's territorial integrity with the same slogan. In recent communication with the ANCC, Canadas Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Hon. Melanie Joly reaffirmed that Canada will continue to press Azerbaijan to engage in good faith with Armenia, resolve the conflict through a negotiated and peaceful political solution by pic.twitter.com/sDxqAwG1zb ANCC_CNAC (@ancc_cnac) August 1, 2024 Why didn't Melanie Joly demand respect for Azerbaijan's territorial integrity when Armenia occupied Azerbaijani lands, killed thousands of Azerbaijanis, targeted civilians in Ganja and Barda during the Second Garabagh War, and used prohibited Iskander missiles? These actions show that the Canadian minister's double standards are driven by political interests rather than human rights and justice. In 2023, as a result of Azerbaijan's local anti-terror operations, separatist elements trying to create a so-called state on Azerbaijani lands were neutralised and brought to Baku. Although it is Azerbaijan's right to arrest these separatists, many pro-Armenian forces have had the audacity to demand the release of the so-called state's so-called leaders. However, the imprisonment of these criminals in Azerbaijan is better than the fate of Azerbaijanis captured during the First Garabagh War. Thousands of Azerbaijani citizens were taken prisoner by Armenians, and the Armenian leadership not only refused to return the captives but also rejected demands for information about their fate. One such prisoner is Azerbaijan's National Hero Natig Gasimov, who fought alone against dozens of Armenians in Khojaly. During his interrogation by Armenians, Italian photographer Enrico Sarsini filmed the process, showing the criminal Vitali Balasanyan among the Armenians. Years later, Balasanyan denied these facts and refused to provide information about Natig. The fate of many Azerbaijanis, like Natig, remains unknown. The Armenian side should provide information about the captives and, if known, hand over their remains to Azerbaijan. While so many crimes against Azerbaijan have gone unpunished, demanding the release of Armenian criminals rightly imprisoned by Azerbaijan is unacceptable. It should be noted that Azerbaijan treats these aggressive and brutal separatists with maximum humanity, paying special attention to their health and living conditions. Canada's and Other Western Countries' Interests in the South Caucasus The primary goal of countries that ignore regional events and defend Armenia's policies is clear: to establish influence in the South Caucasus. It is no secret that the administration of Nikol Pashinyan has the weakest leadership in the South Caucasus region. Yerevan is easily manipulated and being used by other states. Countries like Canada, which aim to gain influence in a significant region like the South Caucasus, periodically defend Armenian interests on social media to win Yerevan's favour. Controlling Armenia is as easy as it is beneficial. The South Caucasus is a geography rich in oil and gas fields and transit routes connecting Russia, Turkiye, and Iran. Undoubtedly, states that want to reduce Russian influence in the region and develop by using the region's natural resources know that the easiest way to enter the South Caucasus is through Armenia. Armenia as the Weak Point in the South Caucasus Currently, the campaign to defend Armenian interests and Europeanize Armenians is being used to increase Western influence in Georgia. However, after the Georgian scenario failed, all attention turned to Armenia, making Yerevan suddenly the West's favourite state in need of help. However, the 44-day Patriotic War showed that the support the West provided to Armenia remained mere words, and the Armenian army couldn't withstand the Azerbaijani army for even three months. These facts indicate that the pro-Armenian ideas of politicians like Melanie Joly are only visible on social media, dragging Yerevan into an abyss and creating tension in the region. Will the Western Alliance Sanction Azerbaijan? Calls and demands addressed to Azerbaijan regarding Armenia sometimes include threats of sanctions. Some foreign forces seem to understand that Azerbaijan is not as easy to control and influence as they deal with Armenia. But they try to intimidate Baku with sanctions to break the will of the people and create panic. However, the reality is the opposite. Countries like Hungary, Italy, and the United Kingdom are interested in developing and strengthening their relations with Azerbaijan. In addition to its significant transit potential, Azerbaijan possesses the cleanest oil in the Caucasus. Especially when relations with Russia are strained, damaging ties with Azerbaijan is not an option for European countries. Therefore, politicians like Melanie Joly, who dare to speak on behalf of the entire world and threaten Azerbaijan, put themselves in a pitiful and ridiculous position. It is regrettable that someone lacking knowledge of history and geography can be the Foreign Minister of a country like Canada. What Will Azerbaijan's Response Be? Until now, countries supporting Armenia's unjust and baseless claims have had criminal pasts like Armenia itself. Both before and after the Second Garabagh War, threats and warnings against Baku have been made. Azerbaijan does not take these baseless accusations seriously. Currently, ongoing reconstruction work in Garabagh and preparations for COP29 are more important than meaningless Armenian fantasies. It should be noted that the COP29 summit to be held in Azerbaijan this November is a testament to Baku's sustainable development and regional significance. The Armenian side responds to peace calls by creating provocations at the border, trying to provoke Azerbaijan and portray itself as a victim again, thus creating tension in the region ahead of the COP29 event. However, the Azerbaijani leadership has long predicted the plans Armenia is now contemplating and executing. Undoubtedly, any step by Armenia that hinders peace and regional stability will receive the appropriate response. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 2 August 2024 15:21 (UTC+04:00) Fatima Latifova Read more In the next stage, the relocation of Lachin residents to the village of Gulabird will begin. The relocation to the village will take place in the second half of this year, Azernews reports, citing Masim Mammadov, the special representative of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan in the Lachin district, as he told at the official opening ceremony of the 5th Summer Camp of Diaspora Youth "Youth for a Green World" held in the district. The President's special representative stated that construction will also begin in the villages of Qorchu, Shelva, Arikli, and others. "Lachin is the district that was under occupation for the longest time. Currently, Lachin has turned into a paradise. On May 28 last year, the first residents returned to Lachin. More than two thousand residents have settled in Lachin city, and over a thousand in Zabux and Sus. The relocation process will continue from now on," he said. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 2 August 2024 15:01 (UTC+04:00) Fatima Latifova Read more A mine explosion occurred in the village of Qzlhacl in the Qazax district, Azernews reports, citing the joint statement released by Prosecutor General's Office, the State Border Service, and the Mine Action Agency (ANAMA). It was reported that on August 2, in the village of Qzlhacl in the Qazax district, which was returned to our country based on the agreement reached on April 19, 2024, regarding the delimitation of the Azerbaijan-Armenia border, mines planted by Armenia exploded. "As a result of the incident, State Border Service (DSX) military officer Sergeant Khayal Adinagulu oglu Ahadli and employee of the Mine Clearance Agency Afiq Mushviq oglu Mehdizade had their feet amputated from the ankle. Employees of the Agency, Elchin Ilham Alakbarov and Yaver Geray Mirzayev, sustained shrapnel wounds. It was noted that currently, employees of the Shamkir military and Qazax district prosecutor's offices are inspecting the scene with the participation of a forensic expert, and other necessary procedural actions are being carried out. An investigation is being conducted by the prosecutor's office regarding the incident. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 2 August 2024 19:16 (UTC+04:00) By Alimat Aliyeva For the first time, the Philippines and Japan conducted joint exercises in the South China Sea (SCM) in order to strengthen regional cooperation, Azernews reports. "The Armed Forces of the Philippines, represented by the Naval Forces (Navy), and the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Forces conducted the first joint operation in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) on August 2, 2024. This event was part of the ongoing efforts to strengthen regional and international cooperation in order to realize a free and open Indo-Pacific region," the message reads. On July 8, the Philippines and Japan signed a defense cooperation agreement, under which Filipino and Japanese military personnel will be able to interact and share experiences on the territory of their countries. Philippine media have noted that the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. openly advocates that the Japanese military take part in the major annual Balikatan military exercises next year. This year, the maneuvers took place from April 22 to May 10, involving about 11 thousand American and about 5 thousand Filipino troops, as well as several hundred Australian and French military personnel. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 2 August 2024 20:05 (UTC+04:00) By Alimat Aliyeva In January-June 2024, exports of automotive products from Turkiye to Georgia decreased by 17.8 percent compared to the same period last year and amounted to 71.9 million dollars, Azernews reports. "In June of this year, Turkiye exported $9.5 million worth of automotive products to Georgia, which is 17.3 percent less than in June last year," the ministry said in a statement. It should be noted that in January-June 2024, exports of Turkish automotive industry products increased by 2.3 percent compared to the same period last year and amounted to $ 17 billion. "In June of this year, Turkiye exported $2.6 billion worth of automotive products, which is 12.4 percent less than in June last year," the ministry said in a statement. It was noted that over the past 12 months (June 2023-June 2024), Turkiye exported $35.4 billion worth of automotive products. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Twists, Turns of Construction History of Astoria-Megler Bridge, Longest Oregon Coast Landmark Published 7/31/24 at 6:25 a.m. By Andre' GW Hagestedt, Oregon Coast Beach Connection (Astoria, Oregon) This week quietly saw a bit of a landmark in Oregon coast history: the Astoria-Megler Bridge got a little further into middle age. It was on July 29, 1966 the bridge was opened, albeit rather unofficially. The dedication and official opening happened August 27, but local traffic just could not wait. So the bridge technically turned 58 this week. (Above: the bridge in the '90s) Creating, constructing and history of the Astoria-Megler Bridge have all managed to have their dramatic moments. For almost the first 100 years of Astoria, the little fort-turned-commerce hub relied on boats to get across to the other side of the Columbia River. Then in 1921, ferries started making the run. That was often no picnic, either, and there is some newspaper documentation of ferries getting grounded by low tides en route. As traffic along the Oregon coast and Washington coast picked up, the years leading up to the completion of the bridge saw the wait for ferries skyrocket to four hours sometimes. Astoria-Megler Bridge Facts, Virtual Tour Astoria's Senator Dan Theil spearheaded getting legislation through to create the bridge in '61, though some called it a bridge to nowhere because of where it ended up on the Washington coast. Then it was Mark O. Hatfield who broke ground on the project on August 6, 1962. Estimated completion date: the middle of '65. The DeLong Corporation of NY was awarded the $7.8 million contracting job. Things took an interesting turn with that. Funding came from both Washington State and Oregon. In July of 1963, the history of the Astoria-Megler Bridge's construction entered a new, second phase, with the 22 piers that hold up the span still be placed. The ramp on the Astoria side was getting started, but a lumber strike delayed some of that work as not enough wood had been found to do what is termed the false work that holds up the ramp. That delay was not long, however. In September of that year, officials almost changed the name to honor explorer Robert Gray a twist in the bridge's history. The Joint Legislative Committee on Highways from both states proposed the bridge not be called Astoria-Megler (which it had already had been referred to as), but instead the Robert Gray Memorial Bridge. The Daughters of the American Revolution had suggested that, and a democratic Senator from South Bend called for a resolution to be considered. History shows that clearly never solidified. In April of '64, the State Highway Commission of Oregon canceled the DeLong company's contract, citing a lawsuit in which the company claimed Oregon had provided incorrect specs, resulting in delays. DeLong said the state had made faulty test borings in the river bed and that water had scoured beneath the footings to Pier 169 in the middle of the river, according to the Corvallis Gazette-Times on April 7, '64. This was only a year before the historic Astoria-Megler Bridge was set to be done. At that time, the Highway Department could no longer give a completion date. Constructing the bridge / Clatsop County Historical Society By at least July of that year, work had definitely resumed and apparently by the Raymond International Corp. A July 14 article in the Capital Journal shows members of the Oregon Highway Commission inspecting the work and now calling the Astoria-Megler Bridge a $24 million-dollar project. The towers for the bridge rose 16 stories above the waters of the Oregon / Washington coast, created by U.S. Steel's American Bridge Division. The Raymond company got itself an extension to finish the bridge at one point. November of '64 saw high winds set a 345-foot crane wandering off into the Columbia River. Newspaper coverage on November 28 said American Bridge Division work crews were off duty for the Thanksgiving holiday at the time. The Knappton Towboat Co. sent out three tugs to rescue the wayward crane, yanking it out of a pile of logs in the river. Luckily, it wasn't really needed for awhile so it sat at Tongue Point until early in '65. Constructing the bridge as the Youngs Bay Bridge opens / Clatsop County Historical Society July 29, 1966 saw the opening of the Astoria-Megler Bridge and construction almost finished. Some took the ferry to the other side the day before and spent the night, just so they could be among the first going over the nation's longest continuous truss bridge. Victor Watson of Astoria was the first to pay the $1.50 toll. Oh yeah, that was a big part of this bridge until 1993: it was a toll bridge in order to fund its creation. Nearly 30 years later that was paid off. Constructing the bridge / Clatsop County Historical Society Ferry traffic was under quite a strain that summer because of low tides, so Oregon officials opened the bridge early. On that first day in '66, pilot cars led traffic both ways, and ferryboats still ran as well. The bridge reportedly outpaced the boats for traffic by a long shot. In fact, by late morning some 400 had already crossed the bridge. It was officially dedicated almost a month later. Hotels in Astoria - Where to eat - Astoria Maps and Virtual Tours MORE PHOTOS BELOW More About Oregon Coast hotels, lodging..... More About Oregon Coast Restaurants, Dining..... Coastal Spotlight Andre' GW Hagestedt is editor, owner and primary photographer / videographer of Oregon Coast Beach Connection, an online publication that sees over 1 million pageviews per month. He is also author of several books about the coast. LATEST Related Oregon Coast Articles Back to Oregon Coast Contact Advertise on Oregon Coast Beach Connection All Content, unless otherwise attributed, copyright Oregon Coast Beach Connection. Unauthorized use or publication is not permitted UPDATE: Man Sought for Running Over Dozens of Gulls on Washington Coast Published 7/31/24 at 4:55 p.m. By Andre' GW Hagestedt, Oregon Coast Beach Connection (Long Beach, Washington) UPDATES: LATEST ON INVESTIGATION, PENALTIES --- A man visiting the Washington coast is being sought by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Police after intentionally killing at least 25 gulls in the Klipsan area. (Photos WDFW Click to see uncensored photo) Witness photos of the vehicle are brutal and difficult to look at: the corpses of two gulls are stuck to the California man's grill. Various people on the beach reported the incident on Saturday, July 27, according to Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Police (WDFWP). Authorities say he was driving a silver four door Jeep Cherokee approximately 1.7 miles south of the Klipsan Beach approach outside of Long Beach in Pacific County. Oregon Coast / Washington Coast Terminology Reminder: it is gulls and not seagulls. The man reportedly went right through a flock of gulls. It happened about 8 p.m. An update from Becky Elder, Washington State Fish and Wildlife: As this is a pending investigation, we are unable to confirm an identity at this time. What I can provide is we have received a wealth of information and photos from the public that will assist us in developing a final case for the Pacific County Prosecutors Office. The alleged individual will be notified once charges are filed. Those may be filed as early as next week. Under the law this is a case of animal cruelty. Among the possible penalties for the killing of the seagulls is ten years in jail and a $20,000 fine. It is unlikely we will pursue any type of charges for the near miss of the pedestrians, other than perhaps a form of reckless driving, Elder told Oregon Coast Beach Connection. Click to see uncensored photo The same Jeep nearly struck two subjects walking their dogs on the beach, WDFWP said. Multiple witnesses came forward including three that stopped the vehicle, photographing it and the driver. Efforts to save the few birds remaining alive failed. For now, the man has not been identified publicly by the WDFWP, but it has shared the photos of him. WDFW police have identified the driver thanks to these community members and officers are currently attempting to contact the man who is believed to be living out of State, the agency said. WDFW is still seeking more information from any witnesses who were there, hoping to find more on the person of interest or the vehicle. Contact the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Police at (877) 933-9847, online, or text WDFWTIP at TIP411 (847411). Also see What You're Doing Wrong with Birds on the Oregon Coast and why you should not feed birds. Washington law protects gulls as well as numerous other wildlife. Legal protection includes: All birds not classified as game birds, predatory birds or endangered species, or designated as threatened species or sensitive species; all bats, except when found in or immediately adjacent to a dwelling or other occupied building; mammals of the order Cetacea, including whales, porpoises, and mammals of the order Pinnipedia not otherwise classified as endangered species, or designated as threatened species or sensitive species. In 2014, central Oregon coast authorities found a few gulls shot through the head with darts. This occurred in the Newport area and soon involved federal authorities. Sightings of this unusual cruelty started six months prior, earlier in the year, and then disappeared for a while. It's unclear if that case was ever solved. MORE Washington Coast MORE PHOTOS BELOW Newport: 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 Recent events concerning Chocowinity EMS have residents confused about EMS service in the area. Let me assure you, if you are injured or sick, EMS will still come to you. What Chocowinity EMS has stopped doing is the transportation of patients to doctors offices or appointments. Emergency Medical Services is just that, for emergencies. Transports are not emergencies and are still available from multiple for-profit organizations in the county. Several years ago Chocowinity EMS decided to get into the transport business. As a result the Town of Chocowinity took over EMS and it no longer was a non-profit organization. The Town took over billing, which the county could and would have done, which reduced the footprint of the area that Medicare uses to determine rates for billing. Payments from the County under consolidated billing include a monthly portion of the district tax money, emergency transport billing (which Chocowinity doesnt get because they withdrew from the system) and Medicare cost settlement money. With the Town of Chocowinity taking over, the funds available to Chocowinity EMS was very limited. Medicare costs settlement money can take up to three years to get paid. If you have ever dealt with insurance you know how hard it is to get them to pay for something and sometimes the paperwork has to be sent multiple times. With the county putting a full-time unit at Blounts Creek this reduced the tax portion to Chocowinity EMS by around $100,000. Billing for Chocowinity EMS was reduced because their service area is smaller. If the County were doing the billing it would be larger. Captain Derrick Myers appeared before the County Commissioners and asked to be brought back into the consolidated billing. This will not be happening anytime soon. The Commissioners feel that audits of Town of Chocowinity financial records need to be completed. This is under way but will take some time, maybe even years. Chocowinity EMS is still here to serve the community and deserves your support. The Beaufort County Emergency Medical Services is responding to the Blounts Creek area. And as usual, mutual aid response continues by all departments. There is no telling where you will see Chocowinity EMS and I have had them come to the area I live in west of Washington. If you need non-emergency transportation to an appointment there are still businesses that can do that for you. I was asked this week by someone what was going on with Chocowinity EMS as they were confused. Hopefully this letter will make you aware and better informed. Feel free to contact me for more information or about anything else going on in the community. Midland-based MyMichigan Health has finalized the acquisition of several Michigan-based Ascension facilities, including a Saginaw-based ASC and a Tawas-based surgery center, according to an Aug. 1 report from the Detroit Free Press. The deal was originally announced in March and is the second recent deal that Ascension has made with a health system to sell off some of its Michigan facilities. In October, Ascension struck a deal with Detroit-based Henry Ford Health in which Ascension agreed to hand over eight Michigan and Genesys hospitals to Henry Ford. The deal has taken longer to finalize than initially expected and is on track to close sometime in the fall. It is unclear whether MyMichigan Health paid any money for the Ascension hospitals, and the terms of the deal are confidential, according to the report. MyMichigan does not anticipate any job losses or facility closures with the Ascension acquisition. Columbus (Neb.) Surgery Center has rolled out a new digitally assisted cataract surgery system, News Channel Nebraska Central reported Aug. 1. Ngenuity, the digitally assisted program, both enhances the way the surgery is performed and allows for the surgeon to be more comfortable. By attaching a camera to the microscope itself, the surgeon is able to sit straight up and perform the procedure through a 3D screen. It is a very capable system, allowing us to sit more ergonomically by not putting as much wear and tear on the surgeon, said Patrick Kelley, MD, ophthalmologist at Columbus Surgery Center. Yet, we can still maintain high surgical professionalism and exceptionalism. The new technology was funded by the Columbus Community Hospital Foundation. Ngenuity is also used at facilities in Lincoln and Omaha, Neb. Clearwater, Fla.-based BayCare Health System received approval on Aug. 1 from the Hillsborough Industrial Development Authority for a $1.9 billion bond to advance care across west central Florida. "BayCare has a long, successful history of using tax-exempt bond financing to ensure we are meeting the needs of our communities," a spokesperson for BayCare said in an Aug. 1 statement shared with Becker's. Of the $1.9 billion funding, $572 million will be used to construct a 154-bed hospital in Manatee County, Fla., which is expected to break ground in October, Tampa Bay Business Journal reported Aug. 1. Over the next three years, the bond will be issued in a single or multiple series. The first series should be issued over the next year, the publication said. Here are 12 additional plans for the approved bond, per the Biz Journal: 1. The funding will go toward a new $338 million freestanding facility for Tampa, Fla.-based St. Joseph's Children's Hospital and St. Joseph's Women's Hospital campuses. 2. Up to $305 million will be dedicated toward supporting the demolition of Plant City, Fla.-based South Florida Baptist Hospital and development of a 146-bed new hospital that is set to open in August. Hospital construction cost is around $326 million. 3. Around $327.2 million will go toward five bonds that BayCare issued between 2009 and 2020. 4. From the funding, $162 million will go toward funding BayCare Hospital Wesley Chapel (Fla.), an 86-bed hospital BayCare opened last year. 5. The plan includes $146 million toward the construction of an intensive care unit and emergency department at Bartow (Fla.) Regional Medical Center. 6. St. Petersburg, Fla.-based St. Anthony's Hospital will get $126 million from the bond for renovations and construction of several new buildings, such as an expanded patient emergency department, a new 90-bed patient tower and new generator. 7. Clearwater, Fla.-based Morton Plant Hospital campus will receive $76 million for new equipment and renovations. 8. Safety Harbor, Fla.-based Mease Countryside Hospital campus will receive $56 million for renovation and construction of multiple buildings. 9. Mease Dunedin (Fla.) Hospital campus will get $43 million in new equipment and renovations. 10. New Port Richey, Fla.-based Morton Plant North Bay Hospital campus will get $38 million for renovations and new equipment. 11. Lutz, Fla.-based St. Joseph's Hospital North campus will receive $26 million for new equipment and renovations. 12. Riverview, Fla.-based St. Joseph's Hospital South Campus will get $22 million for new equipment and renovations. The University of Texas Medical Branch's recent MAP Award win is a testament to the great work its revenue cycle has done to keep pace with the growth of the health system, CFO Jamie Bailey told Becker's. The Galveston-based system was one of 17 providers to receive the Healthcare Financial Management Association's 2024 MAP Award for high performance in revenue cycle. It was one of four integrated health systems to receive the award. The MAP Award recognizes providers that have excelled in meeting industry standard revenue cycle benchmarks, implemented best practices embodied in HFMA's Healthcare Dollars & Sense initiatives, focused their efforts on improving price transparency, and achieved outstanding patient satisfaction. Recipients are also industry leaders and share proven strategies with their colleagues. "I think one of the major keys to having a high-performing revenue cycle is the relationship between revenue cycle and operations," Mr. Bailey said. "A lot of things get termed with 'these are revenue cycle functions' or this is a 'revenue cycle issue.' However, many of the things that the revenue cycle function itself is actually working through are operational issues that matriculate down into revenue cycle." Without a great relationship with the clinical operators and physician leadership, there's only so much a revenue cycle team can do, he said. "Whether or not that's looking at prior authorization, patient scheduling, those are operational things that need to be streamlined in order for the back-end revenue cycle function to work appropriately," he said. "That's where I feel like we've done a fantastic job. Our VP of revenue cycle, Emily Goertz, has a great relationship with our mission and the clinical operators and that has helped tremendously." The importance of building relationships is something Mr. Bailey learned from his previous role as CFO of Houston-based Baylor College of Medicine. He joined UTMB in April as executive vice president and CFO. Mr. Bailey said he views those performing finance functions as customer service providers. Working with customers whether internal or external revolves around their relationship with their missions: patient care, research, education, etc. "We are only going to be as good as our relationship with the missions," he said. "I tasked our team with being customer service providers. I learned a lot of that at Baylor College of Medicine. That was my first academic medical center experience. The physicians, the faculty, the researchers, they drive everything. They're really the operations." Having those relationships is important to explaining financial dynamics and how to make the best financial business decisions, he said. "That's been the biggest thing for me: building relationships and making sure people understand where we're coming from and what we're aiming to accomplish." City officials in Xenia, Ohio, have proposed to acquire Kettering Health Greene Memorial hospital, claiming Kettering Health has cut services and drained resources from the hospital over the past decade, according to an Aug. 1 report from Dayton Daily News. The news outlet obtained a letter city officials sent to Kettering Health CEO Mike Gentry in June, outlining an "exit ramp" in which Kettering would relay ownership of Greene Memorial to Xenia. The city would intend to work with a third party to maintain the 49-bed facility and provide healthcare services. The officials claim Kettering has drastically cut services and resources at the hospital since it opened Soin Hospital in 2012. That facility is about 11 miles northwest of Greene Memorial and was estimated to be worth nearly $32 million, according to county records cited by the news outlet. Since Soin Hospital opened, Greene Memorial, "has seen a systematic decrease in staffing, reduction of services and general decline in condition. Closure of the surgery center, removal of inpatient psych services, elimination of labor and delivery unit, and other reductions have left an empty shell of a facility," Xenia mayor Sarah Mays and city manager Brent Merriman wrote in the letter. In a statement to Becker's, Kettering Health said, "We will communicate any plans for the future at the appropriate time as we continue to assess community needs and the realities of an evolving healthcare landscape." "As always, we will keep lines of communication open with local leaders and collaborate to understand their perspectives, concerns, and how we can best serve the community going forward," the health system said. The letter referenced a meeting in May between city officials and Kettering Health in which Kettering reportedly proposed plans to construct a stand-alone emergency department in place of the hospital, which city officials say would further reduce the region's access to healthcare services. Mr. Gentry met with Xenia officials after receiving the letter, though no firm decisions were made on future plans for the facility. There has been an uptick in patients being treated for eating disorders who are abusing GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic, Mounjaro and Wegovy, according to research published Aug. 1 in the Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology. Two separate studies one focusing on semaglutide misuse in patients with atypical anorexia nervosa, the other on GLP-1 weight loss drug use in patients with bipolar disorder or eating disorders "alert clinicians of the importance of reviewing patients and medical and psychiatric histories, being attuned to patient histories of weight fluctuations, and screening for eating dysregulation when prescribing weight-loss approved medications," authors wrote. In one study, a patient with anorexia who misused semaglutide lost 40 pounds in nine months. In the other study, researchers found that among patients given liraglutide, "recipients had higher levels of binge-eating and lower levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol," according to the results. An increasing number of physicians are seeing these patients come into their offices, they told NBC, and in many cases they don't have to have an eating disorder before taking the medication to develop one while on it. "The reports of eating disorders associated with these drugs raise concern and emphasize the need for independent analysis of the data," Rita Redberg, a cardiologist and professor at the University of California, San Francisco, told NBC. "We should have robust and publicly available data on the risks and benefits." In March, the Collaborative of Eating Disorders called for more attention to this area of concern. "The use of GLP-1s in pursuit of weight loss can increase the risk for developing an eating disorder, contribute to relapse for those who have previously struggled, and exacerbate the symptomatology in individuals who are currently struggling," the group wrote, urging healthcare providers to join the conversation and do more on their part as well. Drugmakers of the GLP-1's, like Novo Nordisk, told NBC they "trust that healthcare providers are evaluating a patient's individual needs in determining which medicine is right for that patient." Jerry Penner, president and CEO of Murray-Calloway County Hospital in Murray, Ky., is retiring next year. Mr. Penner will step down March 31 after 14 years of service, according to a hospital news release. He joined Murray-Calloway County Hospital as CEO in April 2011. Under his leadership, the hospital added new providers and service lines, acquired new physician practices and led the building and fundraising efforts for the Anna Mae Owen Residential Hospice House, the release said. Before joining Murray-Calloway County Hospital, Mr. Penner served as the CEO of the U.S. Army's Madigan Healthcare System at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. Bill Bridges was appointed CEO of Houston, Mo.-based Texas County Memorial Hospital on July 30 after serving as interim CEO since February. Mr. Bridges has 33 years of experience at the hospital, previously serving as director of emergency medical services, according to an Aug. 1 news release from Texas County Memorial. Mr. Bridges began leading the hospital on an interim basis after its board voted to remove CEO Stace Holland. Mr. Holland reportedly terminated the hospital's CFO of nearly 30 years, Linda Pamperien. After the board voted to end Mr. Holland's tenure, Ms. Pamperien was reinstated in the CFO role, a hospital spokesperson told Becker's in February. A growing number of health systems are adding advanced practice providers to their executive teams as the sector sees significant job growth. According to projections from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nurse practitioner is the fastest-growing occupation in the country, with employment in the profession expected to grow 46% by 2031. Physician assistant employment is also slated to increase nearly 30% in the same time period, placing it among the nation's 20 fastest-growing occupations. Over the past several months, at least four health systems have created executive APP positions or added them to their leadership structures. Most recently, Cleveland Clinic named Melissa Stoudmire, MSN, APRN, as its first vice president of advanced practice providers. Ms. Stoudmire stepped into the role Aug. 1 and will lead more than 3,600 PAs, NPs, clinical nurse specialists, certified midwives, certified registered nurse anesthetists and certified anesthesiologist assistants. The creation of the position comes after years of consistent APP employment growth at the system, which has tripled in the past decade, Meredith Foxx, MSN, APRN, senior vice president and chief nursing officer at Cleveland Clinic, told Becker's. "The value of an executive level APP leader includes a standardized reporting structure of APRN/PAs to ensure APPs are practicing at the top of their license in a positive work environment with a focus on practice, productivity, recruitment and onboarding, annual performance reviews, and quality and compliance," she said. In June, Lewes, Del.-based Beebe Healthcare selected Amanda Connoyer, DNP, APRN, as its first chief advanced practice clinician to oversee the system's 200 APPs. The addition of the role aligns with the health system's shift to a triadic clinical leadership model that includes a physician-in-chief, a surgeon-in-chief and chief advanced practice clinician. "Advanced practitioners are key drivers and developers of aspects of quality within our system, and that's a key reason for the elevation and recognition of this leadership role," Paul Sierzenski, MD, senior vice president and chief physician executive at Beebe, told Becker's. Meanwhile, Vanderbilt University Hospital in Nashville, Tenn., is adding advanced practice practitioners to its segment leadership teams a change announced in July. Under the previous model, a triad model led each of the hospital's segments: surgery, medicine, obstetrics, and heart/neuroscience. Each segment was led by an associate nursing officer, associate operating officer and associate chief of staff, whereas the new model incorporates APPs into each of the segments. The APP leaders will report to a senior director of advanced practice a position that is still open who will report up to VUH's chief nursing officer. "Advanced practice practitioners are key to the work that we do," Robin Steaban, MSN, RN, chief nursing officer at the hospital, said in a news release. "They have a unique perspective of patient care, and these leadership roles give them a seat at the table to share their expertise and perspectives to influence our performance." More spine surgeons are embracing cross-departmental collaboration. Four physicians discuss strategies to make the most of that teamwork. Note: Responses were lightly edited for clarity. Question: What are the best practices for spine surgeons when working with other specialists to optimize patient care? Rachel Bratescu, MD. George Washington University (Washington, D.C.): Some of the most important factors for spine surgeons when working on an interdisciplinary team include fostering an environment of open communication without judgment and a shared common goal. In order to provide the highest level of care providers need to maintain a level of respect for their colleagues' expertise and be mindfully open to advice and constructive criticism. Creating this type of environment requires both thought and intentional action. Many hospitals/programs have had success implementing regular multidisciplinary conferences where providers from different specialties such as pain management, spine surgery, physiatry and radiology for example come together to review imaging and/or discuss mutual patients. From an organizational planning standpoint, it can also be incredibly helpful in terms of continuity of care and collaboration for providers from the specialties above, for example, to be housed in the same office space creating what is known as a 'Comprehensive Spine Center'. This is a model that has been implemented by a number of successful programs across the country. Brian Fiani, DO. Mendelson Kornblum Orthopedic & Spine Specialists (West Bloomfield, Mich.): Effective collaboration among spine surgeons and other specialists is crucial for optimizing patient care. Best practices include establishing clear communication channels to facilitate information sharing, conducting multidisciplinary case reviews to incorporate diverse expertise, and developing tailored treatment plans that address all aspects of the patient's condition. Regular team meetings can help identify potential complications and streamline patient management. Additionally, fostering respectful relationships and mutual understanding of each specialist's role enhances cooperation. Utilizing shared electronic health records ensures everyone is informed of the patient's progress, ultimately leading to improved outcomes and patient satisfaction. Lali Sekhon, MD, PhD. Spine Surgeon at Reno (Nev.) Orthopedic Center: Courtesy and collegiality. Make it as easy as you can for your colleagues. I work around my exposure surgeons' schedule. With trauma patients I communicate directly with trauma surgeons plans/changes in plans/return to OR so there are no surprises. Vijay Yanamadala, MD. Hartford (Conn.) HealthCare: Working as part of a multidisciplinary clinic model where the entire spectrum of spine care is represented can often help us as spine surgeons deliver the best care to our patients. When we developed the Hartford Healthcare Spine Wellness Center, we brought together physiatrists, pain interventionists, spine surgeons, neurologists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, and acupuncturists under the same roof. We often triage patients to each other on the same day based on their needs and can also coordinate a multidisciplinary discussion real time when there are potentially multiple treatment options for a given patient. This allows us to afford more efficient care to our patients, but more importantly, it helps us consider all options before presenting a recommendation. Sheeraz Qureshi, MD, MBA, who was recently named chief medical officer of Hospital for Special Surgery's Florida division, wants to prioritize a consistent culture across the system's Northeast and Southern presences. Dr. Qureshi, who is also co-chief of HSS Spine, spoke with Becker's about his vision for HSS Florida's future. Note: This conversation was lightly edited for clarity. Question: What are your top goals going into your new role? Dr. Sheeraz Qureshi: Florida's a really important part of the future of our organization as a whole. And as HHS has grown, the thought was that that role currently fell under the role of the surgeon in chief. But there's so many responsibilities that the surgeon in chief at HSS has that there's been a delegation of some of these roles. There's an opportunity to work closely with our CEO in Florida and just think about an important part of the future of the organization. And our goal is really to help improve connectivity and help improve some of our processes to make sure that we are able to deliver the same quality of care throughout the organization. What's amazing is we have really amazing doctors, and just making Florida feel like it is an extension of the main campus is really, I think, the primary role for me. Q: What goes into that process of making HSS Florida feel like HHS based in New York? What are big challenges? SQ: The biggest challenge whenever organizations grow, especially geographically, is how to maintain the culture? The most important thing that we're starting with there is that we have really great doctors. We have amazing people in leadership positions there both from the medical side and with regards to our executive team. One of the things that we have put importance on for a variety of reasons is really making sure that the service chiefs in New York, who are responsible for recruitment and service growth there also have a really significant role in recruitment and growth in Florida, and tying that with the needs of the locals. I think everybody's got a great attitude about it. Everybody's on the same page, so I'm really optimistic. My part in that is making sure that I'm communicating the needs of our team in Florida to make sure that they have the resources available that they need for the work. Q: Are there any other office expansions you can talk about yet? SQ: West Palm Beach is our anchor on the east coast of Florida and that's been open since 2020. We have a partnership there through an ambulatory surgery center and a hospital so we're able to provide both inpatient and outpatient care there, and we have a really strong team. Our venture that we're building right now is on the west coast in Naples, which is a joint venture with Naples Community Hospital, which will also have the ability to imprint our quality and our processes, both on the inpatient and outpatient side. Q: What do you think makes Florida particularly ripe for orthopedic growth? SQ: Florida in general is, from a demographic perspective, a really fast-growing state. Historically, I think Florida has been thought of as primarily a place where you go and you retire. Since the pandemic, the demographics in Florida have changed a lot, and it was a natural extension for us because a lot of the people that really care about HHS or closely involved with HHS happen to spend a lot of time in Florida as well. That's not a reason to necessarily expand somewhere, but certainly I think leveraging that made the opportunity even more attractive. Ultimately in terms of what we do being able to go into a market that I think is still considered to be somewhat fragmented when it comes to orthopedic care and trying to deliver a map around how to elevate quality by providing something at scale across the state was the real opportunity that we saw. Q: How are you thinking about competition with other orthopedic groups in the state? SQ: My perspective on it has always been that it's always better to work together than to try to be in competition. I think we can learn a lot from other groups both on what they've done right and what they've felt in retrospect that they could do better. Whenever we go into a new place we're not coming in with an arrogance of: "We know how to do it, and we can do it better." We're really coming in from a place of: "Here's what we think we could bring in terms of our value and based on what the environment is that we're entering." We understand that there's a lot of really good physicians working really hard at providing good care, and we just want to be a part of that. Spine surgeon Kingsley Chin, MD, has published a book about entrepreneurship, according to a July 31 news release. The book, Prove Yourself: 12 Essential Keys to Rise in Business and Life, addresses the gap in business education for physicians and details Dr. Chin's own experiences as CEO of KIC Ventures. His book also shows physicians how they can expand their work and go into entrepreneurship. Dr. Chin has more than 30 years of experience as a healthcare leader. Michelle Dela Cruz of 2 Taps Winebar wowed judges, including Irish celebrity and Michelin star head chef Dylan McGrath, when she took part in a live cookery showdown at the Balmoral Hotel in the grand final of the prestigious not-for-profit culinary competition. She went head-to-head with Nathan Cox from The Artisan Cookhouse in Downpatrick and Rio Rissky from Radisson Blu St Helen's Hotel in Dublin to claim the title. Ms Dela Cruz will now embark on a mentorship at a two-star Michelin-starred restaurant of their choice; Dinner by Heston Blumenthal in London or Chapter One by Mickael Viljanen in Dublin. The three who made it to the final live cookery showdown fought off competition from 24 others from across the island who took part in a series of culinary challenges in a bid to be selected for the grand final. Each of the finalists was tasked with putting their culinary skills and creativity to the test by crafting a signature three-course meal in a thrilling culinary cook-off aimed at showcasing their distinct cooking styles to the esteemed judging panel. Michelle Dela Cruzs Filipino-inspired three-course menu, which blended unique flavours and innovative techniques, dazzled the esteemed judges who included 2023 Great British Menu contestant Kerry Roper, and the Belfast Telegraph restaurant critic and BBC's Farm to Feast judge Joris Minne. Her starter featured langoustines in pumpkin bisque, okra tempura, pickled daikon, and onion ash. For the main course, Michelle expertly prepared an exquisite pork belly kare kare, accompanied by pak choi, grilled aubergine, and bagoong. Her delectable dessert was a refreshing coconut sorbet paired with mango mousse, yuzu gel, jalapeno, and meringue. Ms Dela Cruz said: Being crowned 'Ireland's Next Top Chef' is an amazing achievement and the highlight of my career to date. This competition has been an incredible journey, pushing me to new creative heights and challenging me to refine my culinary skills under the intense pressure and scrutiny of such esteemed judges at every stage of the competition. Im excited about the opportunities this title will bring, and I look forward to continuing to improve and develop my culinary craft and seeing where my career will take me. John Trainor, Director of the Balmoral Hotel in Dunmurry and Stix & Stones Restaurant in Belfast, said: "The Grand Final of this years Ireland's Next Top Chef Competition was a showcase of exceptional talent, with each finalist delivering outstanding dishes that reflected their unique culinary style. Michelle truly stood out with her remarkable creativity and execution, and we are excited to see how her career will flourish following this achievement. This competition not only highlights the incredible culinary talent we have here but also provides a platform for these chefs to push their boundaries and innovate. It has been a privilege to witness such skill, creativity, passion, and dedication from all the contestants. We believe that all three of these finalists have a bright future ahead, and we are thrilled to support their journey as they continue to excel in the culinary world. The level of skill and artistry displayed in this year's competition was truly inspiring, and it reaffirms our commitment to nurturing and promoting emerging culinary talents by coordinating this competition on annual basis with the support of our sponsors." The 2024 Ireland's Next Top Chef competition was coordinated by the Balmoral Hotel and was open to professional chefs and home cooks and was established in 2023 to identify and nurture the next generation of culinary talent. For more information on the 2024 Ireland's Next Top Chef Competition visit: www.irelandsnexttopchef.com. Emmy Award-winning actress Gillian Anderson is set to return to Northern Ireland for a new romantic drama series set during the Troubles. The X-Files star has been announced as leading Trespasses, a drama which follows a Catholic schoolteacher who falls for a Protestant solicitor who defends members of the IRA. The series is based on the award-winning debut novel of the same name by Holywood author Louise Kennedy, which won the Womens Prize for Fiction. Anderson, who won acclaim for her recent portrayal as Margaret Thatcher in Netflixs The Crown, previously called Northern Ireland her home for three years during filming of BBCs crime drama The Fall, which also starred Co Downs Jamie Dornan. Set in 1975 in a town outside Belfast, the four-part series will follow Catholic schoolteacher Cushla (played by Lola Petticrew). Whilst working one night behind the bar of her family pub, serving a mixed crowd including the locally stationed soldiers, she meets Michael (played by Tom Cullen), an older, Protestant, married man, who often defends IRA suspects and who is friends with cultured Bohemians who enrage and intrigue Cushla. Worlds apart, Cushla knows a relationship like this spells all kinds of trouble, but they are irresistibly drawn to one another. In a place where loose lips cost lives and danger lurks in the shadows, amidst the fear and paranoia, this illicit affair between Cushla and Michael ignites and burns bright, the official series synopsis reads. Anderson is set to play Gina, Cushlas mother, who is described as a glorious wreck and who is constantly sparring with her daughter. The X-Files and Sex Education star will also executive-produce the series. Speaking about the role, Anderson said: I fell in love with Louises stunning book when I read it in proof. I was immediately drawn to the tragi-comic creation that is Gina and couldnt resist when Louise asked me to play her. Reading [screenwriter] Ailbhe Keogans brilliant scripts confirmed how vividly this story could translate to screen. And with Dawn at the helm and Lola and Tom alongside, Im delighted to be part of the Trespasses family. Novelist and executive producer Kennedy added: Watching Amanda Posey and the team develop Trespasses for television has been an utter joy. From Ailbhe Keogans ear-perfect, sexy script to director Dawn Shadforths gorgeously melancholic aesthetic vision, exceptional care has been taken to bring an authentic and beautiful version of my book to the small screen. I honestly could not have asked for more. Trespasses, which will consist of four one-hour episodes, was commissioned for Channel 4 by Ollie Madden, director of Film4 and head of drama, and Gwawr Lloyd, senior commissioning editor. Amanda Posey (Brooklyn, An Education) executive-produces for Wildgaze Films. Filming is due to begin in Northern Ireland next month, with an expected airdate on Channel 4 next year. In addition to Trespasses, rising NI actress Pettigrew, who previously appeared in BBCs Bloodlands, will also lead Disney and FXs upcoming adaptation of Say Nothing, Patrick Radden Keefes book about the disappearance and murder of Jean McConville. Kneecap, a film based on the rise of the Belfast Irish language rap group, has been selected as the Irish submission for best international feature at the Oscars next year. The Irish Film and Television Academy (Ifta) made the announcement after selecting the film and said it's "an exciting journey ahead" for the Rich Peppiatt-directed film. Celebrating the selection, Kneecap said on social media: "Has anyone ever worn a tracksuit to the Oscars?! Kneecap is the directorial debut by former journalist Mr Peppiatt, who previously worked with the Belfast trio Mo Chara, Moglai Bap and DJ Provai on their Guilty Conscience music video. The film sees all three rappers play themselves in debut acting roles, alongside actor of international renown Michael Fassbender. Set in west Belfast in 2019, when fate brings Belfast schoolteacher JJ into the orbit of Naoise and Liam Og, the needle drops on a hip hop act like no other. Rapping in their native Irish language, the trio create their own genre of Irish punk rap, melding the Irish and English language with electrifying energy. Kneecap ultimately become the unlikely figureheads of a civil rights movement to save their mother tongue, upending preconceptions about language and place and spearheading a cultural revival and interest from their legions of young followers. The three members of Kneecap the band reacted to the news. Mo Chara said: We want to thank IFTA for selecting our film to be the Irish submission for an Oscar ..thats sound of yous. Its obviously great that films in the Irish language are having some kind of effect on people, you had An Cailin Ciuin and stuff. For a culture that was so brutally oppressed for so long, the language was almost driven to extinction, now its on the biggest stage of the world and its an absolute privilege. DJ Provai added: Is mor an onoir duinn gur roghnaigh IFTA Kneecap mar a roghnaiseachu don Oscar - ta muid fior bhuioch astu agus go raibh maith agat as ucht an Oscar! (We are honoured that IFTA has chosen Kneecap as its Oscar shortlist - we are truly grateful and thank you for the Oscar!) Kneecap Mogali Bap added: Obviously the movie is about the Irish language in Ireland, about young people reengaging with the language and putting their own stamp on the language. "One thing weve noticed in America is it resonates internationally. It's an international story and makes people reflect on their own culture and language, and to consider the relationship they have with their indigenous or native language. It comes at a time when people are looking for something with a bit more substance, a bit more intrinsic value. Thats the beauty of this movie, were meeting people from all walks of life and its resonating and theyre leaving the movie feeling proud about their own identity. Mr Peppiatt had the idea for the film after he watched them perform in The Limelight in 2019 and said it serves as a tribute to the Irish language. IFTA Academy CEO, Aine Moriarty said: The Irish Academy is delighted to announce Kneecap to represent Ireland in the Oscar International Feature Film category. What a brilliantly creative powerhouse of a film, with its bold and fearless storytelling and its raw and boisterous screen performances. "Nowhere before has filmmaking brought together the Irish language and music in such rebellious and youthful defiance. We have no doubt that Kneecap will both surprise and entertain international audiences, and ultimately leave its unique mark on international Academy Members too. KNEECAP Official Trailer 2024 Writer/Director Rich Peppiatt added: Since the start of the year when Kneecap premiered in Sundance weve been humbled by the gra the film has received around the world. But nothing hits quite like the reception weve had at home in Ireland. "To get the opportunity to represent our nation on the biggest film stage of them all is an absolute privilege. Mile Buiochas to IFTA and everyone whos been part of and supported our wee film. Producers Trevor Birney, Jack Tarling & Patrick ONeill said: It is an honour for Kneecap to be selected as Irelands Oscar entry, and for it to be announced on the eve of the films release in North America, Ireland and the UK is such a welcome boost. We would like to thank IFTA for choosing Kneecap and placing the film in such esteemed company to be in a category that boasts previous winners such as The Zone of Interest, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, The Lives of Others and Parasite is such a thrill. Kneecap "We would like to thank everyone associated with the production of the film for all their hard work and dedication over the last few years. They say it takes a village to raise a child, but that can also be said of film production! Kneecap will be on general release in Ireland from next Thursday, August 8th. Last year Colm Baireads An Cailin Ciuin, also an Irish-language title, got to the final five in the category at the Oscars. The category was once known as best foreign language film. Countries initially select one film with dialogue in a language other than English. A shortlist is then announced on December 17 and five nominations are announced a month later. Evan Gershkovich, left, Alsu Kurmasheva, right, and Paul Whelan, second from right, and others aboard a plane following their release from Russian captivity (White House via AP) Among those released by Moscow are Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, a corporate security executive with joint British nationality from Michigan and Vladimir Kara-Murza, who has joint Russian and British nationality. The trade unfolded despite relations between Washington and Moscow being at their lowest point since the Cold War after Russian President Vladimir Putins invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Negotiators in backchannel talks at one point explored an exchange involving Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny but after his death in February ultimately stitched together a seven-nation, 24-person deal that required significant concessions from European allies, including the release of a Russian assassin, and secured freedom for a cluster of journalists, suspected spies, political prisoners and others. US President Joe Biden trumpeted the exchange, by far the biggest in a series of swaps with Russia, as a diplomatic feat while welcoming families of the returning Americans to the White House. But the US and allies gave up Russians charged or convicted of serious crimes in exchange for Russia releasing journalists, dissidents and others imprisoned by the countrys highly politicised legal system on charges seen by the West as trumped-up. Deals like this one come with tough calls, Mr Biden said but added: Theres nothing that matters more to me than protecting Americans at home and abroad. Under the deal, Russia released Mr Gershkovich, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal who was jailed in 2023 and convicted in July of espionage charges that he and the US government vehemently denied. The papers editor-in-chief, Emma Tucker, called it a joyous day. Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich has been freed (Russian Federal Security Service/RTR via AP) While we waited for this momentous day, we were determined to be as loud as we could be on Evans behalf. We are so grateful for all the voices that were raised when his was silent. We can finally say, in unison, Welcome home, Evan, she wrote. Also released was Mr Whelan, a Michigan corporate security executive jailed since 2018, also on espionage charges he and Washington have denied; and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, a dual US-Russian citizen convicted in July of spreading false information about the Russian military, accusations her family and employer have rejected. Mr Kara-Murza, a Kremlin critic and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer serving 25 years on charges of treason widely seen as politically motivated, was also released along with multiple associates of Mr Navalny. Vladimir Kara-Murza is among those who have been released (AP Photo, File) Other freed Kremlin critics included Oleg Orlov, a veteran human rights campaigner convicted of discrediting the Russian military, and Ilya Yashin, a former member of a Moscow municipal council who had been imprisoned for criticising the war in Ukraine. The Russian side secured the release of Vadim Krasikov, who was convicted in Germany in 2021 and sentenced to life in prison for killing a former Chechen rebel in a Berlin park two years earlier, apparently on the orders of Moscows security services. Throughout the course of negotiations, Moscow had been persistent in pressing for his release, with Mr Putin himself raising it. At the time of Mr Navalnys death, officials were discussing a possible exchange involving Krasikov. But with that possibility erased, senior US officials, including national security adviser Jake Sullivan, made a fresh push to encourage Germany to release Krasikov. In the end, a handful of the prisoners Russia released were either German nationals or dual German-Russian nationals. Paul Whelan, centre, is escorted by Russian Federal Security Service agents as they arrive at an airport outside Moscow (Russian Federal Security Service/RTR via AP) Russia also received two alleged sleeper agents who were jailed in Slovenia, as well as three men charged by federal authorities in the US, including Roman Seleznev, a convicted computer hacker and the son of a Russian politician, and Vadim Konoshchenok, a suspected Russian intelligence operative accused of providing American-made electronics and ammunition to the Russian military. Norway returned an academic arrested on suspicion of being a Russian spy, and Poland also sent back a man it detained on espionage charges. Today is a powerful example of why its vital to have friends in this world, Mr Biden said while joined by the families. 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 Seven nations participated in the deal, which was executed in Ankara in the final months of his administration and during the course of a presidential race upended by his decision not to seek re-election. Mr Biden placed securing the release of Americans held wrongfully overseas at the top of his foreign policy agenda for the six months before he leaves office. In an Oval Office address discussing his decision to drop his bid for a second term, Mr Biden said: Were also working around the clock to bring home Americans being unjustly detained all around the world. At one point on Thursday, he grabbed the hand of Mr Whelans sister, Elizabeth, and said she had practically been living at the White House as they tried to free Paul. He then motioned for Ms Kurmashevas daughter Miriam to come closer and took her hand, telling the room it was her 13th birthday, and then asked everyone to sing Happy Birthday with him. She wiped tears from her eyes. Alsu Kurmashevas daughter wiped away a tear during Mr Bidens White House address (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) His administration has now brought home more than 70 Americans detained in other countries, deals that have required the US in the past to give up a broad array of convicted criminals, including for drug and weapons offences. The US governments top hostage negotiator, Roger Carstens, has defended the swaps against criticism that they incentivise future hostage-taking, saying the number of wrongfully detained Americans has actually gone down. We know the US government is keenly aware, as are we, that the only way to prevent a quickening cycle of arresting innocent people as pawns in cynical geopolitical games is to remove the incentive for Russia and other nations that pursue the same detestable practice, Ms Tucker, the Journals editor, wrote, saying there needed to be a dynamic change. But for now, she added, we are celebrating the return of Evan. Former president Donald Trump, who had claimed that if elected he would immediately get Mr Gershkovich home, bashed the deal and speculated incorrectly that the US had given cash to Russia. Thursdays swap of 24 prisoners surpassed a deal involving 14 people that was struck in 2010. In that exchange, Washington freed 10 Russians living in the US as sleepers, while Moscow deported four Russians, including Sergei Skripal, a double agent working with British intelligence. He and his daughter were nearly killed in 2018 in Salisbury by nerve agent poisoning blamed on Russian agents. A man has been recommended for deportation to his native Lithuania after he was sentenced for possessing indecent images of children in his Co Tyrone home. NI motorist tells cops: I dont need car insurance as Im only passing through life Not surprisingly, a judge dismissed his bonkers claim and he was fined and banned from driving. Charles ONeill is wanted by police in Northern Ireland after he was convicted of taking part in an illegal protest at a school in Derry. Ciaran O'Neill Fri 2 Aug 2024 at 11:00 A convicted anti-lockdown protester believes he can break the law because he is only passing through life. The store reopened in November 2022 Customers were asked to leave Primark in Belfast city centre on Friday morning as it was evacuated. The store at Bank Buildings has now been reopened and its thought the closure was due to a false fire alarm. The fire service made its way to the scene on Royal Avenue before customers were allowed to return. A previous fire in 2018 gutted the premises in the city. The Grade B1-listed, five-storey premises later reopened after extensive works in 2022. Signs of revitalisation are emerging in Belfasts central shopping area Firefighters at the scene of a ramming incident at the Welcome Centre on Townsend Street in west Belfast on July 23rd 2024 (Photo by Kevin Scott) Stormonts health minister has expressed concern following the deaths of five people after an arson attack on a homeless charity in Belfast ahead of a meeting with bereaved families. Mike Nesbitt said he has reached out to the Minister for Communities to see what more can be done in the wake of the closure of the Welcome Organisations headquarters in the Divis area last month. "I would like offer my heartfelt sympathy to the families of those who have lost their lives, he told the Belfast Telegraph. "Too many people across Northern Ireland have suffered the devastating loss of a loved one because of homelessness, mental health and substance use related issues. Some weeks ago, I accepted an invitation to meet with a number of bereaved families and that meeting is scheduled for later this month. It comes after SDLP councillor Paul Doherty called for an urgent response to recent deaths and said he's working with the charity to establish new premises. Graffiti warning that any workmen repairing Welcome Centre will be shot subsequently appeared on a wall in west Belfast. Its understood the INLA is responsible for the sinister threat. A view of menacing graffiti in west Belfast (David Young/PA) "I have reached out in the first instance to the Minister for Communities to see what more can be done, Mr Nesbitt said. I am also concerned about the attack on the Welcome Centre whose staff and volunteers work tirelessly to help some of the most vulnerable in our society. There are many factors which put individuals at additional risk and can make them more vulnerable to substance use. The issues of homelessness, involvement with the justice system, mental health and substance use are all inter-related and span the responsibilities of several government departments in Northern Ireland. To be effective, our response must be a collective one and DoH officials continue to work with colleagues in other departments to address these challenging societal issues. Chronic homelessness is closely linked to mental health issues, drug and alcohol addiction, and those leaving custody. The health minister also said addressing the harm related to alcohol and other drugs is a key priority for his department. "NIs Substance Use Strategy, Preventing Harm, Empowering Recovery, recognises the need to target those most at risk, including those who are homeless, people who inject drugs and those who are in contact with the justice system, Mr Nesbitt added. Our strategy will aim to directly reduce the harm for these groups through actions that place emphasis on harm reduction support measures for people who use alcohol and other drugs. Firefighters at the scene of a ramming incident at the Welcome Centre on Townsend Street in west Belfast on July 23rd 2024 (Photo by Kevin Scott) Public consultation has just completed on the draft Substance Use Strategic Commissioning & Implementation Plan. The PHA and Department are now giving consideration to comments received on each of the plans eight strategic priority areas across all tiers of service, including alignment with housing and homelessness services as appropriate. Communities minister Gordon Lyons has also offered condolences to the families of those who have died and insisted work is ongoing to deal with the complex problem. Five people dying on the streets of Belfast, one of them in the street next to our offices, within a week is a shocking statistic, he said. "I want to extend my sympathies and condolences to the families and loved ones affected by these tragic incidents. As reporting has shown, homelessness is a complex problem, all the more so when people are experiencing mental health or addiction issues. Addressing it involves my department and the Housing Executive, working closely alongside other departments. "This is part of a much wider effort which also includes a range of statutory, community and voluntary organisations providing support to people who are extremely vulnerable. Collectively, work is ongoing to deal with both the long-term underlying causes of homelessness and those people who find themselves in immediate crisis. However Mr Lyons said it is a daunting task which is made more difficult by the criminal attack on the Welcome Organisation which disrupted their vital services. The attack also puts greater strain on public finances at a time when funds are scarce, he added. "However, my officials will continue to work with the Housing Executive, and wider stakeholder community, to ensure resources are directed to those most in need. The events of this week show that the support provided by services such as the Welcome Organisation can be life-saving. The EU has warned Sir Keir Starmer his attempt to repair relations with the bloc may fail if he does not fully implement post-Brexit agreements on Northern Ireland, it has emerged. The Prime Minister has made rebuilding ties with Brussels a top priority since the General Election, after years of mistrust between the two sides over Brexit. The European Commission has welcomed Sir Keirs positive approach, but issued a list of eight tests through which the UK can demonstrate real government commitment to its withdrawal agreement with the EU. The list, revealed by the Financial Times, called for the faithful and timely implementation of the Windsor Framework which it described as a cornerstone for the EU-UK relationship and the rights of EU citizens living in the UK. EU diplomats told the paper the two measures would be seen as a test of good faith in the new relationship. However, sources in Brussels told The Telegraph that the commission has become frustrated by the inaction in carrying out the required trade checks on shipments between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The Commission has also listed the need for a High Court ruling, that EU citizens in Britain should not have to make separate applications for settled status after living in the UK for five years, to be implemented in full. The list also raised concerns about UK authorities failing to accurately certify animal and plant products, called for non-compliant consignments to be rejected by vets at the border and called for a scheme to check pets to be deployed urgently. It also called for a new system to provide data on the content of parcels to be implemented as soon as possible. This needs to be fixed before we talk about cooperation in new areas, one diplomat told the FT. Sir Keir has repeatedly talked up his drive to reset relations with Europe after years of deterioration under the Conservatives. There was a slight improvement under Rishi Sunak, who last year signed the Windsor Framework to end the row over post-Brexit arrangements in Northern Ireland. But further meetings with European leaders have been a key focus of Sir Keirs first weeks in office. In July he hosted leaders from across the continent at a major summit in Blenheim Palace, declaring that the UK would be a friend and a partner ready to work with you and not part of the European Union, but very much part of Europe. The Prime Minister wants to strike a security pact with the EU and address some of the trading problems under the current Brexit deal. He has so far refused to entertain the prospect of a youth mobility deal with the bloc, which would allow young people to live, study and work across the EU, in exchange for EU citizens being able to do the same in the UK. But sources told the FT such a deal was a priority for the bloc, alongside access to British fishing waters and the UK rejoining the Erasmus student exchange programme. The Cabinet Office declined to comment on the specifics of the leaked document. But a Government spokesperson said: Since taking office this government has been working to reset the relationship with our European friends, to strengthen ties, secure a broad-based security pact and tackle barriers to trade. Weve had very positive engagement in our early conversations and are committed to implementing the Withdrawal Agreement, including the Windsor Framework in good faith protecting the UK internal market. A European Commission spokesperson said: The EU is committed to a positive agenda with the UK, based on the full respect, and the faithful and timely implementation of the withdrawal agreement, including the Windsor framework, and the trade and cooperation agreement, which are the cornerstone for the EU-UK relationship. The Independent The white car on the Lisburn Road police are searching for information about The white car on the Lisburn Road police are searching for information about Police investigating the murder of Kevin Davidson have appealed for information about a vehicle seen in Belfast a number of days before the mans body was found. Kevin Davidsons body was discovered on July 20 at a flat in Donegall Avenue, where he had been living. Two people Jade Mary Anna Harrison (35), of Donegall Avenue, and Colam Barry McClenaghan (32), of no fixed address were since charged with his murder and appeared in court last Wednesday. Both deny the charge, and told police they believed he had left the property after walking in on them having intercourse. Now police have appealed for information about a white car on the Lisburn Road seen in the early hours of Tuesday July 9. Detective Inspector Jennifer Rea said: While two people have been charged with Mr Davidsons murder, our enquiries are ongoing. I am making a specific appeal for information, and have today released images of a car, in respect of an incident that occurred in the early hours of Tuesday 9 July. The white car on the Lisburn Road police are searching for information about At around 12.24am, there appears to have been an altercation on the Lisburn Road, at the junction of Elmwood Avenue, which we believe involved the occupants of a white car. I am appealing to the driver and passengers of this car to contact officers on 101 as soon as possible. In addition, I am asking the driver and/or occupants of a dark-coloured car, which was being driven and may have stopped in the Lisburn Road/Elmwood Avenue area between 12.22am and 12.30am, to please get in touch as I believe you may have information that could assist our enquiries. Last month, the court heard police went to the Donegall Avenue property three times during searches for Mr Davidson. Officers found his body in the rear yard under a sleeping bag, which was covered in black bin bags which were weighed down by dumbbells. Police bodycam footage also showed air fresheners, perfume and aftershave bottles in the kitchen, and Magic Tree car air fresheners hanging from cupboard doors and in the utility room. Other bin bags contained items belonging to Mr Davidson, the court heard. Bloodstained clothing was also found in bags, and there was evidence of blood throughout the house. The body had neck injuries and signs of strangulation. There was also an injury to the victims knee. A PSNI detective said there was evidence a clothes line had been removed from the rear of the property, and the medical evidence was not consistent with self-asphyxiation. Both accused claimed not to know Mr Davidsons body was at the property. The white car on the Lisburn Road police are searching for information about The court was told a witness overheard a phone argument between Mr Davidson, Harrison and another male, who they believe was McClenaghan. Mr Davidsons mother also gave a statement, where she claimed she overheard an argument between her son and Harrison in which he said they are going to beat me up on the last call she had with him, which took place on July 8. The court heard when police attended the property on July 19, Harrison handed over a back-pack and mobile phone belonging to Mr Davidson. It was stated there were inconsistencies in accounts given by both accused on when they last saw Mr Davidson, and it was very evident there was an issue over money, after Mr Davidson previously claimed Harrison stole 300 from him. Police cant yet establish when Mr Davidson was killed and are awaiting a pathologist report. But they believe the murder took place in the backyard, as there was no sign the body had been moved. Solicitor Roise Fitzpatrick, representing McClenaghan, claimed police were clutching at straws to link him to the murder and he was totally oblivious to Mr Davidsons body being at the rear of the property. Harrisons lawyer Una Conway claimed there was nothing to link her either. There has not been one shred of evidence presented to conflict Ms Harrisons version of events, she added. District Judge Anne Marshall said: I do find there is sufficient evidence to connect both accused. Harrison and McClenaghan were remanded in custody. The case will return to court on August 22. A veteran Labour MP has claimed it is very important that the new UK Government should call a border poll as she attended a Feile an Phobail event in Belfast. Diane Abbott said a referendum would reveal "where public opinion lies in NI and the Republic. The longest-serving female Member of Parliament took part in a discussion at St Marys University College on the Falls Road on Friday. I think its very important to have a border poll, not least because it will establish where public opinion lies. Im in favour of a united Ireland but it has to be with the consent of both sides of the border, and a border poll to establish where opinion lies is the first step towards a united Ireland." A packed house for @HackneyAbbott in conversation with Joe Austin during @FeileBelfast here at @StMarys_Belfast pic.twitter.com/CLTsUcYpmW Kevin Scott (@Kscott_94) August 2, 2024 Ms Abbott told BBC News NI that she thinks it could it happen this decade. The Labour government has previously indicated it has no intention of calling a referendum in the near future. Just last month Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn said said there was no evidence that the conditions have been met. It's perfectly possible in the next five years because thats what politics is like, Ms Abbott said. The MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington since 1987 was suspended from her party for saying Jewish, Irish and the Traveller community do not face racism "all their lives" she was only readmitted five weeks before the General Election on July 4. It comes a day after trade union leader Mick Lynch talked about his support for a united Ireland at the Feile. The general secretary of the RMT union, who has Irish ancestry, said he believes in unity. "It was the way I was brought up. But it's got to be by consent, it's got to a real united Ireland where people come together at their pace, he said. "I don't believe in coercion. I think we have to grow a united Ireland rather than enforce it." The Feile festival will continue until August 11. Housing Executive chief Grainia Long has said she "fully expects" more visible signs of homelessness on our streets and further risk of death due to pressures currently faced in the demand for temporary accommodation and associated services. Speaking to the BBC, Ms Long said the Housing Executive will need "42-44m" in order to meet funding needs this year and said she as yet does not have any guarantee that need will be met. Services such as those provided by the Welcome Organisation are at the risk of cuts if funding needs are not met, she added. "We fully expect more visible signs of homelessness on our streets and there is a risk of death," she said. The pandemic has driven the growth of homelessness along with other factors, the chief executive said. "People who were living sofa surfing and in unsuitable accommodation had to move quickly," she said. Private landlords left the sector and also people also arrived in Northern Ireland and seeking leave to remain. It meant the growth of people in temporary accommodation has now resulted in 4,500 a year requiring the service. Ms Long said she is hopeful a solution can be found to the issues faced by the Welcome Organisation. It comes after SDLP councillor Paul Doherty called for an urgent response to five recent deaths on our streets and said he's working with the Welcome Organisation to establish new premises. It follows a recent arson attack and graffiti threatening construction workers was sprayed. A view of menacing graffiti in west Belfast (David Young/PA) Stormonts Health Minister Mike Nesbitt said he has reached out to the Minister for Communities Gordon Lyons to see what more can be done in the wake of the closure of the Welcome Organisations headquarters in the Divis area last month. Its understood the INLA is responsible for the sinister threat. "I would like offer my heartfelt sympathy to the families of those who have lost their lives, Mr Nesbitt told the Belfast Telegraph. "Too many people across Northern Ireland have suffered the devastating loss of a loved one because of homelessness, mental health and substance use related issues. Some weeks ago, I accepted an invitation to meet with a number of bereaved families and that meeting is scheduled for later this month. The changes GAA can make to add a little more shine to All-Star selections PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher speaking during a meeting of the Northern Ireland Policing Board in Belfast (Liam McBurney/PA) Police on the streets of Hartlepool following violent demonstrations across England (Owen Humphreys/PA) Social media calls for anti-Islamic protests in Northern Ireland this weekend are being investigated by police. Posts have circulated urging people to take to the streets here, following violent demonstrations around England in the wake of the stabbings in Southport. Assistant Chief Constable Bobby Singleton said he was aware of a social media post calling for a gathering at Belfast City Hall and a subsequent protest march. Officers are working to establish if the calls will materialise in protests on the ground. Chief Constable Jon Boutcher urged people to push back against what he branded poisonous nonsense from anti-Islamists. At yesterdays Policing Board meeting, Mr Boutcher was asked if he was aware of posts calling on people to attend a series of anti-Islamic events on Saturday. We are aware of it, were still trying to understand whos behind it, he said. Theres no set organisation showing themselves on social media which sort of defines the cowardly nature of the people who do this nonsense. There is obviously, from the social media calling, an intention to try and do something on Saturday. We have got a gold (command) structure in place around this. Were looking into the intelligence now to see who, if anybody, is actually involved and going to respond to this. PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher speaking during a meeting of the Northern Ireland Policing Board in Belfast (Liam McBurney/PA) His comments came after two nights of disorder in England following the fatal stabbing of three young girls in Southport on Monday. Violent unrest erupted in Southport as well as in London, Hartlepool and Manchester. Police injured as bricks thrown in protest following stab deaths of three girls I would point people to what happened in London yesterday and Hartlepool, and obviously Southport, this is based on poisonous nonsense, Mr Boutcher said. It has no basis in a society thats seen what hatefulness can do to a society and I would appeal for everybody, everybody to push back against any of this utter awful nonsense. But if there is going to be any gatherings, we will police them and we will police them effectively. Mr Singleton, meanwhile, warned that any march needed the permission of the Parades Commission. No request had been lodged as of yesterday evening. Id advise that if anybody was planning on attending that, the fact that thats not notified, of course, could mean that they could see themselves liable to a criminal investigation, he said. It came as Sir Keir Starmer (left) condemned far-right hatred in the wake of the Southport stabbings. Starmer condemns far-right hatred and launches new national response to disorder The Prime Minister announced a new national response to the violent disorder linking police forces across the country. He said thugs involved in the scenes of unrest should not pretend they are speaking for the grieving families of the three young girls killed in the initial attack. At a press conference following riots in which bricks were hurled at police officers and a local mosque targeted, Sir Keir warned: The far right are showing who they are we have to show who we are in response to that. The Prime Minister also sounded a note of caution to social media companies after misinformation spread online about the identity of the 17-year-old suspect, including false claims that he was an asylum seeker. Let me also say to large social media companies and those who run them: violent disorder, clearly whipped up online, that is also a crime, its happening on your premises, and the law must be upheld everywhere, he said. Sir Keir, a former director of public prosecutions, also warned that speculating about the attack could risk prejudicing the active criminal proceedings against the suspect and impeding justice for the bereaved families. Asked what his message was to Muslims who may be concerned after a mosque was targeted in the violence in Southport, he said: In relation to the Muslim community, let me be very clear: I will take every step thats necessary to keep you safe. The PSNI has written to the parents of dozens of young people who have been committing serious criminal offences in north Belfast including rioting, carrying offensive weapons and hate crimes as four suspects are arrested. The youths were detained on Friday on suspicion of riotous behaviour, possession of offensive weapons, possessing a blade or point in a public place and making threats to kill. They remain in police custody. A total of 53 youths have been identified as participating in anti-social behaviour in the past number of weeks. Files have been submitted to the Public Prosecution Service in relation to 14 young people and Community Resolution Notices have been issued in some cases. Police have engaged with parents and guardians in an effort to find solutions. North Belfast Area Commander Chief Inspector Alan Lowry said the ongoing anti-social behaviour has led to criminal offences, some disorder and hate crimes. We have engaged with a number of statutory partners to try to resolve the ongoing issues, as well as local community representatives, youth groups and the wider community, he added. "To date, officers have identified 53 young people as being involved in anti-social behaviour and I have written letters to them and their parents and guardians, highlighting the dangers and consequences of taking part in anti-social behaviour, which is leading to disorder and hate crimes. "We have worked collaboratively with a wide range of stakeholders in the community to engage with young people and to educate them around the impact ASB is having on the community of north Belfast. 14 young people have already been taken down the formal criminal justice route, with a number of files submitted to the public prosecution service and Community Resolution Notices issued. Some of the incidents we are dealing with include assaults on police, riotous behaviour, disorderly behaviour, possession of offensive weapons and criminal damage. The detective warned those engaging in the disruptive behaviour that there will be consequences. To be clear, those involved in committing such offences face the very real prospect of prosecution and a criminal record. We will pursue those involved and bring them before the courts," he said. I need to be very clear, if you engage in antisocial behaviour that progresses into criminal behaviour, disorder or hate crimes we will investigate every avenue available to us to identify you, and you will be arrested. These behaviours are not wanted in the community and we will not shy away from taking robust actions to brings those offenders to justice. Alongside a wide range of partners we have done everything we possibly can to prevent young people from developing into the criminal justice system however we are now left with no other options but to make arrests. Patrols will continue and will also be increased in the area to deter further activity of this nature as the safety of local communities is paramount. We cannot deal with these issues alone, we have and will continue to work with a wide range of partners and the community to tackle not just anti-social behaviour but, all issues impacting the community of north Belfast. This type of activity can have a detrimental impact on the local community and I would appeal to anyone affected to report anti-social activity immediately via 101. A man suspected of ramming a van into the gates of multiple State and Government buildings in Dublin posted a death threat online before the rampage. Garda have identified a social media message in which the suspect says he will kill him and anyone in my way. The target of the message is not named. Gardai are reviewing the suspects social media accounts and have also identified images of his alleged crimes posted online. However, the incidents are not being treated as terrorism and no attempt was made to enter any of the buildings. An investigation is underway after a the gates of Aras an Uachtarain, Custom House, and different locations at Government buildings in the city centre were rammed overnight. A man, aged in his early 40s, was arrested for road traffic offences including driving while under the influence of an intoxicant. He is being questioned by gardai, with sources saying there was a mental health aspect to the incidents. Investigators have also identified a social media account believed to be connected to the suspect. The gates at Dublin's Phoenix Park, the official residence of Ireland's President, Michael D Higgins, where Gardai are investigating an incident of criminal damage. Cate McCurry/PA Wire The account includes an image posted overnight of a van that had been driven into the gate of a Government department. One source told the Irish Independent: We are not dealing with a criminal mastermind here, but it will be looked at what the policing response was, and how an individual could drive across the city targeting several high-profile properties. While this man clearly had a grievance with the Government, what sparked this is under investigation, and there is also a clear mental health aspect to this. Gardai were alerted to an incident involving a white van on Merrion Street Upper, Dublin 2, at approximately 2.30am this morning. The locations targeted included the gates at the entrance to the Taoiseachs department and the Office of the Attorney General. Gardai believe the same vehicle was involved in similar ramming incidents at the Presidents residence, Aras an Uachtarain and the Department of Housing located at Custom House. Its understood that the driver of the van involved did not attempt to enter the buildings, but caused significant damage to the gates of each location before driving off. The front gates of the Aras were rammed at around 2.30am. The white van was removed from the scene on Merrion Street this morning for examination. The scene remains preserved to facilitate a technical examination this morning by the local Scenes of Crime Unit. Former Irish contestant on Big Brother, Ray Shah, came upon the scene at Merrion Square last night and told the Irish Independent what he saw. I was driving home after DJing at a gig on Leeson Street and turned into Merrion Street, he said. I saw police at Government Buildings and a white van jutting into the entrance. The first thing that came into my head was that it was a ramming attempt, which it turned out was the case. The Guards were there and a had a guy down and out of the van. He was wearing red it looked like an all-in-one outfit, like a onesie. He was not struggling, but lying at an entrance pillar. A Garda officer and a military police officer look at damage caused to gates outside Government Buildings in Merrion Street, Dublin, after they were struck by a van in the early hours of Thursday morning. Cate McCurry/PA Wire I pulled in to take a photo and noticed a taxi-man filming it all, so those pictures will probably turn up somewhere. The guy was face down and the police were telling him to stay down, and telling him not to move. I couldnt hear much else. I noticed that the back of the van had its rear bumper completely off which made me realise that he must have reversed at speed into one of the other gates first. Then I saw the other gates further along (the North Road, beside the Attorney Generals offices) and it was wrecked. But the Guards had the situation totally under control. I didnt hear any bangs - all that had obviously happened before I came along. But I know there is always security there and if you even go near there the cops will be out. A Garda spokesperson said: Gardai were alerted to a single-vehicle road traffic collision on Merrion Street Upper, Dublin 2 at approximately 2:30am on Friday 2nd August 2024. The driver of the vehicle, a male in his 40s, was arrested on suspicion of offences under the Road Traffic Act. He is currently detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984 at a Garda station in Dublin city. The scene remains preserved to facilitate a technical examination by the local Scenes of Crime Unit this morning. The spokesperson added that gardai were also investigating an incident of criminal damage at the Phoenix Park, Dublin 8 in the early hours of this morning and a material damage road traffic collision that occurred at Custom House Quay. The body of the woman was found at an apartment in Midleton (PA) A man has been arrested following the death of a woman in Co Cork. The woman, who was aged in her 20s, was found seriously injured at an apartment in Midleton, Co Cork, on Friday afternoon before she later died. Gardai said a man aged in his 30s is being detained at Midleton Garda Station under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act. Shortly after 4.15 pm, Gardai and Emergency Services responded to reports of an incident at an apartment off Main Street, Midleton, a spokesperson said. The woman was found at the scene with serious injuries and received emergency medical treatment, but was pronounced deceased short time later. A man in his 30s has been arrested and is currently detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984, at a Garda Station in the Southern Region. Gardai said the scene has been preserved for examination by the Garda Technical Bureau. The local coroner and the Office of the State Pathologist have been notified. They have appealed for any witnesses to come forward. An incident room has been established at Midleton Garda Station, and a Senior Investigating Officer (SIO) has been appointed to lead the investigation, they said. Gardai are appealing for witnesses to come forward. Additionally, they are appealing to those with camera footage, including dashcam recordings from motorists in the Connolly Street/Main Street areas of Midleton this afternoon. Anyone with information is asked to contact Midleton Garda Station at 021-462 1550 or the Garda Confidential Line at 1800 666 111. A van drove into several gates at Government Buildings in Dublin (Cate McCurry/PA) Gardai are continuing to question a man after several landmark state buildings in Dublin were targeted in a series of overnight ramming incidents. A white van was seized after damage was caused to the gates of Government Buildings; the adjacent back gate of the parliament at Leinster House; the official residence of President Michael D Higgins in Phoenix Park; and the Custom House, where the Department of Housing is located. A man in his 40s was detained after the last of the incidents at Government Buildings/Leinster House on Merrion Street. It is understood gardai are linking the incidents at the various city locations but have ruled out any terror-related motive. On Merrion Street, a number of the gates were significantly damaged, including those at the Department of the Taoiseach at Government Buildings. A gate at the Attorney Generals office was lying off its hinges on Friday morning. The gate at the rear of Leinster House also sustained damaged. The gates at the official residence of Irelands President, Michael D Higgins, where gardai are investigating an incident of criminal damage (Cate McCurry/PA) It is understood the man was arrested near the scene of those incidents. A damaged white van was towed away from the area at around 8.20am. Garda commissioner Drew Harris was seen observing the damage in a Garda car driven slowly past Government Buildings shortly before 10am. Elsewhere in the city, the gates of the presidents residence at Aras an Uachtarain were cordoned off on Friday morning after the overnight ramming incident. Damage was caused to gates outside Government Buildings in Merrion Street, Dublin (Cate McCurry/PA) Some damage was also caused at the gates of the Custom House close to the River Liffey. Garda said: Gardai were alerted to a single-vehicle road traffic collision on Merrion Street Upper, Dublin 2 at approximately 2.30am on Friday August 2. The driver of the vehicle, a male in his 40s, was arrested on suspicion of offences under the Road Traffic Act. He is currently detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984 at a Garda station in Dublin city. The scene remains preserved to facilitate a technical examination by the local scenes of crime unit this morning. Investigations are ongoing. They added: Gardai are also investigating an incident of criminal damage that occurred at Dublins Phoenix Park in the early hours of Friday. In relation to the Custom House incident, gardai said: Gardai in Store Street are investigating a material damage road traffic collision that occurred at Custom House Quay in the early hours of this morning Friday 2nd August, 2024. An 11-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of arson after a police vehicle was set alight during a violent protest in Hartlepool in the wake of the Southport stabbing. Cleveland Police said 11 other people were arrested on Wednesday evening in connection with the disorder during which officers were attacked with missiles, glass bottles and eggs in the County Durham town. The arrests included seven men, one juvenile and one woman, with ages between 14 and 54, on suspicion of offences including violent disorder and assaulting an emergency worker, according to the force. During the violence, which involved about 150 people meeting at the Cenotaph and descending on Murray Street and the surrounding area, four police officers suffered minor injuries. Before the protest, officers identified the suspected organiser and arrested a 51-year-old man from Hartlepool on suspicion of distributing written materials to stir up racial hatred. He has been released on conditional bail while inquiries continue. A woman aged 28, also from the Hartlepool area, was arrested on Wednesday before the demonstration. She was detained on suspicion of unlawfully obtaining or disclosing protected information and distributing written materials to stir up racial hatred relating to personal information placed on social media, and has been released on conditional bail while the investigation continues. Cleveland Police say they will maintain a visible presence in the area to reassure and protect the community. Assistant Chief Constable David Felton said: This is very much a live investigation and we are continuing to work to identify those involved in the disorder yesterday evening and bring them to justice. Disorder of this kind will not be tolerated and those found to be involved will be robustly dealt with. Police on the streets of Hartlepool (Owen Humphreys/PA) Speaking outside Hartlepool Police Station on Thursday afternoon, Chief Constable Mark Webster said the events in the town were mindless thuggery and that experienced officers had never seen such disorder there before. Asked what the motivation was for the disorder, he said: There is an opportunity to go out and damage things, and just exhibit a bit of violence. I dont think there is a principle at stake, this was not a legitimate protest or demonstration. I think there is some mindless thuggery and thats why we are being really proactive to go out and arrest people. Theres no excuse for last night. It comes after riots in Southport on Tuesday and further disorder in London, Aldershot and Manchester on Wednesday. Speaking at a press conference on Thursday afternoon, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the riots were not protest and not legitimate as he vowed not to permit a breakdown of law and order. He said: Make no mistake, whether its in Southport, London or Hartlepool, these people are showing our country exactly who they are. Mosques targeted because theyre mosques, flares thrown at the statue of Winston Churchill, a Nazi salute at the Cenotaph. Because lets be very clear about this. Its not protest. Its not legitimate. Its crime. Violent disorder. An assault on the rule of law and the execution of justice. Hartlepool MP Jonathan Brash told BBC Radio 4s World At One programme on Thursday that the unrest the night before doesnt represent us as a town. On Thursday morning, a clean-up operation began in the town as council workers were joined by volunteers in sweeping away the debris. A police car which was destroyed when it was set alight had already been removed by 10am. Axel Rudakubana, 17, has been charged with the murder of Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport on Monday. Scottish Conservative deputy leader Meghan Gallacher has become the latest MSP to confirm she is running for the top job in the party. The Central Scotland regional MSP announced her candidacy on Friday, saying she offers a new beginning for the Tories north of the border. She joins two other Tory MSPs former crime journalist and current Holyrood justice spokesman Russell Findlay and ex-Olympic athlete Brian Whittle who have declared they will run to succeed Douglas Ross. Others including veteran MSP Murdo Fraser, who was defeated by Ruth Davidson in a leadership bid in 2011, are understood to be considering whether they will run. 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 Mr Ross announced he would step down as leader midway through the recent General Election campaign. There had been unease in the party after he put himself forward as a candidate in Aberdeenshire North and Moray East, running instead of the incumbent MP David Duguid after party chiefs deemed him too ill to stand. Mr Ross lost the seat to the SNP. Ms Gallacher, a former councillor first elected to Holyrood in 2021, became the partys deputy leader in 2022. In a video posted on social media, she said: The next few weeks will be important in shaping the future of our party. Scotland knows what we stand against, but do they know what we stand for? This leadership election presents the opportunity for a reset to renew our offering to the people of Scotland and to our membership who have stood by us through the good times and the bad. Douglas Ross announced during the General Election campaign that he was stepping down as Scottish Tory leader (Michal Wachucik/PA) Ms Gallacher said she wants to build a modern, centre-right party with policies focusing on low taxes, property ownership, supporting families and protecting rights and liberties. Pitching herself as a bold, dynamic and fresh-faced leader, she said she would deliver a new beginning for the Scottish Conservatives. Meanwhile, Mr Whittle wrote in The Telegraph that it is time to discuss ending free tuition and prescriptions in Scotland. He said: Having these conversations will be hard, not least because Labour and the SNP will see it as a golden opportunity to attack us, but I believe Scotland is ready to have those conversations. Having these difficult discussions will earn respect from voters, he added. On Thursday, the Scottish Conservatives announced the new leader will be in place by the end of September. Nominations formally open on August 8 and close on August 22. While the new Conservative UK leader and successor to Rishi Sunak will not be known until November 2, the Scottish party has set out a timeline which will see its latest leader unveiled on September 27. The report into provision for children up to five years old was produced by the South-West Social Mobility Commission at the University of Exeter (Joe Giddens/PA) Health visitors must be given the power to trigger joint visits from social care specialists such as drug abuse counsellors, a report has said as it warned infant services are often too focused on a childs parents. The report into provision for children up to five years old, produced by the South-West Social Mobility Commission at the University of Exeter, said the early years sector needs to be given urgent attention. It cited a loss of childcare places, a crisis in recruitment and retention in both health visiting and early years provision, and a lack of resource and funding in local government. Among a series of recommendations, the report said councils should be prepared to send other social service professionals including welfare rights advisers or drug abuse counsellors on visits so that a multi-service approach to the wider family is delivered. The report, which said health visitors should be able to trigger these joint visits, noted how often childrens services are often better understood as parent services. Interviewees said too many of those who are involved in an infants life do not see the child. Some said this was a negative thing as it led to services neglecting the infants, arguing that health visits which are more focused on dealing with substance addiction or domestic abuse mean little time is spent on discussions of the childs welfare. But others thought helping parents had direct, positive consequences for children, noting that lingering problems related to health and finances mean parents can be less well equipped to provide for their children, the report said. Dr Antony Mullen, the reports principal author, said: What happens in childrens earliest years of life is foundational to their future success. Health visitors are increasingly expected to deal with parental issues like drug abuse, financial issues and domestic abuse problems. There is a danger services have become more focused on parents than the infants. Long-term, large-scale investment in the sector is needed, and in this report we show how there are also low and no-cost solutions that can be implemented locally and relatively quickly. Former Ofsted chief Sir David Bell has endorsed the report, which involved interviews with 27 expert informants ranging from health visitors to people in local government and early years teachers, saying it expertly binds together practice and policy to provide a series of important recommendations. The report calls for a Cabinet or deputy Cabinet member for the infant, an expansion of the number of professional psychologists working in the field of infant mental health and for local authorities to monitor the ratio of children to childcare places to allow a case to be made for additional funding to expand provision within the sector where needed. The report referenced research by the Institute of Health Visiting (iHV), published earlier this year, which found that increasing poverty is the cause of greatest concern to health visitor, with the vast majority having reported a rise in the number of families affected by the issue in past 12 months. Almost nine in 10 health visitors surveyed said they had seen an increase in the use of food banks, while half reported more families skipping meals as a result of the cost-of-living crisis, that research showed. The iHV described its research as the largest survey of frontline health visitors working with families with babies and young children across the UK. The issue of child poverty has been a challenge for the new Labour Government, with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer challenged last month over his refusal to immediately axe the two-child benefit cap. Seven Labour MPs were suspended by the party after backing an SNP motion to scrap the welfare measure in a vote in Parliament. The latest figures published by the Department for Work and Pensions showed there were 1.6 million children living in households affected by the policy as of April this year, up from 1.5 million to April 2023. Labour has cited spending controls as a reason for not being able to immediately ditch the policy, indicating there would be no change to the policy without economic growth. Sir David said: A high-quality experience in the early years can have a profoundly positive effect on children, particularly those from the most disadvantaged backgrounds. Thoughtful and well-evidenced reports such as this one will play a key role as we work together to make the United Kingdom the best place in the world to be a child and to grow up. A Government spokesperson said: This Government sees the early years as more than just childcare; it is central to our mission to break down barriers to opportunity, create the healthiest generation of children ever and give every child the best start in life. Were committed to working closely with sector partners and providers to support the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children and will deliver real change by integrating childcare and early years into the wider education system as a national priority. Flood alerts have been issued in England after heavy showers and thunderstorms on Thursday, the Met Office said. Torrential downpours battered the UK on Thursday as almost a months worth of rain fell in an hour in Greater London, according to the weather forecaster. A flood alert has been issued on Friday for Rivers Eden and Eden Brook in the south east of England, and Upper River Loddon in the south west. Across the weekend, England and Wales will be largely dry with sunny spells, with highs of 25C in southern England on Saturday and Sunday, and lows of 20C further north. Met Office spokesman Stephen Dixon said: Whats replacing the previous weather regime is a transition back to more changeable conditions for the UK, albeit still retaining some level of sunshine at times. 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 On Saturday, showers will continue in the north west, though for much of England and Wales, it will be a dry day with sunny spells. Sunday is likely to be increasingly wet for western Scotland and Northern Ireland, and some places in south-west Scotland may see an excess of 70mm of rain from Sunday into Monday, the Met Office said. Sunday will be a fine day for England and Wales, with sunny spells and the odd light shower in parts of northern England. Next week is predicted to be changeable, with bright, dry and sunny periods at times, interrupted by some more unsettled interludes through the week. Rain will move from west to east gradually, and those further south east will generally see less frequent rain. Mr Dixon said: An Environment Agency rain gauge at New Addington, Greater London, recorded 53.4mm of rain as part of yesterdays thundery outbreaks. Average total rainfall for August in the same area is 56mm, the forecaster said. However, such is the nature of these localised thundery outbreaks, some private rain gauges that are not a part of the official Met Office network recorded higher totals through the day in parts of southern and central England, Mr Dixon added. Getting your money back after being tricked into an authorised push payment (APP) scam depends largely on who you bank with, a regulator says Reimbursement for people who have been tricked into transferring money to fraudsters still largely depends on who they bank with, according to a regulator. The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) has published figures tracking the performance of payment firms in tackling authorised push payment (APP) scams and reimbursing victims in 2023. Two of the biggest banks operating in Northern Ireland AIB and Danske had the lowest scores for fully reimbursing victims out of the 14 largest banking groups, and reimbursed the least of the value of money its customers lost to APP scams in 2023. On the other hand, customers at the same two banks lost the least to APP scams, and were in the bottom three for volume of scams. Many banks are currently signed up to a voluntary reimbursement code, but in October mandatory reimbursement rules will come into force. In 2023 victims reported 252,626 cases of APP scams totalling nearly 341m, the PSR said. Under the existing voluntary reimbursement framework, 67% of money lost to APP scams was reimbursed, marking an increase compared with 2022, when 61% of money was refunded. Members of the voluntary code reimbursed 68% of the fraud value back to consumers in 2023. There is still an inconsistent approach by firms when it comes to reimbursing victims, the regulator said. It said some automatically reimburse in full, others may only make a partial refund, while some only accept claims in very narrow circumstances. David Geale, managing director of the PSR, said: We can see some positive changes with more victims being reimbursed than in 2022. But there is still more to do particularly for some smaller firms which have much higher rates of receiving fraud than larger firms. Our new mandatory reimbursement measures will dramatically increase protection for consumers. These come into effect on October 7 2024, and we are already seeing payment firms innovating and improving their controls, which is key to preventing scams from happening in the first place. Looking at individual banks and building societies, the PSR said Nationwide fully reimbursed 96% of the APP scam cases reported to it, while TSB fully reimbursed 95% and Barclays fully reimbursed in 82%. Only 3% of cases reported to AIB were fully reimbursed, the PSR said, while Danske Bank fully reimbursed 7%, and Monzo fully reimbursed 9%. In terms of the value of losses, TSB reimbursed 88% of APP scam losses to customers in 2023. Nationwide reimbursed 87% and HSBC (including the First Direct brand) reimbursed 76%. Meanwhile, AIB Group reimbursed 9% of APP scam losses, Danske Bank reimbursed 13% and Monzo reimbursed 17%, the regulator said. The PSR also looked at how much money customers at the 14 biggest banking groups lost to APP scams for every million pounds they sent. For every 1m both Metro Bank and TSB customers sent in 2023, 266 of that was lost to APP scams. For Lloyds, Bank of Scotland and Halifax customers, 228 per 1m was lost to APP scams, and for Nationwide customers 219 per 1m was lost to APP scams. For AIB it was just 38 per million, while for Danske it was 44. Meanwhile, for every one million transactions made in 2023 by Metro Bank customers, 137 were reported as APP scams. For Monzo customers, 131 transactions in every million were reported as APP scams. For Nationwide, for every one million transactions made, 129 were reported as APP scams. By contrast, for every one million transactions made by Co-operative Bank customers, just 51 were reported as APP scams. The next best performer was Danske on 54, while AIB was third (56). A spokesperson for AIB NI said: Were committed to protecting customers from fraud, making them aware of the latest scams, educating on the best ways to keep their money and details safe, as well as supporting them if they do fall victim to fraud. The Payment System Regulators report shows that AIB has the lowest level of authorised push payment (APP) fraud per million of transactions, with our customers impacted the least. This is in part due to the level of protection and support we have in place. We investigate APP fraud thoroughly on a case-by-case basis to best understand the root causes and protect our customers from such scams in the future. This goes hand in hand with our wider fraud preventive measures which saw us refund 100% of customers in cases of unauthorised fraud last year. A spokesperson for Danske said: We take fraud very seriously and continually invest in both preventative measures and education to help protect customers and wider society from scams. Through these measures we note a relatively low number of fraud cases recorded at Danske Bank. This does not mean we can be complacent, and the fight against fraud continues. Were working hard to implement changes required to deliver the new mandatory reimbursement requirement in October 2024. Ben Donaldson, managing director of economic crime at banking and finance industry body UK Finance, said: The financial services sector invests more in countering fraud than anyone else and is the only sector that reimburses victims. Todays data from the PSR shows reimbursement increased and the majority of authorised push payment fraud is reimbursed. Reimbursement is important in the fight against fraud, but it does not solve the problem on its own victims still suffer the same psychological impact and criminals still get the stolen money, which causes further harm to society. Our focus has to be protecting consumers in the first place and that means looking at where fraud originates. Our data shows that over 90% of APP fraud starts online or over the phone, through social media, fake messages and calls. "Despite this, the technology and telecommunications sectors bear no responsibility for reimbursing victims. That needs to change and these sectors also need to tackle the criminal activity that proliferates on their platforms, sites and networks. Rocio Concha, Which? director of policy and advocacy, said: While there have been some improvements, fraud victims are still facing a reimbursement lottery. She said the figures show that mandatory reimbursement rules cannot come soon enough. Stop Scams UK chief executive Mark Tierney said the total lost to scams is a sharp reminder that the scale of the problem remains unacceptable. He added: We firmly believe that the only way to defeat these criminals is by encouraging further collaborative efforts across the banking, technology and telco sectors in tandem with the public sector and Government. Its only by working together that we can help protect consumers and prevent them from them from unwittingly coming into contact with a scam. Here are the total APP scams losses that were reimbursed to consumers by the 14 largest banking groups in 2023. For example, TSB refunded 88% of the total value of money its customers lost to APP scams in 2023. Figures in brackets show the equivalent figures for 2022: 1. TSB, 88% (91%) 2. Nationwide Building Society, 87% (78%) 3. HSBC and First Direct, 76% (73%) 4. NatWest, RBS and Ulster Bank, 76% (62%) 5. Santander, 73% (63%) 6. Barclays, 72% (70%) 7. Clydesdale and Virgin Money, 68% (38%) 8. Lloyds, Bank of Scotland, Halifax, 55% (49%) 9. Co-operative Bank, 49% (54%) 10. Starling Bank, 48% (37%) 11. Metro Bank, 46% (42%) 12. Monzo, 17% (22%) 13. Danske Bank, 13% (20%) 14. AIB, 9% (10%) Cleo is the first cheetah at Edinburgh Zoo for 24 years (RZSS/PA) A zookeeper has described as wonderful the arrival of the first cheetah at Edinburgh Zoo for nearly a quarter of a century. Five-year-old Cleo arrived at the zoo from Fota Wildlife Park in Ireland on Thursday, and she is currently settling into her new home in the capital. Visitors have to wait for their first glimpse of the fast-moving feline though. Keepers at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) are giving Cleo a chance to get used to her new surroundings, but they hope visitors will be able to see her soon. It is the first time for 24 years the zoo has been home to the large cat, which is classified as vulnerable in the wild, and they are hoping to get another cheetah to keep her company soon. Alison Maclean, carnivore team leader at Edinburgh Zoo, said: Welcoming cheetahs back to the zoo after 24 years is wonderful. The species is vulnerable to extinction in the wild and we are hopeful we can bring in another cheetah soon to live with Cleo. Cleo is currently getting used to her new surroundings in the Scottish capital (RZSS/PA) In celebration of Cleos arrival the RZSS has announced a fundraising prize draw campaign, with one winner being given the chance to meet Cleo up close, as well as being able to feed a choice of other animals at the zoo. Ms Maclean explained: Every entry into our prize draw helps our charity create a world where nature is protected, valued and loved, and offers a fantastic personalised opportunity to experience the zoo and our animals. To enter the competition visit crowdfunder.co.uk/p/cheetah-and-friends-prize. Russian President Vladimir Putin greets Vadim Krasikov upon arrival of freed Russian prisoners at Vnukovo government airport outside Moscow (Mikhail Voskresensky, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP) The Kremlin acknowledged for the first time that some of the Russians held in the West were from its security services, as new details emerged from the largest prisoner swap since the Cold War. Families of freed dissidents, meanwhile, expressed their joy at the surprise release. Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, security consultant Paul Whelan, who has Irish and British citizenship, and dissidents including Russian-British national Vladimir Kara-Murza, were greeted by their families, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in Maryland on Thursday night. Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich was among the Americans freed in the swap (AP Photo/Eric Gay) While in Russia, President Vladimir Putin embraced each of the returnees at Moscows Vnukovo Airport, and promised them state awards and a talk about your future. Among the eight returning to Moscow was Vadim Krasikov, a Russian assassin who was serving a life sentence in Germany for the 2019 killing of a former Chechen fighter in a Berlin park. German judges said the murder was carried out on orders from Russian authorities. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday that Krasikov is an officer of the Federal Security Service, or FSB a fact reported in the West even as Moscow denied any state involvement. He also said Krasikov once served in the FSBs special Alpha unit, along with some of Mr Putins bodyguards. Naturally, they also greeted each other yesterday when they saw each other, Mr Peskov said, underscoring Mr Putins high interest in including Kresikov in the swap. Mr Peskov also confirmed that the couple released in Slovenia Artem Dultsov and Anna Dultsova were undercover intelligence officers commonly known as illegals. Russian President Vladimir Putin walks with released Russian prisoners and relatives upon their arrival at the Vnukovo government airport outside Moscow, Russia, (Mikhail Voskresensky, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP) Posing as Argentine expats, they used Ljubljana as their base since 2017 to relay Moscows orders to other sleeper agents and were arrested on espionage charges in 2022. Their two children joined them as they flew to Moscow via Ankara, Turkey, where the mass exchange took place. They do not speak Russian, and only learned their parents were Russian nationals sometime on the flight, Mr Peskov said. They also did not know who Mr Putin was, asking who is it greeting them, he added. Thats how illegals work, and thats the sacrifices they make because of their dedication to their work, Mr Peskov said. Two dozen prisoners were freed in the historic trade, which was in the works for months and unfolded despite relations between Washington and Moscow being at their lowest point since the Cold War after Mr Putins February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Moscow freed 15 people in the exchange Americans, Germans and Russian dissidents most of whom have been jailed on charges widely seen as politically motivated. Another German national was released by Belarus. Opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez leads a demonstration against the official election results that declared that President Nicolas Maduro won re-election in Caracas, Venezuela (Cristian Hernandez/AP) The stakes grew higher for Venezuelas electoral authority to show proof backing its decision to declare president Nicolas Maduro the winner of the countrys presidential election after the US recognised opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez as the victor. The US announcement followed calls from multiple governments, including close allies of Mr Maduro, for Venezuelas National Electoral Council to release detailed vote counts, as it has done during previous elections. The electoral body declared Mr Maduro the winner on Monday, but the main opposition coalition revealed hours later that it had evidence to the contrary in the form of more than two-thirds of the tally sheets that each electronic voting machine printed after polls closed. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro (Matias Delacroix/AP) Given the overwhelming evidence, it is clear to the United States and, most importantly, to the Venezuelan people that Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia won the most votes in Venezuelas July 28 presidential election, US secretary of state Antony Blinken said in a statement. Mr Maduro responded with a quick admonishment: The United States needs to keep its nose out of Venezuela! The US government announcement came amid diplomatic efforts to persuade Mr Maduro to release vote tallies from the election and increasing calls for an independent review of the results, according to officials from Brazil and Mexico. Government officials from Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico have been in constant communication with Mr Maduros administration to convince him that he must show the vote tally sheets from Sundays election and allow impartial verification, a Brazilian government official told The Associated Press on Thursday. The officials have told Venezuelas government that showing the data is the only way to dispel any doubt about the results, said the Brazilian official, who was not authorised to speak publicly about the diplomatic efforts and requested anonymity. Oppositions presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez speaks after voting in the presidential election (Matias Delacroix/AP) A Mexican official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity for the same reason, confirmed the three governments have been discussing the issue with Venezuela but did not provide details. Earlier, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said he planned to speak with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil and President Gustavo Petro of Colombia, and that his government believes it is important that the electoral tallies be made public. Later on Thursday, the governments of Brazil, Colombia and Mexico issued a joint statement calling on Venezuelas electoral authorities to move forward expeditiously and publicly release detailed voting data, but they did not confirm any backroom diplomatic efforts to persuade Mr Maduros government to publish the vote tallies. The fundamental principle of popular sovereignty must be respected through impartial verification of the results, they said in the statement. On Monday, after the National Electoral Council declared Mr Maduro the winner of the election, thousands of opposition supporters took to the streets. The government said it arrested hundreds of protesters and Venezuela-based human rights organisation Foro Penal said 11 people were killed. Dozens more were arrested the following day, including a former opposition candidate, Freddy Superlano. Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado who was barred from running for president and Mr Gonzalez addressed a huge rally of their supporters in the capital, Caracas, on Tuesday, but they have not been seen in public since. 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 Later that day, the president of the National Assembly, Jorge Rodriguez, called for their arrest, calling them criminals and fascists. In an op-ed published on Thursday in the Wall Street Journal, Ms Machado said she is hiding, fearing for my life, my freedom, and that of my fellow countrymen. She reasserted that the opposition has physical evidence that Mr Maduro lost the election and urged the international community to intervene. We have voted Mr Maduro out, she wrote. Now it is up to the international community to decide whether to tolerate a demonstrably illegitimate government. Government repression over the years has pushed opposition leaders into exile. After the op-ed was published, Mr Machados team told the AP that she was sheltering. Mr Machado later posted a video on social media calling on supporters to gather on Saturday across the country. The Gonzalez campaign had no comment on the op-ed. On Wednesday, Mr Maduro asked Venezuelas highest court to conduct an audit of the election, but that request drew almost immediate criticism from foreign observers who said the court is too close to the government to produce an independent review. Venezuelas Supreme Tribunal of Justice is closely aligned with Mr Maduros government. The courts justices are nominated by federal officials and ratified by the National Assembly, which Mr Maduros sympathisers dominate. Government supporters rally in defence of president Nicolas Maduros re-election outside Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela (Fernando Vergara/AP) On Thursday, the court accepted Mr Maduros request for an audit and ordered him, Mr Gonzalez and the eight other candidates who participated in the presidential election to appear before the justices on Friday. Mr Gonzalez and Ms Machado say they obtained more than two-thirds of the tally sheets printed from electronic voting machines after the polls closed. They said the release of the data on those tallies would prove Mr Maduro lost. Asked why electoral authorities have not released detailed vote counts, Maduro said the National Electoral Council has come under attack, including cyber-attacks, without elaborating. The presidents of Colombia and Brazil both close allies of the Venezuelan government have urged Mr Maduro to release detailed vote counts. Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado and opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez ride atop a truck during a protest against official presidential election results (Matias Delacroix/AP) The Brazilian official said the diplomatic efforts are only intended to promote dialogue among Venezuelan stakeholders to negotiate a solution to the disputed election. The official said this would include the release of voting data and allowing independent verification. Mr Lopez Obrador said Mexico hopes the will of Venezuelas people will be respected and that there is no violence. He added that Mexico expects that the evidence, the electoral results records, be presented. Pressure has been building on the president since the election. The National Electoral Council, loyal to Mr Maduros United Socialist Party of Venezuela, has yet to release any results broken down by voting machine, as it did in past elections. It did, however, report that Mr Maduro received 5.1 million votes, versus more than 4.4 million for Mr Gonzalez. But Ms Machado, the opposition leader, said vote tallies show Mr Gonzalez received roughly 6.2 million votes compared with 2.7 million for Mr Maduro. The deep division in Northern Irish society was shown again yesterday when the Chief Constable said he had received calls to sack, but also calls to commend, the PSNI officer filmed celebrating Armaghs All-Ireland win in Camlough. Policing here remains a lightning rod for the highly polarised views that persist within society, as Jon Boutcher observed. The smallest actions can have big consequences in a place where every word or decision is heavily scrutinised. Sensibly, in his first public comments on the matter, Mr Boutcher sought to offer some perspective with a pragmatic response. The officer would not be dismissed, suspended or moved, he said, but nor did he condone their actions. His response was balanced and reasonable, and an attempt to draw a line under the controversy. The clip of Sunday nights incident lasts mere seconds, but has fuelled four days worth of commentary, much of it predictable, and from predictable quarters. Police celebrate Armagh All-Ireland win with laps of the road waving flags Camlough is a small community, but the growth of camera phones and online platforms can open up even the most remote settings to widespread scrutiny. The footage shows PSNI cars driving up and down a road, with sirens and blue lights flashing. A PSNI officer in one patrol car is seen waving an Armagh flag from the window while driving. Unionist politicians criticised the officers actions, with allegations of two-tier policing because officers were celebrating a GAA teams victory. Others felt those involved did nothing wrong and the incident had been blown out of proportion. A petition of support was started for the flag-waving community officer. There is no doubt that policing in Northern Ireland, and particularly south Armagh, remains a highly sensitive issue. But road safety is extremely serious too. Sadly, the county of Armagh and indeed wider Northern Irish society needs no reminders of that. On the very day of the final, PSNI social media accounts were reminding people to drive safely. Police officers are expected to lead by example. They are supposed to behave professionally at all times, and Mr Boutcher was clear that what happened overstepped the mark. He accepted the manner in which the police cars were being driven was irresponsible, while urging perspective. There are issues on which we will take the PSNI to task, but on this the Chief Constable has spoken and acted sensibly. The INLA are just one of the many groups supposedly supported by the Russian Government in its efforts to destabilise the west Russia has made gains on the battlefield (Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP) The INLA have been suspected of receiving dark money from the Russian State. The paramilitary group has had an upsurge in activity over the summer, including an attack on a homeless charity last month. A car was driven into the shutters of west Belfasts Welcome Centre before being set alight. Shortly after the incident a mural which threatened to shoot any workmen that tried to repair the damage appeared. The INLA, who were previously alleged of the murders of Jim JD Donegan and Sean fox in recent years, have been accused of openly supporting Vladimir Putins warmongering regime. Public and vocal support of Russias invasion of Ukraine has come from members of the IRSP, the political wing of the INLA. This week, Continuity IRA boss John Connolly was seen supporting Russia from the British embassy in Dublin. Hes described Russias invasion of Ukraine as a proxy war that is funded by NATO. INLA accused of receiving Russian State Dark Money amid Republican support for war in Ukraine The association between Republicanism and Russia goes back to during the Irish Civil war, when the Soviets were supportive of Republicans efforts to establish an independent republic. The Soviet Union continued to support the IRA during the troubles, providing weaponry and training. In March 2022, several Russian diplomats were expelled from Ireland after they were found holding meetings with both Republican Dissidents and Loyalist Paramilitaries. Olivia Peden is joined by Sunday Life reporter John Toner. PITTSFIELD The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has directed General Electric Co. to pause the demolition of Building 12 after a single air sample showed PCBs above the regulatory "action level" for the chemical. The sample was taken July 11-12 at one of eight monitoring stations near the site; it was the only one out of 72 taken in the past six months to exceed EPA's health and safety limits. It was reported by the Pittsfield Economic Development Authority on July 25, when the test results became available, EPA said. The exceedance does not constitute a health threat to the public," EPA said Thursday. "These action levels are very conservative and furthermore this monitor was not located adjacent to public areas. The agency further stated: Monitoring locations located on the north perimeter of PEDA and GEs properties, and adjacent to residential properties, were below health-based action and notification levels. According to EPA, the agency and its Massachusetts counterpart, the state Department of Environmental Protection, believe the spike in airborne PCBs came from the nearby demolition of Building 12, where the chemical was used in making power transformers for decades. The sample, which measured 0.2324 parts per million, was taken near the property line separating GE from Site 9 a parcel of industrial property GE conveyed to the PEDA under the 2000 consent decree. The notification level at which the agency must be informed of airborne PCBs on the GE/Housatonic site is 0.05 ppm. The action level at which work must stop is 0.10 ppm. The recent finding is the only one that exceeded the notification level, let alone the action level. General Electric is demolishing Building 12 and Building 14, also known as the tank shop, but retaining the property as well as Building 100, the massive manufacturing building that runs between the buildings. Work on Building 12 remains paused until several conditions are met, and the results from a new round of tests are known, EPA said. PEDAs backfilling of Site 9, which also had been paused, was allowed to resume July 29. Site 9 is a 16.5-acre parcel at the corner of Tyler Street and Woodlawn Avenue, the former home of the teens buildings on the power transformer campus. (Buildings at the massive plant were all numbered.) The parcel is undergoing $10.8 million in preparation for future development, including foundation removal, utility conduits and landscaping. PEDA has several air monitors set up at its Site 9 construction area, EPA said. A 12-13 day turnaround on PCB air quality tests is typical. The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection reviewed the data provided by PEDA, and concurred with EPA that the strong likelihood is that that the source of PCBs was not PEDAs activities, rather the source of airborne PCBs emanated from GE property associated with the building demolition activities. General Electric proposed the following conditions for resuming its work at Building 12: Perform a PCB air sampling round at five sampling locations and a newly added sixth location, on PEDA property not far from where the above action-level results were recorded. Resume demolition work if the most recent tests show all sampling locations are less than the action level of 0.1 ppm. Conduct weekly PCB air sampling at these six locations for least four weeks, or until results show four consecutive weeks of results less than the action level. Employ additional engineering controls, such as reducing the size of onsite debris piles and keeping those piles further away from the property line. EPA approved GEs proposal with the following added conditions: GE can continue work if test results are above notification level and below action level. But, the company must evaluate conditions, consider additional engineering controls, and discuss the findings and its potential responses with EPA. GE must stop work and inform EPA if any additional sample results are above the air action level. Last week, EPA published a fact sheet stating that airborne PCBs detected throughout the GE/Housatonic site have overwhelmingly registered below the notification level, and do not pose a risk to human health. That assertion has been challenged by David Carpenter, a professor at the University at Albany, who says that evidence suggests a correlation between health problems and exposure to airborne PCBs measured in parts per billion units 1,000 times smaller than parts per million. PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, were used as "dielectric fluids" in GEs transformers until they were banned in the late 1970s as a probable cause of cancer. Dielectric fluids are used as insulators in high voltage components such as transformers in order to prevent or quickly smother electric discharges that could damage or destroy the equipment. PCBs made by Monsanto and used by GE and other manufacturers were chosen for the task because they are stable, inert, and flame and heat resistant. General Electric used them at the power transformer site from 1930 through 1977, and signed a deal in 1972 agreeing not to sue over health and environmental damages as long as it continued to sell the chemicals to GE. But the qualities that made PCBs a good dielectric also made them harmful to the environment, as the chemical bioaccumulates when consumed up the food chain by fish, birds, mammals and humans. For that reason, warnings are posted along the Housatonic in Massachusetts and Connecticut, advising anglers and hunters not to consume what they catch. GREAT BARRINGTON Town officials are mulling their legal options in the wake of the state's approval on Wednesday of a water rate hike for Housatonic residents. Town Manager Mark Pruhenski issued a statement Friday morning, saying the town is "incredibly disappointed with the decision" and is "reviewing the terms of the [Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities] order approving the settlement and will evaluate the options available in light of the order." The Select Board will meet in a closed-door session with the town's attorney on Aug. 6, he added. The DPU approved a settlement on July 31 that allows a rate hike of 90 percent over five years for customers of Housatonic Water Works Co. The first increase of 18 percent took effect on Thursday. Rates will nearly double bills after next year's increase, then rise less dramatically each year until 2028. The waterworks and state Attorney General's Office reached an agreement to lower the increase amount initially sought by the private company when it applied for the hike last year. The rate increase is meant to pay an estimated $4.5 million to fix a handful of problems and perform deferred maintenance to the company's aging system. For years residents have struggled with bouts of yellow-to-brown drinking water, and worried about elevated levels of a cancer-linked compound. Those haloacetic acids levels have mostly fallen below the safety threshold, and changes to fix this is already in service. These are covered by the 18 percent hike. But given the water quality problems that have beset customers in the village, and some customers in Stockbridge and West Stockbridge, residents are outraged that they have to pay for all this. Town officials, who are also considering a town purchase of the waterworks, are not pleased. "While the Town understands the need for, and supports, capital improvements to the Companys aging infrastructure that will allow the Company to deliver better quality water and carry out basic service responsibilities to its customers," Pruhenski wrote, "the Town has consistently urged the Company to actively seek and secure alternative funding sources in order to minimize the amount of any rate increase and ease the financial burden placed on the ratepayers." One of the conditions in the DPU's order is that the company has to find these other money sources. In June it received a $350,000 grant from the federal Environmental Protection Agency and the state Department of Environmental Protection for filtration upgrades to deal with manganese which the company says is the culprit in discolored water. It is unclear whether that grant will lower the initial rate hike amounts for customers. The manganese filtration system is the subject of next year's rate hike of 39.68 percent. The last time Mercer applied for any government funding was in 2002 for a low-interest state loan, for a project that was since dropped, according to the DEP. Donald Morrison is an Eagle columnist and co-chairman of the advisory board. The opinions expressed by columnists do not necessarily reflect the views of The Berkshire Eagle Fifth Annual Henri Lazarof International Commission Prize Henri Lazarof once said, The world is big enough for all kinds of composers. I try to always write for new instrumental forces to search out the limits of the performer and ones own limits as a composer. The Henri Lazarof International Commission Prize will provide support to composers attempting to do the same today. The annual prize is for the composition of an original work for select instruments. The specific instrumentation will change each year to complement an existing work by Henri Lazarof, and the commissioned piece will be performed alongside Lazarof's work. Amy Williams Wins Henri Lazarof International Commission Prize A panel of judges has selected composer Amy Williams as the winner of the Henri Lazarof International Commission Prize. Now in its fifth year, the prize is awarded by Brandeis University and honors the late classical composer Henri Lazarof, MFA59. Williams' commissioned work, for string trio, will receive a world premiere at Brandeis University's Slosberg Recital Hall on May 4, 2025. Amy Williams was born in Buffalo, New York in 1969, the daughter of Diane, now retired violist with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, and Jan, percussionist and Professor Emeritus at the University at Buffalo. She started playing the piano at the age of four and took up the flute a few years later (her first teacher was the legendary Robert Dick, so she could soon play Chopsticks in multiphonics). She grew up in the heyday of the Center for the Creative and Performing Arts, hearing all the latest contemporary music and meeting composers who would later become influential to her: John Cage, Morton Feldman, Lukas Foss, Elliott Carter, Julius Eastman and so many others. She went to Bennington College and, while there, decided to devote her life to performing and composing contemporary music. After a fellowship year in Denmark, she returned to Buffalo to complete her Masters degree in piano performance at the University at Buffalo with pianist/composer Yvar Mikhashoff and her Ph.D. in composition, working with David Felder, Charles Wuorinen and Nils Vigeland. She returned to Bennington in 1998 as a member of the music faculty and she then moved on to a faculty position at Northwestern University in 2000. Since 2005, she has been teaching composition at the University of Pittsburgh, where she is a full professor. She was a 2017-2018 Fulbright Scholar at the University College Cork, Ireland and a visiting professor at the University of Pennsylvania in spring 2019. Amys compositions have been presented at renowned contemporary music venues throughout the United States, Asia, Australia, and Europe, including the Lucerne Festival (Switzerland), Time:Spans, Lincoln Center, Whitney Museum of American Art (New York), Tanglewood Festival of Contemporary Music, Gaudeamus Festival (Netherlands), Dresden Contemporary Music Days (Germany), Ars Musica (Belgium), Aspekte Festival (Austria), Festival Musica Nova (Brazil) and Thailand International Composition Festival. Her works have been performed by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Orpheus, JACK Quartet, Ensemble Musikfabrik, Ensemble Surplus, Dal Niente, Wet Ink, Junction Trio, Talujon, Arditti Quartet, International Contemporary Ensemble, Da Capo Chamber Players, Bent Frequency, Grossman Ensemble, pianist Ursula Oppens, soprano Tony Arnold, bassist Robert Black and many others. In addition to two portrait CDs of solo and chamber works on Albany Records, Crossings: Music for Piano and Strings (2013) and Cineshape and Duos (2017), Amys music appears on the Parma, VDM, Centaur, Blue Griffin, Ravello and New Focus labels. Amy formed the Bugallo-Williams Piano Duo with Helena Bugallo while they both were graduate students at the University at Buffalo. The Duo has performed throughout Europe and the Americas, at the Ojai Festival, CAL Performances, Other Minds (California), Miller Theatre (New York), Ciclo de Musica Contemporanea (Buenos Aires), Palacio de Bellas Artes (Mexico City), Warsaw Autumn Festival, Cologne Triennale and Wittener Tage fur Neue Kammermusik, to name a few. The Duos debut recording of Conlon Nancarrows complete music for solo piano and piano duet (Wergo, 2004) garnered much critical acclaim. Subsequent recordings on Wergo include two volumes of Stravinsky transcriptions (2007, 2018), works of Morton Feldman/Edgard Varese (2009) and Gyorgy Kurtag (2015), as well as the original version of Bartoks Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion in a recently published facsimile edition. As a soloist, Amy has performed John Cages Sonatas and Interludes throughout the US and Europe. She often includes new interludes written for her by over a dozen composers. Amy has received composition fellowships from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, American-Scandinavian Foundation, Howard Foundation, Guggenheim Foundation, Bellagio and MacDowell. She received a Fromm Music Foundation commission for Richter Textures for the JACK Quartet and a Koussevitsky Music Foundation commission for Urquintett for soprano Tony Arnold and the JACK Quartet. She was featured with JACK in a Miller Theatre portrait concert in February 2024, including the world premiere (and Miller commission) of Tangled Madrigal. She recently received the Arts and Letters Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. An avid proponent of contemporary music, Amy served as assistant director of June In Buffalo, director of New Music Northwestern, and is currently on the boards of Music on the Edge, the Amphion Foundation and the Yvar Mikhashoff Trust for New Music. She has been the artistic director of the New Music On The Point festival in Vermont since 2015. Yangtze River Delta races ahead as integration model 08:27, August 02, 2024 By Wang Ying ( China Daily The first super loop rail service, train G8388, passes over the Dashengguan Yangtze River Bridge in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, on June 15. (CHEN DANCHI/XINHUA) To complete his Chinese bucket list, Dominican student Danzel Djimon Dangleben wants to travel from Shanghai to see major attractions in three nearby provinces. The 26-year-old, who is studying Chinese at Tongji University in Shanghai, hopes to see firsthand "the sea of clouds" on the peaks of Huangshan Mountain in Anhui province, discover the beauty of Qiandao Lake in Zhejiang province, and take a close look at a two-stringed bowed erhu in Wuxi, Jiangsu province. He was excited to learn he could reach all three destinations by taking the "super loop" high-speed rail service. "There is no high-speed railway in my home country, so it is an extremely novel and special experience for me to travel by the high-speed trains, taking me from one city to another within a few hours or even dozens of minutes," he said. Dangleben can speak Chinese quite fluently after studying for nine months, and plans to visit a variety of scenic spots near Shanghai during the summer vacation. The high-speed railway loop is the first of its kind in the region and links key cities as well as scenic spots. With 21 stations in major cities across the Yangtze River Delta region, the railway loop stretches for more than 1,200 kilometers and is regarded as a major achievement in the area's integration. By linking Shanghai and the provincial capitals of Nanjing in Jiangsu, Hefei in Anhui province, and Hangzhou in Zhejiang, the super loop is expected to facilitate exchanges across the region and promote economic integration in the Yangtze River Delta. In its first month of operation, the super loop recorded about 110,000 passenger trips, with its average occupancy rate reaching 90 percent, news portal ThePaper.cn reported, citing the China Railway Shanghai Group. Accelerated pace The integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta region is a national strategy now in its sixth year. The ambitious plan aims to build the region into a world-class cluster of cities, said officials and scholars. By the end of 2023, the region had put 7,100 kilometers of high-speed railway network into operation, an increase of 71 percent compared with 4,150 km in 2018, according to Zhang Zhongwei, deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Development and Reform Commission. Gu Jun, deputy secretary-general of the Shanghai municipal government, said during a news conference on July 25 that the significance of the region's integrated development had become greater after the issue was raised at the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, which concluded on July 18. An attendant sorts luggage on train G8389 on July 15. (Photo/Xinhua) "The latest three-year action plan indicates the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta region is entering a new phase of deeper development," Gu said. "Comprising nine major aspects and 165 key tasks, the plan for the years between 2024 and 2026 has charted a clear road map and outlined tasks to be accomplished in the coming three years," said Gu, who is also director of the Shanghai Municipal Development and Reform Commission. The regional leadership will strive to realize the targets at an accelerated pace, Gu added. Zhang said implementation of the three-year action plan will combine the solo efforts of each province or city "into a symphony of the region as a whole". According to Zhang, the previous two three-year action plans had achieved 90 percent of their key tasks, gathered useful experience, and laid a solid foundation for the implementation of the new action plan. "Integration and high quality are the keywords in implementing the action plan, and provincial entities will combine their three-year targets with annual tasks, come up with specific measures, and encourage local innovation," said Ling Ming, deputy director of the Jiangsu Provincial Development and Reform Commission. Chen Haitao, deputy director of the Zhejiang Provincial Development and Reform Commission, said 10 projects for 2024, covering areas such as medical services, elderly care, culture, tourism, government services, and food safety, were announced at a high-level forum on the Yangtze River Delta's integrated development held in Wenzhou, Zhejiang, in June. Visitors watch a robot welding a car body during the 23rd China International Industry Fair in Shanghai in September. (Photo/Xinhua) The projects include adding 660 km of rail and more than 70,000 new public charging piles in the region. More than 200 virtual government service points will also be launched in 41 major cities across the region. Over 300 elderly care venues for seniors will be developed across the region. An all-in-one card will be made available, enabling the cardholder to visit 3,000 cultural and tourism venues including libraries, museums, and scenic spots, as well as fitness complexes. Measures will also be taken to continue ensuring the safety and quality of food products such as rice, flour, oil, meat, eggs, and milk. The list also covers medical insurance and construction in the countryside. In addition, it grants eligible foreigners a visa-free period of 144 hours, or six days, as long as they are transiting through cities across the Yangtze River Delta region, added Chen. Chen Jining, Party secretary of Shanghai, said: "Focused on the thoughts and expectations of the people, efforts will be made to make cross-provincial government services more convenient, strengthen collaboration on education, medical care, and elderly care across the region, deepen ecological environmental protection through regional collaboration, and promote the integrated development of culture, sports, business and tourism in the region." "We will work together with Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui to accelerate construction in the Yangtze River Delta of rail, amplify and elevate the effects of the metropolitan cluster, and deepen public service convenience, so as to continuously enhance people's livelihood and happiness." Shared future As a key economic engine of the country, the Yangtze River Delta region contributes about a quarter of the country's total economic output, and accounts for more than one-third of the nation's imports and exports, according to public information. "Sharing a relatively similar culture, cities within the Yangtze River Delta region have long maintained very close communications and exchanges, and their similarity is also extended to entrepreneurship," said Zuo Xuejin, a researcher from the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences. "Their strong connection and interaction make integration of the region much easier than in other regions," Zuo said. An employee works on a motorcycle parts production line in October in Huainan, Anhui province. In recent years, the province has been trying to seize opportunities presented by the Yangtze River Delta integration strategy. (Photo/Xinhua) According to Zuo, since its integrated development was elevated to a national strategy in 2018, the region has achieved significant progress, improving people's quality of life and benefiting businesses. The Yangtze River Delta region has one of the nation's most developed high-speed railway networks. As of May 2024, a total of 26 high-speed railway routes were operating across the region, covering all prefecture-level cities with the exception of Zhoushan, an island city in Zhejiang. In total, the region operates more than 14,500 km of rail lines, including over 7,200 km of high-speed rail. The region plans to extend its rail network to about 17,000 km by 2025, with some 8,000 km of high-speed rail. The rapid rail network has accelerated economic development and personnel exchanges, Xu Ruihua, a professor with the College of Transportation Engineering at Tongji University was quoted as saying by China Business News. "Once the regional railway network is formed and gets integrated into the national railway network, the exchanges between the Yangtze River Delta region and areas across the nation will be further enhanced," said Xu. The rail networks have also reduced the costs of trade and communications across the region, aiding the free and efficient flow of people, goods, capital, and information, said Niu Fengrui, a researcher specializing in regional economics at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. In addition to the rail network, a world-class airport cluster with global importance is taking shape in the East China city cluster. Accounting for merely one-thirtieth of the country's airspace, the area operates one-fifth of China's passenger volume and handles one-third of the nation's air cargo throughput at its 24 airports, according to China News Service. From January to May, the region transported 115 million air travelers as well as 2.41 million metric tons of cargo, with 862,000 aircraft landings and takeoffs, according to data from the Civil Aviation Administration of China's East China Regional Administration. Supported by reliable air transportation and improved infrastructure, the Yangtze River Delta region has seen its aviation capacity and services constantly enhanced. However, the integration of the region is more than just transportation, experts said. The medical expenses settlement service, which connects 24,500 medical institutions in 41 major cities across the region, has assisted more than 33 million medical visits by patients and saved nearly 5.6 billion yuan ($773 million) in advance payments, according to Xinhua News Agency. Modernization model Xin Changxing, Party secretary of Jiangsu province, said thanks to the smooth flow of people and goods, collaborative manufacturing has become common in the region. Researchers conduct testing and debugging of quantum chips at Quantum Science and Technology Yangtze River Delta Industrial Innovation Center in Suzhou, Jiangsu province. (Photo/Xinhua) "The cooperation of enterprises along the industrial chain helps control costs and enhances efficiency," said Xin. Liu Qingfeng, chairman of iFlytek, a leading AI company, said, "In the past four years, we have seen how enterprises along industrial chains have collaborated and promoted technological products in the region at a greater speed." The Yangtze River Delta Entrepreneurs Union, founded four years ago, has facilitated the growth of technological innovations and helped match these innovations with market demand, Liu said. It has become a great contributor to the region's industrial upgrade, innovation, and development, he added. With a commitment to promoting industrial chain cooperation across the region, the union has promoted the establishment, consolidation, and strengthening of 19 industrial chain alliances. It has boosted scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation in the region, and built a Yangtze River Delta industrial chain community with global competitiveness and influence, said a report on the region's development of such alliances. "The essence of the Yangtze River Delta region's integration is collaboration in systems. This is the most difficult and important part of the integrated development of the region. In fact, all the achievements we have made are the results of system collaboration," said Zhang Zhaoan, a counselor at the Shanghai Municipal People's Government. According to Zhang, who is also former vice-president of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, with the resolution of the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on further deepening reform comprehensively to advance Chinese modernization, the outlook for the Yangtze River Delta region's integrated development looks promising. "The success of the region's city cluster development will become important support for China's economic growth, in the meantime, the experience of innovations in reform and opening-up will also serve as a role model for other Chinese city clusters to follow," Zhang said. Scholars said regardless of the great achievements made in the region's integrated development, there are still many challenges ahead. "We have reached many collaborative agreements, but few are obligatory. Binding agreements with a focus on integrated development will better facilitate the region's integration," said Zuo from the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences. Liu Zhibiao, head of the Yangtze Industrial Economic Institute at Nanjing University, said the experience of world-class city clusters demonstrated the importance of technological innovation. "Based on first-rate industrial innovative capacity, cities across the region will form complementary industries in accordance with the market-oriented economy," he said. "Strong technological innovation abilities will help establish world-class multinational corporations and brands with global competitiveness and attract the world's best talents. This is my vision of the future Yangtze River Delta region," he said. (Web editor: Tian Yi, Liang Jun) Aer Lingus owner International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG) has seen shares lift after it scrapped a deal to buy Spanish carrier Air Europa. IAG shares rose 5 per cent in early trading on Friday after it confirmed the termination, posted its half-year results and dished out a dividend late the previous evening. Advertisement The airline group, which also owns Iberia and British Airways, said it has given up on efforts to buy Air Europa after EU regulators raised competition concerns over the deal. IAG last year agreed a deal to buy the 80 per cent of Air Europa it did not already own for around 400 million. Late on Thursday, IAG also said it would hand shareholders their first dividend payment since the Covid-19 pandemic as it said travel demand remained strong. The group revealed revenues rose to 14.7 billion for the six months to June 30, from 13.6 billion over the same period a year earlier. Advertisement IAG said it was partly boosted by strong demand for short-haul flights across Europe. Chief executive Luis Gallego said: We see continuing strong demand for travel in the attractive core markets in which we operate: North Atlantic, Latin America and intra-Europe. We are pleased to announce a return to paying a dividend, which reflects our confidence in the business, our performance and our transformation. Advertisement We are delivering on our strategy and our commitment to sustainable shareholder returns. Mark Crouch, market analyst at eToro, said: IAG has maintained a steady flight path in 2024, with the international carrier faring considerably better than its national counterparts. Long-haul travel has held up well with robust demand for air travel fuelling increased free cash flow, boosting shareholder returns as a result. While profits were down a touch from last year, the companys balance sheet is in a far healthier state. The first trailer for BBC drama Kidnapped: The Chloe Ayling Story shows the model being abducted as she arrives at an address in Milan, Italy. In the preview clip of the new six-part series, Ayling can also be seen being asked whether she feels like the person on trial in a TV interview after the incident. Advertisement In another scene, one of Aylings kidnappers can be seen asking her: Are you scared of me? The series will follow Chloe Aylings story from her abduction to the subsequent court case (BBC/PA) She replies: I was, but I can see that youre not the same as the others. Advertisement He then says: I would do anything to help you. The trailer then skips forward to a TV interview following her release, where she says: If I was not a model, do you think people would have the same opinions of me? I dont think so, no. Advertisement The series is based on the true story of the British glamour model, who was abducted in 2017 after arriving at an address in Milan for a modelling job but was later released. The former Celebrity Big Brother contestant was held in a farmhouse near Turin while a 300,000 euro (265,000) ransom was demanded. She was released six days later, on July 17, at the British consulate in Milan. However, the model faced headlines claiming she had faked her ordeal and was accused in court of being involved in a publicity stunt. Advertisement Ayling will be played by actor Nadia Parkes, who will star in the series alongside A Spy Among Friends actor Adrian Edmondson and The Captures Nigel Lindsay. The BBC says the new drama will ask: Why Chloe was blamed for her kidnappers crimes? How do we relate to survivors of crime who make the front pages? And how does it feel to be an ordinary person, caught up in events so extraordinary that you arent believed? Advertisement The trailer shows Ayling being kidnapped and later interviewed following her release (PA/BBC) The series is written by Georgia Lester, who worked on Killing Eve, and based on research, interviews, the legal proceedings and Aylings autobiography Kidnapped The Untold Story Of My Abduction. It has been made with Aylings blessing, with the model saying she is excited that the BBC will tell her story. The series will launch on Wednesday, August 14th, with all episodes available on the BBC iPlayer from 6am, and the first two episodes being aired on BBC Three at 9pm. Filming took place in Italy and the UK last year. Extinction Rebellion Ireland (ERI) has warned that if a planned new Google Ireland data centre gets the planning go-ahead for south Dublin it will be met with massive local and national pushback and action. In an objection against the planned new data centre expansion by Google Ireland for Grange Castle Business Park in south Dublin, Emer Connolly of Extinction Rebellion Ireland has told the Council: This expansion is a disaster for local communities, water shortages, transition to a more sustainable economy, and reaching our climate targets. Advertisement Ms Connolly states that if this planning goes through, it will be met with massive local and national pushback and action. She said: Environmental groups are watching closely and wont let this go through easily. In a separate submission, An Taisce has warned that planning for the data centre "would further compromise our ability to achieve compliance with our carbon budget limits and would put additional pressure on renewables capacity to deal with the significant additional power demand. The scheme is the third phase of the Google Ireland data centre campus at Grange Castle Business Park and will involve the creation of 800 construction jobs and 50 jobs when operational. Advertisement The new 72,400 square-metre data storage facility data centre will involve the construction of eight data halls on a 50 acre greenfield/brownfield site. However, in the eight-page submission, An Taisces Planning Officer, Sean O'Callaghan states that the proliferation of data infrastructure has largely gone unchecked, and data centres now consume 21 per cent of Irelands total metred electricity. He said that this is up from 5% in 2015 and represents more electricity use than all urban households in Ireland combined. Mr O'Callaghan has stated that the planned data centre will put great pressure on an already strained electricity grid in the Dublin region, particularly in light of the large number of existing and proposed data centres already in the area. Advertisement Mr O'Callaghan stated that a projected increase of 0.44 per cent in national emissions from the project "is entirely incompatible with our obligations to reduce emissions. Mr O'Callaghan states: "Also, we consider an increase in national emissions of almost half a percentage point as a result of one singular development to be very significant. He said that granting development consent for the data centre, on its own terms and when considered cumulatively with the high concentration of other data centres, would greatly risk Irelands ability to meet carbon budget and sectoral emissions ceiling obligations for the electricity sector. Head of Policy at Friends of the Earth, Jerry MacEvilly has called on the Council to reject the planning application. Advertisement Mr Mac Evilly states our concern is that the proposed development would actively undermine the achievement of the states carbon budget programme. Dr Colin Doyle has told the council that claims of commitment by Google and Google Ireland Ltd to decarbonisation amount to greenwashing. He said: The claims are all based on purchase of renewable electricity. While these purchases can be reported in corporate Green House Gas (GHG) accounting systems, they do not mitigate or offset in any way the physical additional GHG emissions caused by Google's activities in Ireland. In a separate submission, Gino Kenny TD (People Before Profit Solidarity) along with party colleagues, Cllr Madeleine Johansson and Cllr Darragh Adelaide have told the council that the development would have an adverse impact on the local community, the electricity grid and on Irelands carbon emissions. Advertisement Raising concerns about possible black-outs in the area from data centre development, the three state that Grange Castle has seen a significant number of data storage developments, some of which have not yet started operating, and we would be extremely concerned about the capacity of the electricity grid at this time to cope with any further developments. A decision is due on the application later this month. A man is set to appear in court after several landmark state buildings in Dublin were targeted in a series of overnight ramming incidents. A white van was seized after damage was caused to the gates of Government Buildings; the adjacent back gate of the Dail at Leinster House; the official residence of President Michael D Higgins in Phoenix Park; and the Custom House, where the Department of Housing is located. Advertisement A man in his 40s was detained after the last of the incidents at Government Buildings/Leinster House on Merrion Street. Advertisement It is understood gardai are linking the incidents at the various city locations but have ruled out any terror-related motive. On Merrion Street, a number of the gates were significantly damaged, including those at the Department of the Taoiseach at Government Buildings. A gate at the Attorney Generals office was lying off its hinges on Friday morning. The gate at the rear of Leinster House also sustained damaged. Advertisement The gates at the official residence of Irelands President, Michael D Higgins, where gardai are investigating an incident of criminal damage. Photo: Cate McCurry/PA. It is understood the man was arrested near the scene of those incidents. A damaged white van was towed away from the area at around 8.20am. Advertisement Garda commissioner Drew Harris was seen observing the damage in a Garda car driven slowly past Government Buildings shortly before 10am. Elsewhere in the city, the gates of the presidents residence at Aras an Uachtarain were cordoned off on Friday morning after the overnight ramming incident. Damage was caused to gates outside Government Buildings in Merrion Street, Dublin. Photo: Cate McCurry/PA. Advertisement Some damage was also caused at the gates of the Custom House close to the River Liffey. On Friday night, a Garda spokesperson said: The man arrested in connection with this incident remains in Garda custody and is scheduled to appear before Dublin District Court, Criminal Courts of Justice No. 2, at 10:30 am tomorrow morning, Saturday August 3 2024, charged in connection with the case. The United States and Russia have completed their biggest prisoner swap in post-Soviet history, with Moscow releasing Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, security consultant Paul Whelan, who has Irish and British citizenship, and dissidents including Russian-British national Vladimir Kara-Murza, in a multinational deal that set two dozen people free. Mr Gershkovich, Mr Whelan and Alsu Kurmasheva, a journalist with dual US-Russia citizenship, arrived on American soil shortly before midnight for a joyful reunion with their families. Advertisement President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland to greet them. Dual national Paul Whelan speaks at Andrews Air Force Base after he arrived back in the US (Alex Brandon/AP) The trade unfolded despite relations between Washington and Moscow being at their lowest point since the Cold War after Russian President Vladimir Putins February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Advertisement Negotiators in backchannel talks at one point explored an exchange involving Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, but after his death in February ultimately stitched together a 24-person deal that required significant concessions from European allies, including the release of a Russian assassin, and secured freedom for a cluster of journalists, suspected spies, political prisoners and others. Mr Biden praised the exchange, by far the largest in a series of swaps with Russia, as a diplomatic feat while welcoming families of the returning Americans to the White House. Every parent, child, spouse, and loved one who joined me in the Oval Office today has been praying for this day for a long time. In just a few short hours when our fellow Americans return home, those prayers will be answered. pic.twitter.com/2xglu30HE9 Advertisement President Biden (@POTUS) August 2, 2024 But the deal, like others before it, reflected an innate imbalance: The US and allies gave up Russians charged or convicted of serious crimes in exchange for Russia releasing journalists, dissidents and others imprisoned by the countrys highly politicised legal system on charges seen by the West as trumped-up. Advertisement Deals like this one come with tough calls, Mr Biden said. He added, Theres nothing that matters more to me than protecting Americans at home and abroad. Under the deal, Russia released Mr Gershkovich, The Wall Street Journal reporter jailed in 2023 and convicted in July of espionage charges that he and the US government vehemently denied. Reporter Evan Gershkovich, second left, speaks with brother-in-law Anthony Huczek, from left, sister Danielle Gershkovich, mother Ella Milman and father Mikhail Gershkovich at Andrews Air Force Base (Alex Brandon/AP) Advertisement His family said in a statement released by the newspaper that we cant wait to give him the biggest hug and see his sweet and brave smile up close. The papers editor-in-chief, Emma Tucker, called it a joyous day. Also released was Mr Whelan, a Michigan corporate security executive jailed since 2018, also on espionage charges he and Washington have denied, and Ms Kurmasheva, a Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist convicted in July of spreading false information about the Russian military, accusations her family and employer have rejected. The dissidents released included Mr Kara-Murza, a Kremlin critic and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer serving 25 years on charges of treason widely seen as politically motivated, as well as multiple associates of Mr Navalny. Freed Kremlin critics included Oleg Orlov, a veteran human rights campaigner convicted of discrediting the Russian military, and Ilya Yashin, imprisoned for criticizing the war in Ukraine. Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, and clockwise from top left: Russian opposition activist Vladimir Kara-Murza, corporate security executive and former US Marine Paul Whelan, Lilia Chanysheva, former co-ordinator of regional offices of the late opposition figure Alexei Navalny, co-chair of the Nobel Peace Prize winning Memorial Human Rights Centre Oleg Orlov, artist and musician Sasha Skochilenko, Russian opposition activist and former municipal deputy of the Krasnoselsky district Ilya Yashin, government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Libertys Tatar-Bashkir service Alsu Kurmasheva and former head of Open Russia movement Andrei Pivovarov (AP) Returned to Russia was Vadim Krasikov, who was convicted in Germany in 2021 and sentenced to life in prison for killing a former Chechen rebel in a Berlin park two years earlier, apparently on the orders of Moscows security services. Throughout the negotiations, Moscow had been persistent in pressing for his release, with Mr Putin himself raising it. At the time of Mr Navalnys death, officials were discussing a possible exchange involving Mr Krasikov. But with that prospect erased, senior US officials, including national security adviser Jake Sullivan, made a fresh push to encourage Germany to release Mr Krasikov. In the end, a handful of the prisoners Russia released were either German nationals or dual German-Russian nationals. Russia also received two alleged sleeper agents jailed in Slovenia, as well as three men charged by federal authorities in the US, including Roman Seleznev, a convicted computer hacker and the son of a Russian lawmaker, and Vadim Konoshchenok, a suspected Russian intelligence operative accused of providing American-made electronics and ammunition to the Russian military. Norway returned an academic arrested on suspicions of being a Russian spy; Poland sent back a man it detained on espionage charges. Today is a powerful example of why its vital to have friends in this world, Mr Biden said. Six countries released at least one prisoner and a seventh Turkey participated by hosting the location for the swap, in Ankara. The Biden administration has now brought home more than 70 Americans detained in other countries as part of deals that have required the US to give up a broad array of convicted criminals, including for drug and weapons offences. Paul, Evan, Alsu, and Vladimir were unjustly held in Russia in an appalling perversion of justice. They and their families have shown incredible courage in the face of devastating circumstances and they will soon be reunited with their loved ones. pic.twitter.com/9gIVdxJdCq Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) August 2, 2024 The US governments top hostage negotiator, Roger Carstens, has sought to defend the deals by saying the number of wrongfully detained Americans has gone down even as swaps have increased. Ms Tucker, the Journals editor-in-chief, acknowledged the debate, writing, We know the US government is keenly aware, as are we, that the only way to prevent a quickening cycle of arresting innocent people as pawns in cynical geopolitical games is to remove the incentive for Russia and other nations that pursue the same detestable practice. Though she called for a change to the dynamic, for now, she wrote, we are celebrating the return of Evan. Elon Musk engaged with English right-wing activist Tommy Robinson on X, hours after Britain's Prime Minister warned that social media carries responsibility for tackling misinformation which sparked disorder in parts of the UK. Mr Musk, who owns the site formerly known as Twitter, responded with two exclamation marks to a post by Robinson real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon commenting on Sir Keir Starmers response to the disorder in the wake of the Southport stabbings. Advertisement The billionaire SpaceX and Tesla boss has had a controversial reign at X since taking over the company in 2022, and has been accused of allowing misinformation and other harmful content to flourish on the site since then. On Thursday, Sir Keir had warned social media companies after misinformation spread online about the identity of the 17-year-old suspect, Axel Rudakubana, including false claims that he was an asylum seeker. The UK Prime Minister said his government would uphold the law everywhere, including online, where far-right groups have been accused of inciting violence and stirring division in the wake of the tragedy, which has led to unrest in Southport, London and Hartlepool. Advertisement Speaking directly to social media firms during a press conference in Downing Street, Sir Keir said: Violent disorder, clearly whipped up online, that is also a crime, its happening on your premises, and the law must be upheld everywhere. That is the single most important duty of government, service rests on security. We will take all necessary action to keep our streets safe. Advertisement Social media giant X has come under increased scrutiny since being taken over by Mr Musk in late 2022, with the billionaire himself engaging with misleading content and accounts known for spreading misinformation on a number of occasions. In the last week he reposted a misleading video of US vice president Kamala Harris, and has previously engaged with accounts known to have spread misinformation on a number of topics, including Covid-19 and vaccine safety. His approach to running the platform has been heavily criticised after he substantially cut staff numbers and changed the sites verification and content moderation systems, saying he wanted to allow absolute free speech. Under his leadership, the company has also restored the accounts of many figures previously banned for breaking the website's rules around hate speech. Advertisement Since then, many users claim to have seen an increase in hateful content, as well as pornography and spam posts and accounts, despite Mr Musk claiming he would defeat the bots after taking over the company. A number of experts have raised concerns about the rising levels of misinformation spreading on the platform, which they warned was being used by political activists to stoke divisions and tension. One said this misinformation had been used by a vocal minority to sow division and fuel their own agenda and trigger a summer of thrill-seeking impulsive insurrection following disorder in Southport, London and Hartlepool in the days since the attack. John Coxhead, a professor of policing at Staffordshire University, said groups were being cynically stirred up by opportunistic populists with nothing better to do. Advertisement In London on Wednesday, more than 100 people were arrested after protesters in Whitehall threw beer cans and glass bottles at police, and flares at the statue of Sir Winston Churchill in Parliament Square. Demonstrators wearing England flags and waving banners saying enough is enough and stop the boats had congregated outside Downing Street, with chants of We want our country back and Oh Tommy Robinson. In his televised address, the Sir Keir added that it was important for the UK government and tech firms to work together to keep the country safe, saying government blaming everybody else and pointing fingers does not work well. Sir Keir said there is a discussion to be had about companies striking the right balance, saying social media carries responsibility, but that he wanted to work together to keep the country safe. He added: What has not worked well recently with the previous government, in my view, is the performative politics of a government blaming everybody else and pointing fingers. That approach to me is not effective. My approach is different, which is to roll my sleeves up, get the relevant people around the table and fix the problems, and meet the challenges that we have as a country. We did that with law enforcement and police this afternoon similar approach with social media, which is not performative politics which gets us nowhere, but the politics of service, which is to actually work together to address the challenges that we have and make sure that we keep the country safe and respect the values of our fellow citizens, which are about law enforcement, security and safety. Kamala Harris is preparing for the fight of her life, if her inner circle is anything to go by. The US vice president has surrounded herself with a group of tested operators, many of them Black women who have been involved in Democratic politics for decades, as she gears up for a brutal three months of campaigning before the November 5th election. Advertisement US senator Laphonza Butler of California, for one, struck a bullish tone this week when asked on MSNBC about the prospect of Ms Harris facing a barrage of sexist and racist attacks. "Bring it," she said. "Because we are not new to this." The tight-knit group of advisers are fiercely loyal to Ms Harris and passionate about her career, with many having shepherded her since she was a newcomer to Washington when she joined the Senate in 2017, according to Reuters interviews with four people with direct knowledge of her closest confidants. Some of the group privately lobbied Joe Biden to pick a Black woman - Ms Harris in particular - as his running mate in 2020 at a time when he had only publicly committed to naming a woman, said the people, who requested anonymity to discuss the matter. Advertisement Ms Harris' inner circle include advisers and allies such as Minyon Moore, chair of the Democratic National Convention Committee, convention rules co-chair Leah Daughtry, Democratic National Committee (DNC) member Donna Brazile and Tina Flournoy, a former chief of staff to Ms Harris, the people said. Clinton administration They are no strangers to power, with many having served in Bill Clinton's 1993-2001 presidency. Ms Harris, an 11th-hour substitute at the top of the ticket after Mr Biden dropped out, may need all the help she can get, even though her campaign has made a strong start. Ms Harris remains untested, politically, on the national stage, despite being a former senator from the most populous US state of California. She dropped out of the 2020 Democratic primary early, and she trails Republican rival Donald Trump in some battleground states in this year's race, according to opinion polls. Advertisement There are signs of a break from the past for Ms Harris in one area. So far this year, some members of her family - long among her closest advisers - have played a less prominent role than in her 2020 run. Younger sister Maya Harris, who ran that short-lived campaign, has been mostly absent during key moments this time round, three of the people familiar with Ms Harris' campaign said. The advisers and family members included in this article either declined comment or didn't respond to requests for comment. The Harris campaign didn't comment. The 59-year-old vice president faces a tight race and needs to be prepared for a wave of attacks, Democratic strategist Anthony Coley said. Advertisement Mr Trump has called Ms Harris "crazy," "nuts", "dumb as a rock" and questioned her identity by suggesting she had previously downplayed her Black heritage. Some Republicans in Congress disparage her as a diversity hire. Right-wing activists and trolls have smeared her online with racist and sexist barbs. The inner circle is "battle tested in a way that is going to be helpful over the next 99 days," Mr Coley said. "It's going to be fast, it's going to be furious, it's going to be deep. And you have to have people who know how to respond quickly and smartly to these types of attacks." The Trump campaign didn't respond to a request for comment for this article. Advertisement 'Force of nature, force for good' Women with years of experience running the White House and election campaigning also hold key organisational roles inside the Harris camp. Lorraine Voles serves as her White House chief of staff; Erin Wilson is her deputy chief of staff; Sheila Nix is her chief of staff on the campaign; Kirsten Allen serves as her White House communications director; and Rohini Kosoglu is one of her closest advisers, who has worked for her since her time in the Senate. Ms Voles, a veteran Washington communications fixer and adviser, has been credited by analysts for being a stabilising force within Ms Harris' inner circle since May 2022, after turmoil in her office that included departures in her communications, national security and other teams. "Lorraine is a force of nature and a force for good who looks around corners and plays to win," said Chris LeHane, who worked with Ms Voles at the Clinton White House. A deputy press secretary for Bill Clinton, Ms Voles was subsequently communications director for then-vice president Al Gore and for then-senator Hillary Clinton. Some of the top male staffers she relies on are Brian Fallon, a former senior aide to Hillary Clinton who runs her communications at the campaign; Ike Irby, who served as her deputy domestic policy adviser at the White House until earlier this year; and Dean Lieberman, a national security adviser, who earlier worked for the White House National Security Council. Democratic strategist Joel Payne said the people around Ms Harris had experience building coalitions, including the group of voters that coalesced around the Biden-Harris ticket in 2020 and those who supported Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012. "These are folks who have that lineage ... to those previous eras of Democratic politics and an understanding of how to rebuild those coalitions from the past," he added. Ties to Washington power brokers The counsel of figures like Ms Moore, Ms Daughtry, Ms Brazile and Ms Flournoy lend Ms Harris years of experience from the Clinton White House and the DNC and the political chops to navigate a party that did not fully embrace her in the early years she was vice president. These women also bring deep knowledge of Washington and ties to its power brokers. They give Ms Harris an advantage over Mr Trump, according to Marcia Fudge, a co-chair of the Harris campaign and former housing secretary in Biden's administration. "It brings her a level of experience that his people don't have," Ms Fudge told Reuters. Mr Trump's campaign is built around a handful of loyal, little-known political advisers, who helped him sweep away multiple Republican challengers in the primaries. Another sounding board for Ms Harris is senator Butler, a union organiser who has known Harris since she was San Francisco district attorney in the early 2000s and served as a senior adviser to her 2020 campaign. With her union ties, Ms Butler offers a bridge to the labour community, an important Democratic constituency for Ms Harris. This week, the United Auto Workers union endorsed Ms Harris for president, providing a potential boost for her in the swing state of Michigan. Matt Bennett, co-founder of Third Way, a political strategy group, said this team would help Ms Harris portray herself as politically in the centre, while also appealing to left-leaning voters. "They understand how to position her as a moderate." Harris husband: 'Professional wife guy' Although family members are playing a less prominent role in this campaign, they are strong supporters. Ms Harris' brother-in-law - Maya's husband - Tony West, chief legal officer at Uber and former associate attorney general in the Obama administration, has been by the vice president's side during key moments on the trail this year. He joined her on trips while Mr Biden's own presidential bid was collapsing and then again at the Harris campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, where Ms Harris addressed campaign leaders and staffers for the first time as the presidential candidate. "He's a thought partner, no formal role," said one of the people with knowledge of the campaign. Ms Harris' husband, Doug Emhoff, remains cheerleader-in-chief. The 59-year-old former lawyer has hit the campaign trail hard, visiting abortion clinic in Maine, stumping in New Hampshire and channeling what Vanity Fair calls "professional Wife Guy" - the supportive husband. Seven men have been charged after violent disorder broke out in Hartlepool, England on Wednesday, police have confirmed. Local Police said all seven men were charged with violent disorder. Advertisement A 42-year-old man was also charged with assault by beating of an emergency worker. A police car burns as officers are deployed on the streets of Hartlepool following a violent protest (Owen Humphreys/PA) A 28-year-old man was charged with violent disorder and possession of an offensive weapon in a public place, as well as violent disorder. Advertisement All seven men have been remanded in custody and are due to appear in court on Friday. An 11-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of arson after a police vehicle was set alight during a violent protest in Hartlepool in the wake of the Southport stabbing. Police said 11 other people were arrested on Wednesday evening in connection with the disorder during which officers were attacked with missiles, glass bottles and eggs in the County Durham town. The arrests included seven men, one juvenile and one woman, with ages between 14 and 54, on suspicion of offences including violent disorder and assaulting an emergency worker, according to the force. Advertisement During the violence, which involved about 150 people, four police officers suffered minor injuries. Advertisement Before the protest, officers identified the suspected organiser and arrested a 51-year-old man from Hartlepool on suspicion of distributing written materials to stir up racial hatred. He has been released on conditional bail while inquiries continue. A woman aged 28, also from the Hartlepool area, was arrested on Wednesday before the demonstration. She was detained on suspicion of unlawfully obtaining or disclosing protected information and distributing written materials to stir up racial hatred relating to personal information placed on social media, and has been released on conditional bail while the investigation continues. Advertisement Police will maintain a visible presence in the area to reassure and protect the community. Assistant Chief Constable David Felton said: This is very much a live investigation and we are continuing to work to identify those involved in the disorder yesterday evening and bring them to justice. Disorder of this kind will not be tolerated and those found to be involved will be robustly dealt with. Police on the streets of Hartlepool (Owen Humphreys/PA) Speaking outside Hartlepool Police Station on Thursday afternoon, Chief Constable Mark Webster said the events in the town were mindless thuggery and that experienced officers had never seen such disorder there before. Asked what the motivation was for the disorder, he said: There is an opportunity to go out and damage things, and just exhibit a bit of violence. I dont think there is a principle at stake, this was not a legitimate protest or demonstration. I think there is some mindless thuggery and thats why we are being really proactive to go out and arrest people. Theres no excuse for last night. It comes after riots in Southport on Tuesday and further disorder in London, Aldershot and Manchester on Wednesday. Speaking at a press conference on Thursday afternoon, Britain's Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the riots were not protest and not legitimate as he vowed not to permit a breakdown of law and order. He said: Make no mistake, whether its in Southport, London or Hartlepool, these people are showing our country exactly who they are. Mosques targeted because theyre mosques, flares thrown at the statue of Winston Churchill, a Nazi salute at the Cenotaph. Because lets be very clear about this. Its not protest. Its not legitimate. Its crime. Violent disorder. An assault on the rule of law and the execution of justice. Hartlepool MP Jonathan Brash told BBC Radio 4s World At One programme on Thursday that the unrest the night before doesnt represent us as a town. On Thursday morning, a clean-up operation began in the town as council workers were joined by volunteers in sweeping away the debris. A police car which was destroyed when it was set alight had already been removed by 10am. Axel Rudakubana, 17, has been charged with the murder of Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport on Monday. The stakes grew higher for Venezuelas electoral authority to show proof backing its decision to declare president Nicolas Maduro the winner of the countrys presidential election after the US recognised opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez as the victor. The US announcement followed calls from multiple governments, including close allies of Mr Maduro, for Venezuelas National Electoral Council to release detailed vote counts, as it has done during previous elections. Advertisement The electoral body declared Mr Maduro the winner on Monday, but the main opposition coalition revealed hours later that it had evidence to the contrary in the form of more than two-thirds of the tally sheets that each electronic voting machine printed after polls closed. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro (Matias Delacroix/AP) Given the overwhelming evidence, it is clear to the United States and, most importantly, to the Venezuelan people that Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia won the most votes in Venezuelas July 28 presidential election, US secretary of state Antony Blinken said in a statement. Advertisement Mr Maduro responded with a quick admonishment: The United States needs to keep its nose out of Venezuela! The US government announcement came amid diplomatic efforts to persuade Mr Maduro to release vote tallies from the election and increasing calls for an independent review of the results, according to officials from Brazil and Mexico. Government officials from Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico have been in constant communication with Mr Maduros administration to convince him that he must show the vote tally sheets from Sundays election and allow impartial verification, a Brazilian government official told The Associated Press on Thursday. The officials have told Venezuelas government that showing the data is the only way to dispel any doubt about the results, said the Brazilian official, who was not authorised to speak publicly about the diplomatic efforts and requested anonymity. Advertisement Oppositions presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez speaks after voting in the presidential election (Matias Delacroix/AP) A Mexican official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity for the same reason, confirmed the three governments have been discussing the issue with Venezuela but did not provide details. Earlier, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said he planned to speak with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil and President Gustavo Petro of Colombia, and that his government believes it is important that the electoral tallies be made public. Advertisement Later on Thursday, the governments of Brazil, Colombia and Mexico issued a joint statement calling on Venezuelas electoral authorities to move forward expeditiously and publicly release detailed voting data, but they did not confirm any backroom diplomatic efforts to persuade Mr Maduros government to publish the vote tallies. The fundamental principle of popular sovereignty must be respected through impartial verification of the results, they said in the statement. On Monday, after the National Electoral Council declared Mr Maduro the winner of the election, thousands of opposition supporters took to the streets. The government said it arrested hundreds of protesters and Venezuela-based human rights organisation Foro Penal said 11 people were killed. Advertisement Dozens more were arrested the following day, including a former opposition candidate, Freddy Superlano. Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado who was barred from running for president and Mr Gonzalez addressed a huge rally of their supporters in the capital, Caracas, on Tuesday, but they have not been seen in public since. Electoral data overwhelmingly demonstrate the will of the Venezuelan people: democratic opposition candidate @EdmundoGU won the most votes in Sundays election. Venezuelans have voted, and their votes must count. Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) August 2, 2024 Later that day, the president of the National Assembly, Jorge Rodriguez, called for their arrest, calling them criminals and fascists. In an op-ed published on Thursday in the Wall Street Journal, Ms Machado said she is hiding, fearing for my life, my freedom, and that of my fellow countrymen. She reasserted that the opposition has physical evidence that Mr Maduro lost the election and urged the international community to intervene. We have voted Mr Maduro out, she wrote. Now it is up to the international community to decide whether to tolerate a demonstrably illegitimate government. Government repression over the years has pushed opposition leaders into exile. After the op-ed was published, Mr Machados team told the AP that she was sheltering. Mr Machado later posted a video on social media calling on supporters to gather on Saturday across the country. The Gonzalez campaign had no comment on the op-ed. On Wednesday, Mr Maduro asked Venezuelas highest court to conduct an audit of the election, but that request drew almost immediate criticism from foreign observers who said the court is too close to the government to produce an independent review. Venezuelas Supreme Tribunal of Justice is closely aligned with Mr Maduros government. The courts justices are nominated by federal officials and ratified by the National Assembly, which Mr Maduros sympathisers dominate. Government supporters rally in defence of president Nicolas Maduros re-election outside Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela (Fernando Vergara/AP) On Thursday, the court accepted Mr Maduros request for an audit and ordered him, Mr Gonzalez and the eight other candidates who participated in the presidential election to appear before the justices on Friday. Mr Gonzalez and Ms Machado say they obtained more than two-thirds of the tally sheets printed from electronic voting machines after the polls closed. They said the release of the data on those tallies would prove Mr Maduro lost. Asked why electoral authorities have not released detailed vote counts, Maduro said the National Electoral Council has come under attack, including cyber-attacks, without elaborating. The presidents of Colombia and Brazil both close allies of the Venezuelan government have urged Mr Maduro to release detailed vote counts. Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado and opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez ride atop a truck during a protest against official presidential election results (Matias Delacroix/AP) The Brazilian official said the diplomatic efforts are only intended to promote dialogue among Venezuelan stakeholders to negotiate a solution to the disputed election. The official said this would include the release of voting data and allowing independent verification. Mr Lopez Obrador said Mexico hopes the will of Venezuelas people will be respected and that there is no violence. He added that Mexico expects that the evidence, the electoral results records, be presented. Pressure has been building on the president since the election. The National Electoral Council, loyal to Mr Maduros United Socialist Party of Venezuela, has yet to release any results broken down by voting machine, as it did in past elections. It did, however, report that Mr Maduro received 5.1 million votes, versus more than 4.4 million for Mr Gonzalez. But Ms Machado, the opposition leader, said vote tallies show Mr Gonzalez received roughly 6.2 million votes compared with 2.7 million for Mr Maduro. Administrators for Regional Express say numerous potential buyers have expressed interest in the struggling airline despite questions surrounding the state of its books as preparations begin for the sales process as early as next week. Rex appointed EY as voluntary administrators on Tuesday and stopped all capital city flights after the consulting firm conducted a business review of the ASX-listed company in May. Rex has traditionally been a regional airline but expanded into flying between capital cities in 2021. Credit: Andrew Taylor EY partner Sam Freeman said he had been contacted by a large number of parties interested in a potential acquisition of Rexs business via a deed of company arrangement. The voluntary administration period is expected to be five weeks. Rex has traditionally been a regional airline, but expanded into flying between capital cities in 2021 after receiving $150 million from investment firm PAG Asia Capital. It also owns a fly-in, fly-out charter service, National Jet Express, two pilot schools and holds a number of emergency services contracts. 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 Everyone knows air travel isnt what it used to be. Decades ago it was a glamorous affair. Now its more of a miserable experience, with delays, discomfort, extra charges and, in Australia, an ever-shrinking choice of carriers for customers, following the failure this year of two regional airlines, Bonza and Rex. While few passengers and experts in the aviation industry took Bonza seriously, Rexs implosion shook the nation. Rex, short for Regional Express, has operated for 22 years, providing a critical service to communities scattered across regional Australia. It has flown to more than 50 destinations and often to towns not serviced by the major airlines, Qantas and Virgin. The news that Rex was going broke and had gone into administration this past week with plans to lay off 610 staff more than a quarter of its workforce was a major headache for the Albanese government. Almost immediately, stakeholders from unions and staff to customers began demanding the federal government step in and save Rex, even though Rex was a private company and its failure was most likely the result of hubris and mismanagement. The news also fanned debate, again, about whether a nation as geographically vast as Australia, with its small population, can support more than two airlines. Its an argument that goes around and around, and which currently offers little consolation to regional leaders and their communities, who just want to know if Rex will be rescued. Its critical that Rex continues, says Dallas Tout, the mayor of Wagga Wagga, a large inland city in southern NSW that sits halfway between Sydney and Melbourne. Everyone of this entire region is of the same mind that we need to get Rex through this, and make sure that the regional network is saved. His argument gathers more support if you consider that, in the two decades to 2019, the number of regional routes provided by airlines has fallen substantially, from 458 to 291. In the same period the number of remote routes fell almost 40 per cent to 163. Advertisement When Rex started more than two decades ago its arrival was received with enthusiasm Rex is here for the long haul, Up, up and away with Rex were the headlines. Its inaugural flight was from Wagga Wagga to Sydney. Wagga Wagga is also where Rex has its engineering base and one of its two pilot-training academies; the other is in Ballarat. Those centres also train pilots for other airlines. Now the headlines about Rex are gloomier: Rexs future is up in the air. But they wont stay that way if Tout and other mayors, who are seeking meetings with state and federal ministers, have anything to do with it. We need Rex all around the country in regional areas. I can assure you that all local governments will be communicating that, Tout says. Rex has been an important carrier in Australias aviation market, providing links with regional communities and their economies into capital cities, whether for business or leisure. It was particularly important for fly-in, fly-out workers employed at mines and on large infrastructure projects. In southern NSW, where Wagga Wagga is situated, theres an estimated $10 billion to $15 billion being spent on infrastructure projects, spanning energy, telecommunications and defence, over the next decade. Additionally, airlines flying to regional centres help to deliver essential services, such as healthcare. Tout estimates that about 5000 air seats annually between Sydney and Wagga Wagga were occupied by medical specialists, such as cardiologists, travelling to that region to attend to patients. Wagga Wagga is fortunately also served by Qantas, but not all regional towns and cities have the choice of two airlines. Its why Prime Minister Anthony Albanese cant let Rex collapse. His government would face a backlash in regional centres that he cant afford, especially with less than a year to an election and with the government struggling in the polls. Those pressures may explain why the prime minister has been so highly critical of Rexs management for trying to be more than just a regional airline. The airlines downfall was hastened after management made the costly decision to expand into the cut-throat capital-city routes between Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth, distracting it from its core market of regional Australia. Rexs aircraft livery carries the slogan Our heart is in the country. Advertisement The expansion into those inter-capital-city routes by Rex occurred after the pandemic. As a smaller player, Rex tried, but didnt have the volume of flights, passengers or slots, especially at Sydney Airport, to make those inter-capital-city routes viable, especially when it was being matched and undercut on fares and routes by its bigger and better-resourced rivals, Qantas and Virgin. Rex is not the first airline to try and break the dominant duopoly that exists in Australias aviation industry. In the past few decades a graveyard has filled with airline groups that have tried and failed, from Compass to Tiger Airways and Bonza, to name a few. Its easy to understand why they try. The Sydney-to-Melbourne route alone accounts for 15 per cent of all domestic passenger travel and is considered one of the top-10 busiest domestic routes in the world. Rod Sims, the former chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), believes the nation can support three airlines. He was critical of the prime minister suggesting Rex should have stuck to its own runway of regional services and not tried to compete against Virgin and Qantas on the inter-capital-city routes. The idea that you want to cement the airline structure into a regional player and two national players just dooms us all to higher airfares, he said. Weve got to be more dynamic than that. We shouldnt criticise a player for wanting to have a go because clearly they brought lower airfares to Australian consumers. Its a good thing that they tried. If they had the slot allocations at Sydney in better shape, maybe Rex would have done a lot better. A slot is an agreement between an airport operator and an airline that allows the airline to operate take-offs and landings at a specific time and date. Smaller airlines have struggled to compete against Qantas and Virgin, which dominate slots at Sydney Airport particularly during peak times and more broadly in the market. Advertisement Sims said the reform of the slot system at Sydney Airport was paramount to ensuring the survival of a third player in Australias aviation market. The federal government still has to implement the recommendations of former Productivity Commission chairman Peter Harris to open more peak-time slots at Sydney Airport to smaller players. The imminent release of the governments aviation policy paper may help accelerate that change but that may still be too late for Rex. Sims said the government needed to act, and there was little the ACCC could do to help ensure a third player in Australias aviation space would survive. He said when Rex expanded onto the inter-capital-city routes it claimed Qantas had retaliated by entering some of its regional routes. The idea that you want to cement the airline structure into a regional player and two national players just dooms us all to higher airfares. Rod Sims, former ACCC chair It was: You [Rex] have come on our routes and we will give you a really big bloody nose and we, Qantas, wont make any money but will really cut your returns down, big time. So that was the retaliation Qantas is alleged to have done, said Sims. He said when he was ACCC chair he reviewed Rexs complaint under Australias competition law. The evidentiary burden youve got to have to get a case like that as being a substantial lessening of competition is just enormous. Not everyone agrees that Australia can sustain more than two big airlines. The answer is no, said Ian Douglas, who used to work for Qantas and now works as a senior lecturer at UNSWs School of Aviation. I dont think with 27 million people we are ever really going to find a sustainable third carrier space on the market. Every time we get a third carrier it ends up just being a bloodbath, and the smallest one falls out. Air New Zealand has had the rights to fly domestically in Australia for years and years. They have the right aircraft, they fly those aircraft across the Tasman, they never try to operate domestically in Australia. Advertisement He said the European and American markets, which are more than 10 times the size of Australias population, can only support a handful of carriers. In the US, with its population of 330 million, there are only four major carriers, which together account for about 80 per cent of that market. And yet the federal government wants Rex services to continue into the regional areas, despite its woes. Federal Transport Minister Catherine King, whose department has been liaising with Rexs administrators, EY, has said the government doesnt want to see Rex fold. Albanese, a former transport and regional development minister, said the government would keep a close eye on the proposals put forth to rescue Rex. We are concerned about Rex, said Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen For now, Rex has ceased all of its flights between capital cities, and customers who had tickets on those routes have been able to book equivalent services on Virgin and Qantas free of charge. Rex has secured short-term funding to continue flying regionally until a buyer of the airline is found. The downfall of Rex wasnt only caused by its expansion into those inter-capital-city routes. There have been other contributing factors a global shortage of pilots meant it was unable to fly a number of its ageing planes and there were also boardroom ructions. And by not yet reforming the slots system at Sydney Airport the Albanese government and previous federal governments have helped entrench a duopoly in the market. But the governments anger towards Rexs management is also understandable, given the financial support it has received. Rex had funding in the form of a $150 million convertible note essentially a loan from an Asia-based private equity group, which helped it undertake its expansion into those inter-capital-city routes, pitting it against Qantas and Virgin. In addition to that loan, Rex received $150 million in financial support from the federal government in the two years to June 30, 2022, as it recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic, which roiled airlines globally. The Western Australian and Queensland governments have also given it financial support. Advertisement Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Got it Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size Sometimes in a movie, a moment turns from mere punchline to cultural touchstone. In the comedy action romp Jackpot! such a moment comes when the films heroine Katie Kim (Awkwafina) arrives to inspect the tiny apartment she is moving into. It doesnt look like the AirBnB pictures, she says, dryly. As I sit down with Awkwafina to discuss the film, we start with that moment because it leaps out so loudly from the screen, perfectly capturing the transactional failure and social decay of the internet era, where things rarely resemble the promise made by the websites that entice us into the deal. Awkwafina plays the films heroine Katie Kim. Credit: Disney via Getty Images Its weird, if you watch the movie back, I guess you could look at every line like that, Awkwafina says. I really love when you cant tell if a line is written out of some kind of poetic justice or just like a kind of gag, a set piece. And I think that [the films writer] Rob Yescombe probably meant it as a little bit of both. For the films director, Paul Feig, the moment taps into the unfulfilled promise the future gave us when we were kids, one of smooth lines, bubble-shaped houses and gleaming cleanliness. I remember as a kid, watching The Jestsons, you think the future is going to look like that, Feig says. John Cena and Awkwafina in Jackpot! Credit: Prime Video Why one line pops for the audience above others is pop cultures great mystery. I can tell you what I think is going to be hilarious, but when you get it in front of an audience, you are constantly surprised, Feig says. Advertisement Jackpot! is a delightfully ridiculous comedy set in the near future when Californias Grand Lottery awards huge multi-billion-dollar prizes that comes with a catch: if anyone catches and kills the winner before sundown, they can claim the prize. The net effect is a lottery win that becomes a virtual death sentence, and a jackpot-above-everything culture that turns grannies on buses and hairstylists into homicidal murderers, chasing down would-be billionaires to take them out and claim their prize. Katie Kim (Awkwafina) discovers she has won the lottery in Jackpot! Credit: Prime Video The film stars Awkwafina as its heroine, an unassuming actor named Katie Kim who has come to Los Angeles to pursue her dreams. John Cena plays Noel, a freelance security contractor who offers to protect Katie after she wins a multi-billion dollar prize, and Simu Liu stars as Louis Lewis, Noels rival in the security business. Both are in it, at least initially, for a slice of the prize. In a sense, the films story is a metaphor for LA itself: aspiring actor comes to town, discovers most of what she encounters is a little less substantial than it seems, has to claw her way to the top literally, in one scene and is surrounded by a group of people, all of whom want to take their percentage cut of what shes worth. John Cena and Awkwafina in Jackpot! Credit: Prime Video Thats such a good read of it, and I think thats exactly whats going on, it is a metaphor for Hollywood, and how hard and arbitrary it is, and how people will just sell you down the town, pretty much, Awkwafina says. Advertisement What really kind of drew me to the movie was this idea of a near future, dystopic, but very believable LA, where its impossible for anyone to really get anything done, unless its through this kind of really intense one-man, man-eat-man kind of thing. Awkwafinas own journey was a little more genteel: born Nora Lum in Stony Brook, New York, she emerged initially as a musician (with an album, Yellow Ranger, and an MTV comedy series Girl Code) and then as a film actor, with smaller roles in Oceans 8 (2018), Crazy Rich Asians (2018) and Jumanji: The Next Level (2019). John Cena and Awkwafina in Jackpot! Credit: Prime Video Her path to fame was sealed with her Golden Globe- and Gotham Award-winning performance in The Farewell, directed by one of Americas most talented emerging directors, Lulu Wang. Since then, she has starred in her own series, Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens, and joined the Marvel universe for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. The title of her debut album as a young aspiring artist, Yellow Ranger, gives a powerful insight into the importance of visible diversity in popular culture. During Awkwafinas childhood, at a time when there were few high-profile Asian stars, Vietnamese-American actor Thuy Trangs performance as Trini Kwan, the Yellow Ranger from the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, mattered a great deal. Awkwafina attends the 2024 Met Gala. Credit: Getty Images Growing up, it does affect you, and it affects you in ways that youre not necessarily protesting it outside at eight years old, but it affects you in these weird ways, Awkwafina says. Advertisement And I think now, as a person ... Im not going to be super into myself and talk about how big I am or whatever, but I do know that its really important that people can see me, even when Im not perfect, right? I think that its important for people to see me in different kinds of stuff because it normalises it, it doesnt make it seem as like it would never happen. I think when people see me as a kind of a normal, frumpy, slouchy Asian girl, it makes it seem possible. The young Nora lost her mother when she was just a kid, and was raised by her father and paternal grandparents, in particular her grandmother, Powah Lum, who became an influential figure in her life. Awkwafina playing the granddaughter to her dying grandmother (Zhao Shuzhen) in The Farewell. Credit: Casi Moss My mother passed when I was very young, and so I think that what I derive from female relationships is very, very different from, say, someone that mightve grown up with a mother, Awkwafina says. I felt like, growing up, I had a lot of different mums, like my aunts, people that were younger than my grandma. In a way, Im still growing up, and I meet different women who really just impact me and show me versions of myself that I could be, that my mother obviously is not here to show me, she adds. Awkwafina cites collaborations with performers including Sandra Oh and Margaret Cho as enormously impactful. To be able to see them intimately, who they are as people, those relationships affect me every day as a woman, she says. Advertisement Leaving home for college, she majored in journalism and womens studies at the State University of New York at Albany, but ruled out a career in journalism very quickly. I did not have the nerve for it, the balls for it, the tenacity for it, she says. I had a few internships when I was in college for local papers, and the newsroom was so intimidating of a place. Making calls in front of everybody, it just freaked me out. And yet acting in front of an audience does not faze her? Isnt that bizarre? she says. Awkwafina wins the Golden Globe for her work on The Farewell. Credit: AP Her other major coursework, womens studies, left a deeper mark, particularly in the context of an America in 2024 in which womens reproductive rights are under siege, and the country seems caught amid a deep political schism between left and right. I loved womens studies the most is because it taught me so much beyond just gender and sex issues, it taught me about racism, race issues, class issues. It taught me about how things were institutionalised, these events that happened that were significant. First-wave feminism, second-wave feminism, all of these different ideas, in a way, it makes you kind of disillusioned, the fact that weve been arguing about the same things that seemed so obvious for years, and years, and years, with no end. Advertisement Of course, Nick Cave is a man who has long been a reader of the Bible and his work has been inspired by the deities within it. Its just that as a younger man, with the Birthday Party and a good chunk of the Bad Seeds career, he was very much an Old Testament kind of guy, more fire and brimstone than love thy neighbour. While he hasnt gone happy-clappy, in these new songs hes a man who is only too aware of mortality and is searching for the light rather than the darkness. On the title track he casts himself as an old, sick deity who is now only in his prime in his own mind. And in a few songs, salvation comes in the form of a woman. Anyone who has seen the 2016 documentary One More Time With Feeling, or heard Cave in interviews talking about how his wife Susie dealt with the death of their son, will know that his admiration for her is huge. So when he sings it was my privilege to walk you home in the Sunday rain in Frogs, or my hand searching for your hand searching for my hand in Final Rescue Attempt, its hard not to sense her presence between the lines, or to imagine the two of them clinging to each other to remain upright in the tsunami of grief that followed the loss of their son. Wild God is being touted as a return to the Bad Seeds sound of old. Thats not entirely true. Caves writing and the bands sound became progressively more spectral and fragmented on Skeleton Tree (2016) and Ghosteen (2019), mainly revolving around the core of his partnership with musical foil Warren Ellis, who threw his wild man experimentalism at everything, while Cave matched him with impressionistic lyrical flights of fancy. The new album retains some of that spirit but is more anchored. Radioheads Colin Greenwood provides some characteristically fluid bass lines; Caves stately piano playing comes back to the fore; the aforementioned choral arrangements take it back to church. And just as Cave is seeking more connection with the human race, on Wild God hes also reaching out to beings both living and on the other side. Barry Divola Post Malone, F-1 Trillion By this point, its near impossible to dislike Post Malone. A decade since his viral trap breakout White Iverson, the 29-year-old has somehow become pops golden retriever, a cuddly, humble presence whose face tattoos, grills and penchant for boozing have lent him the persona of a gentleman outlaw without any of the requisite danger. For the amount he says he drinks, youd have expected at least one leaked video of him politely talking back to an overzealous cop apologies, my good sir, I understand youre doing your job, but unhand me now and yet nothing. Instead, from Better Now to Sunflowers to Circles and beyond, he has somehow become a stalwart of pops stickiest melodies. In the past year alone hes been the connecting tissue between pops biggest megastars, dropping by for inoffensive cameos on Beyonces Cowboy Carter (Leviis Jeans) and Taylor Swifts The Tortured Poets Department (Fortnight). Posty goes country: F-1 Trillion is easy, breezy arena pop. Credit: F-1 Trillion, his long-threatened country debut it was in May 2015, months before White Iverson was even released, that he infamously tweeted: WHEN I TURN 30 IM BECOMING A COUNTRY/FOLK SINGER further highlights how effortlessly he can command any crossover space. While Beyonce, Zach Bryan and even Morgan Wallen have struggled to win over Nashvilles firmament, last week Posty was on stage at the Grand Ole Opry in a rhinestoned baby-blue suit, sharing the spotlight with local legends Vince Gill and Brad Paisley. The guy knows how to tip his (10-gallon) hat. Clocking in at 18 songs and 58 minutes, F-1 Trillion is another ingratiating gambit and another bridge, this time between traditional Nashville country and its current pop boom. A rollicking duet with Tim McGraw (Wrong Ones) opens the album, for Christs sake, and subsequent tracks feature everyone from Hank Williams Jr (Finer Things), Dolly Parton (Have the Heart) and Chris Stapleton (California Sober) to new-school hitmakers Jelly Roll (Losers), Lainey Wilson (Nosedive) and Luke Combs twice (Guy for That and Missin You Like This). The album has already produced the globe-conquering number one I Had Some Help with Morgan Wallen (and, ahem, the opening riff of Tom Pettys Learning to Fly) and the steadily climbing Pour Me a Drink with Blake Shelton, a ridiculously catchy fist-pumper that makes me think Gwen Stefani made an OK choice after all. Goes Without Saying, featuring Brad Paisley, is another sing-along thatll have you swaying intensely in the kitchen with your head down and tongs up. Raise your red cups: The 29-year-olds country pivot is convincingly booze-soaked. Credit: Amy Harris/Invision/AP For better or worse, this is straight windows-down music, the sort of uncomplicated listening youd hear on Kix Country, road-trippin down the south coast while finger-drumming on the steering wheel. Its radio music in the old-fashioned sense, when radios didnt need bluetooth. Theres none of the intellectual and formal invention that fuelled Beyonces Cowboy Carter, but show me anyone who was expecting it and Ill show you a weirdo. More surprisingly, for an artist who segued to country from hip-hop (two genres that, especially in the US, share regional and thematic overlap), theres not even a hint of the genre-blurring thats made Morgan Wallen countrys best pop crossover. When Posty goes country, he goes full country. In a new affectation he sings every song with a trembling vibrato, as if hes belting in front of a portable fan. Its not necessarily bad, its just odd, as though someone in the studio shouldve handed him a note. Album-closer Yours is classic cornball country, with Posty imagining giving his daughter away to her future husband. His daughter is currently two years old. If F-1 Trillion marks Post Malone as the Uncle Kracker of his generation, I say that only with affection. Uncle Kracker gifted us Smile, an all-timer that lights up Smooth FM daily, mostly right around school pick-up. What better place for pops reigning golden retriever? Robert Moran Hamed Sadeghis Empty Voices: the Iranian-Australian tar player carves out an idiom all his own. Hamed Sadeghi, Empty Voices What a shrewd way to draw you in. Hamed Sadeghi begins Empty Voices with a musical supplication, simply entitled Please. Lasting only 2 minutes, it sets Sadeghis ringing tar (a steel-stringed Persian lute) against a simple drone, and yet the sense of entreaty is palpable as if hes appealing to you to listen. By the time the rest of the band quietly enters for the ensuing Taarof, youre already hooked: drawn into this poetic world Sadeghi has created, in which his tar meditates amid instruments and musicians more usually associated with jazz. But to call the music a hybrid would be to demean it. Its more an idiom all of its own: unique in concept and execution. Having unveiled the project at last years Sydney Festival, Sadeghi has now refined it, and the results are consistently mesmerising. The septet includes bassist Lloyd Swanton (of the Necks), with whom Sadeghi is used to playing in the trio Vazesh. But where that project deals exclusively in improvisations, this one is based on the Iranian-Australians compositions. Caressing rather than assaulting the ears, these are laced with solos from some of this countrys most distinguished improvisers: saxophonists Sandy Evans and Michael Avgenicos, bass clarinettist Paul Cutlan, trumpeter Thomas Avgenicos and percussionist Adem Yilmaz. Hamed Sadeghi: The Iranian-Australian tar player carves out an idiom all his own. Credit: A striking element of their art is the proliferation of air and space. Its as if all the sounds are transparent, allowing you to hear the instruments through each other. Yet despite everyone being on a tight leash in terms of density and dynamics, theres no sense of the collective creativity being constrained. Evans soprano saxophone still cries in its gull-like way, and Cutlan still produces one of the most haunting sounds youll hear on bass clarinet. Mother Tongue is underpinned by an instantly involving groove that suggests journeying for the delight of journeying, rather than a burning need to reach a destination, with Evans soprano spiralling high above the expedition. A 14-year-old Acacia Ridge boy has been charged with multiple counts of fraud, attempted robbery, obtaining or dealing with identification information, as well as robbery and wilful damage, over a series of incidents in Brisbanes south in July. In a statement on Friday afternoon, Queensland police said it would be alleged the teenager created a fake dating profile on a LGBTQ dating app and arranged to meet with victims on six occasions. It will be alleged the boy then demanded the victims transfer money, with the intent to commit fraud and robbery for his own financial gain. Police have urged people to be aware of cybersafety and take precautions when meeting someone for the first time in person. Credit: iStock The boy is expected to appear before Richlands Childrens Court on September 19. Queensland Premier Steven Miles says he will leave it to police to determine whether CFMEU workers were behind an attack on a picket-crossing Cross River Rail worker outside his home this week, but will push ahead with proposed legislation to bring the union into line regardless. Fou Ah-Lam was walking to his car on Wednesday morning when he was set upon from behind by two masked attackers armed with a metal pole. In May, Ah-Lam had been filmed trying to cross a CFMEU picket line to go to work, in an incident that devolved into a violent brawl between striking CFMEU members and non-union workers. He told police he believed the two men who attacked him on Wednesday were members of the CFMEU and had attacked him in retaliation for crossing the picket line. It was such a turning point moment of like, Oh my god, you can be part of something thats way bigger than yourself, Simons said. Loading That feeling of being on the street chanting, surrounded by thousands of people in that first strike I was like, This is incredible. After that first protest, Simons joined an environment club at school and, in 2019, went to an Australian Youth Climate Coalition event, where she met a 14-year-old Sharma. Our journey to activism started together, Simons said. Sharma was jolted to action by the impact of heatwaves and floods on extended family in India and increasingly extreme weather events in Australia. She started seeking out videos about climate change and found an ad looking for protest organisers. I begged my mum to take me along, Sharma said. She and Simons would go on to be key organisers in the School Strike 4 Climate (SS4C) movement. They helped plan the next strike in 2019 when, according to organisers, 100,000 people brought Melbournes CBD to a standstill. They banged drums, chanted and sang as they made their way to the steps of Parliament House. I never felt so empowered and so proud to be a part of a cause in my life, that day in 2019 everything that Ive gone on to do would not have happened if I hadnt had those moments, Sharma said. Simons was in full disbelief about the number of people who attended the rally. I remember thinking, How is this possible? she said. It was just the most insane feeling to be surrounded by all these people I had been there and helped organise that. It was incredible. Both continued to dedicate time to SS4C, launching an online version in 2020 when the pandemic hit. They tried to revive the strikes in 2021. Ella and I led around 25,000 people which was nowhere near the 100,000 we got in 2019 but we were still very proud of it, Sharma said. Loading Now 20, Sharma is still working on climate action but has taken her fight to the courts and corridors of power. Shes studying full-time and assisting with a bill that aims to enshrine into federal law a ministerial obligation to consider the impact of the climate crisis on childrens health and wellbeing. In 2020, she was the lead litigant in a federal court case that ruled the countrys environment minister had a duty of care to protect children and the environment when assessing fossil fuel projects. That ruling was overturned two years later by the full bench of the Federal Court. Weve had a lot of success bringing young people, especially people who were disillusioned after the school strike movement, back to the table, Sharma said. Simons now in her final year of high school has stepped back from her role at the organisation that brought her so much. Instead, shes working on a campaign to lower the voting age to 16. Greta Thunberg leading French students through Paris in 2019. Credit: AP Not everyone from the movement is as positive. Siena Rigazzi says she learnt how unjust the political system can be. She got involved in the rallies when she was 15, organising school walkouts calling for climate action and protesting against Australias treatment of refugees. A 17-year-old Siena Rigazzi speaking in 2020. Friends and family were supportive, but some questioned what the protests would achieve. At the time, Rigazzi argued they would show popular support for action. She was initially elated during the massive 2019 rally and, inspired by Thunberg, believed she could help bring about change. Being out on the streets with over 100,000 people, voicing our united discontent, made me believe that change was possible, she said. Surely, the government couldnt deny that this is what the people want? But Rigazzis attitude changed following the initial strikes. Loading Being part of a movement so widely supported that achieved so little shattered my belief in the state of our democracy, she said. Everything I have continued to see and learn since has not only been heartbreaking it has been dystopian. While she doesnt regret her involvement, Rigazzi said nothing being done now by parliament, the media, universities, courts or police would put people and the planet over profits. The students of SS4C tried, and were successful, at engaging in every avenue of legal political change that supposedly exists within a democracy, she said. We were met with no adequate response. I ask now: What are we expected to do? Prime Minister Anthony Albanese used last years Garma festival to reboot the campaign for a Voice to parliament. He pushed back against calls to delay the vote, arguing it represented a once-in-a-generation chance to reconcile the nation. A year on, he will stand on the same red dirt with a far less ambitious reconciliation agenda. Indigenous leaders, many still scarred by the vigour of the referendum bout, worry Labor has lost its appetite for bold action to improve the lives of Indigenous Australians. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will promise at the Garma festival that his optimism for a better future still burns. Credit: AAP In a speech lacking new policy proposals or lofty ambitions, Albanese will promise to keep working with state governments on their reconciliation plans and reaffirm Labors commitment to a Makarrata commission designed to oversee a truth-telling process one of the three elements of the politically contentious Uluru Statement from the Heart from which the Voice concept emerged. Albanese, who invested huge amounts of political capital and emotion into the referendum, will promise his optimism for a better future still burns and that his trust in the resilience and wisdom of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people remains. A youth mental health manager is federal Labors choice to wrest back from the Greens the inner-city seat of Griffith where Kevin Rudd once pushed to become Labor prime minister. Renee Coffey, the chief executive of Australian Kookaburra Kids Foundation, is the third Labor candidate named to take on seats that were part of the Brisbane Greenslide at the May 2022 poll. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese with Renee Coffey, Labors candidate for the Greens-held seat of Griffith, now held by the Greens Max Chandler-Mather. Credit: Tony Moore Labor had already announced radiographer Madonna Jarrett to contest the inner-city seat of Brisbane now held by the Greens Stephen Bates, and teacher Rebecca Hack to contest Ryan against former architect Elizabeth Watson-Brown. Griffith was won by the Greens Max Chandler-Mather in 2022, defeating Labors Terri Butler. Beirut: Lebanons powerful Iran-backed group Hezbollah vowed a definite response to Israels killing of its top military commander, saying the strike had crossed red lines and the decades-old rivalry between foes had entered a new phase. The resistance cannot but respond. This is definite, said Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, speaking in a televised address on Thursday (US time) to mark the funeral of the slain commander, attended by mourners clad in black waving the groups yellow-and-green flag. Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah speaks at the funeral of their top commander Fuad Shukr, who was killed by an Israeli airstrike. Credit: AP We are looking for a real response, not a performative response, and for real opportunities. A studied response, Nasrallah said. An Israeli strike on Hezbollahs stronghold in the southern suburb of Beirut on Tuesday killed Fuad Shukr, head of the groups military operations, along with an Iranian military adviser and five civilians. 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 Ismail Haniyeh, a top leader of Hamas, was assassinated on Wednesday by an explosive device covertly smuggled into the guesthouse where he was staying in the Iranian capital Tehran, according to seven Middle Eastern officials. They said the bomb had been hidden approximately two months ago in the guesthouse, which is run and protected by Irans Revolutionary Guard and is part of a large compound in an upscale neighbourhood of northern Tehran. Haniyeh was in Irans capital for the countrys presidential inauguration. The bomb was detonated remotely, once it was confirmed that he was inside his room at the guesthouse. The blast also killed a bodyguard. A Hamas supporter holds a poster of its political chief Ismail Haniyeh during a protest to condemn his killing. Credit: AP The explosion shook the building, shattered some windows and caused the partial collapse of an exterior wall. Such damage was also evident in a photograph of the building shared with The New York Times. Haniyeh, who had led Hamas political office in Qatar, had stayed at the guesthouse several times when visiting Tehran, according to the Middle Eastern officials. All of the officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to share sensitive details about the assassination. Iranian officials and Hamas said on Wednesday that Israel was responsible for the assassination, an assessment also reached by several US officials who requested anonymity. Advertisement The assassination threatens to unleash another wave of violence in the Middle East and upend the ongoing negotiations to end the war in the Gaza Strip. Haniyeh had been a top negotiator in the cease-fire talks. Israel has not publicly acknowledged responsibility for the killing, but Israeli intelligence officials briefed the United States and other Western governments on the details of the operation in the immediate aftermath, according to the five Middle Eastern officials. On Wednesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States had received no advance knowledge of the assassination plot. In the hours after the killing, speculation immediately focused on the possibility that Israel had killed Haniyeh with a missile strike, possibly fired from a drone or a plane, similar to how Israel had launched a missile on a military base in Isfahan, Iran, in April. That missile theory raised questions about how Israel might have been able to evade Iranian air defence systems again to execute such a brazen airstrike in the capital. As it turns out, the assassins were able to exploit a different kind of gap in Irans defences: a lapse in the security of a supposedly tightly guarded compound that allowed a bomb to be planted and to remain hidden for many weeks before it would eventually be triggered. Advertisement Loading Such a breach, three Iranian officials said, was a catastrophic failure of intelligence and security for Iran and a tremendous embarrassment for the Revolutionary Guard, which uses the compound for retreats, secret meetings and housing prominent guests such as Haniyeh. How the bomb was stashed in the guesthouse remained unclear. The Middle Eastern officials said the planning for the assassination took months and required extensive surveillance of the compound. The two Iranian officials who described the nature of the assassination said they did not know how or when the explosives were planted in the room. Israel decided to carry out the assassination outside Qatar, where Haniyeh and other senior members of Hamas political leadership live. The Qatari government has been mediating the negotiations between Israel and Hamas over a cease-fire in Gaza. The deadly blast shattered windows and collapsed a portion of the wall of the compound, photographs showed. It appeared to do minimal damage beyond the building itself. The device exploded at around 2am local time. Startled building staff members, the officials said, ran to find the source of the tremendous noise, leading them to the room where Haniyeh was staying with a bodyguard. Advertisement The compound is staffed with a medical team which rushed to the room immediately after the explosion. The team declared that Haniyeh had died immediately. The team tried to revive the bodyguard, but he, too, was dead. The leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Ziyad al-Nakhalah, was staying next door, two of the Iranian officials said. His room was not badly damaged, suggesting precise planning in the targeting of Haniyeh. Khalil al-Hayya, the deputy commander of Hamas in Gaza who was also in Tehran, arrived at the scene and saw his colleagues body, according to the five Middle Eastern officials. Among the people immediately notified, said the three Iranian officials, was General Ismail Ghaani, the commander in chief of the Quds Force, the overseas arm of the Revolutionary Guard, which works closely with Iranian allies in the region, including Hamas and Hezbollah. He notified Irans supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in the middle of the night, waking him up, the officials said. Newly elected Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian at his swearing-in ceremony. Credit: AP Hours later, Khamenei summoned the members of Irans Supreme National Security Council to his compound for an emergency meeting, at which he issued an order to strike Israel in retaliation, according to three Iranian officials. Tehran had already been under heightened security because of the inauguration of Irans new president, Masoud Pezeshkian, with senior government officials, military commanders and dignitaries from 86 countries gathering at parliament in central Tehran for the ceremony. Advertisement Washington: The release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and other prisoners detained by Russia was a legacy-defining moment for Joe Biden. Eleven days after his remarkable decision to drop out of the US election, Americas now lame-duck president had one of the most important breakthroughs of his time in office thanks in large part to the global alliances hes worked so hard to foster. US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris greet reporter Evan Gershkovich at Andrews Air Force Base on Friday (AEST). Credit: AP After months of painstaking negotiations, the US and Russia completed the largest prisoner swap since the Cold War, involving 24 prisoners and six countries. Among the people now freed by Russia is 32-year-old Gershkovich, who was working as a correspondent in Moscow in March 2023 when he was detained on sham spy charges, and sentenced last month in a closed-door trial to 16 years in prison, simply for doing his job. Regional WA market outlook Regional areas are also expected to see growth, particularly in the South West. However, rental markets in the regions are more constrained and less likely to benefit from new supply in the short term due to building challenges. The guy who came to see us from Wizard was a nice bloke, but not that smart. My ego suggested that if he could do it, I could do it, Ritchie says. Bringing in more interactions with clients as well as the soon to be launched referral capability are features once wished upon that will add so much more value to our broker offering, said OShea (pictured above right), who is a principal broker at Aussie Queanbeyan in the ACT. Former Louisiana Mayor Arrested for Alleged Sexual Misconduct with Minor Days After Resignation (Photo: Louisiana State Police) Misty Roberts, the former mayor of DeRidder, Louisiana, was arrested on Thursday following accusations of engaging in sexual activities with a minor. Roberts, 42, who resigned from her position just days prior, was charged with third-degree rape and contributing to the delinquency of juveniles. The arrest comes amidst a growing investigation by the Louisiana State Police. Roberts was booked into the Beauregard Parish Detention Center at 10:13 a.m. and released at 11:30 a.m. on a $75,000 bond, according to records from the Beauregard Parish Sheriff's Office. The charges stem from an investigation requested by the Beauregard Parish Sheriff's Office last Friday, which prompted the state police's Special Victim's Unit to look into a complaint against Roberts. The investigation involved interviews with two minors, one of whom was identified as the alleged victim. Both minors reportedly confirmed that Roberts had sexual intercourse with one juvenile while she was serving as mayor. "Roberts had sexual intercourse with one juvenile victim while employed as Mayor," police stated in their report. Roberts' attorney, Robert Johnson, has firmly denied the allegations, asserting her innocence. "My client maintains her innocence and, as it stands, she is in fact innocent. She has not been charged with a crime and/or convicted of any crime," Johnson said in a statement reported by WAFB-TV. He also noted that Roberts learned of the warrant late on Wednesday and had not been contacted for an interview before the warrant was issued. The former mayor's resignation followed an initial announcement on Friday that she would step away from office for two weeks. However, Roberts tendered her resignation the following day. In her resignation statement, Roberts reflected on her tenure, saying, "For nearly 15 years, my love and passion for DeRidder has been my foundation while serving as Mayor. This role has rewarded me with many great relationships. I am humbled to have witnessed the hard work that took a community to come together and overcome through unprecedented times. However, I must adjust my focus and priorities." Roberts' sudden departure and subsequent arrest have sent shockwaves through the small community of DeRidder, a town with a population of about 10,000 located approximately 50 miles north of Lake Charles, near the Texas border. The city's website details Roberts' background, noting her graduation from DeRidder High School in 2000 and her Bachelor of Science degree in mass communications with an emphasis in public relations from McNeese State University in 2004. Before becoming mayor, Roberts served as the city's director of community service for nine years. The charges against Roberts have cast a pall over her career and raised serious questions about her conduct while in office. The investigation is ongoing, and the case will likely proceed through the legal system in the coming months. The Beauregard Parish Sheriff's Office has not released further details regarding the nature of the evidence or the timeline of the alleged incidents. Luxury vehicle maker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is already assembling several models in India and sees no reason for additional obligations, the Tata Motors British subsidiary has said, suggesting that it was unlikely to leverage the Centres new Electric Manufacturing Policy for now. However, Tata Motors Group CFO PB Balaji did not rule out leveraging the EV policy entirely at a later stage. Click here to connect with us on WhatsApp If we are able to leverage upon the policy environment, we will definitely consider it. At this point in time, that specific policy is not something that is suitable for us. So, we dont intend to leverage that at this point in time, Balaji told reporters in the post earnings call. JLR India localised manufacturing of the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport models in India this year. The business in India is on a very good wicket, growing very strongly, and we have just localised the manufacturing of Range Rover and Range Rover Sport. We are seeing huge pickup in orders on that front. So, we would want this to pick up, we will want to keep localising, Balaji said. As volumes pick up, the company would want to localise as much as possible. We continue to evaluate CKD as a more attractive option given our scale in India, he said. The Centre had come up with an EV policy earlier this year slashing customs duty on electric cars with cost, insurance, and freight value of $35000 or more to 15 per cent from the existing 100 per cent. This will be applicable when an automaker commits an investment of at least Rs 4150 crore and achieves 50 per cent localisation in five years. Tata Motors will, however, continue to look at opportunities of completely knocked down units (CKD) manufacturing in India to ensure it gets benefits of 15 per cent personal duty. JLR, which posted its best ever first quarter results, is also developing a new electric Jaguar. Prototype road testing is progressing well, the company said. It is in line for becoming debt-free this year. The net debt stood at $1 billion, with a gross debt of $4.8 billion. As such Tata Motors EV sales have slipped in the first quarter of 2024-25. Q1FY25 EV volumes at 16,600 units were down by 13.9 per cent due to sharp decline in the fleet segment. The fleet segment (which includes sales to cab aggregators etc) constitutes nearly 20 per cent of their total volumes. This was due to the discontinuation of the FAME II scheme. Balaji said that they expect the incentives for four wheelers (in fleet segment) to continue in the third installment of FAME (FAME III policy). We expect the FAME III policy to have incentives for four-wheelers because it is for the public good. Ultimately, it is going to help the fleet segments and therefore it is public transport that is getting electrified. These are not personal demands and therefore there is a logical case for this which is being made. We do believe the authorities are sympathetic to the logic, but let us wait and see how the fine print finally is, Balaji told reporters. As such, the overall PV business of the company saw a decline in retail registrations in May-June, influenced by general elections and heat waves across the country. At 138,800 units for the quarter, volumes were down 1.1 per cent as the company re-adjusted wholesales in line with retail sales to keep channel inventory under control. Coming festive season, the company has lined up new nameplate launches starting with the Curvv in August. In the second half thus the company expects EV sales to grow. Curvv, a mid-segment SUV with a Coupe body style will be introduced first in EV avatar, followed by the internal combustion engine (ICE) versions. The Universal Humanitarian Church (UHC) is a repressive, regressive organisation that isolates its members from their family and friends, and leeches money from them. Chapman Farm in Norfolk, UK, where it indoctrinates its members is a hotbed of abuse and murder; life there could break the strongest of souls. When a client with a son in the clutches of the church seeks help, private detective Robin Ellacott infiltrates the cult. She and her partner Cormoran Strike, eventually bring it down but not before lots of trauma and mayhem. The Running Grave, the seventh and latest book in The AAP on Friday slammed the BJP over its "silence" on the deaths of a woman and her three-year-old due to falling into a waterlogged drain in east Delhi, saying the party wants all the power but not for the sake of people. The party also demanded financial support for the family and action against erring officials. Click here to connect with us on WhatsApp Addressing a press conference, the Aam Aadmi Party's Delhi convener Gopal Rai accused the BJP of having "double standards." "Initially when the incident happened, BJP spokesperson went to the spot and claimed that it was a PWD drain. But ever since it became clear that the drain belongs to DDA, they have maintained silence. Lt Governor is the chairman of DDA. "Why is BJP silent now? They have double standards," he charged. AAP MLA and a member of Delhi Development Authority (DDA) Dilip Pandey said he has written a letter to Lt Governor VK Saxena, and hoped strict action will be taken by him to prevent any more deaths. Pandey also said he has demanded compensation for the kin of the two victims. The Delhi Development Authority has stated that a major portion of the drain, where the tragedy struck, had been handed over to the MCD, while the portion under it is covered with RCC slabs. Tanuja and her three-year-old son Priyansh slipped and fell into a waterlogged under-construction drain on Wednesday around 8 pm, amid heavy rain near Khoda Colony in Ghazipur. The two were returning from a weekly market when the incident happened. Asserting that the Delhi government, despite having "zero power" fulfils its responsibilities, Rai said the BJP only wants complete power but does not want to do anything for the people. "We demand that the family of the deceased mother-son be provided financial support. The Lt Governor should take action against officials responsible for the mishap," he added. Measures expected to help civilian drones expand global outreach 08:36, August 02, 2024 By Fan Feifei ( China Daily A staff member shows a drone at the First Jinjiang Trade Fair on Scientific and Technological Innovation in Quanzhou, Fujian province, April 9, 2024. (Photo/Xinhua) China's optimized export control measures for unmanned aerial vehicles, commonly known as drones, are expected to help domestic civilian drone manufacturers expand their presence in overseas markets, as well as bolster technological innovation and industrial upgrading in the sector, experts said on Thursday. The adjustment will be conducive to the development of the whole drone industrial chain that covers raw materials supply, component manufacturing, and industry applications, while further improving the competitiveness of domestically developed drone products in the international market, they added. Their comments came after the Ministry of Commerce announced on Wednesday that it had optimized and adjusted export controls on certain types of drones and some drone-related components. China will remove temporary controls on certain consumer-grade drones, and prohibit the export of civilian drones, which are not included in the export control list, for use in the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, terrorist activities, or military purposes, the ministry said. The new measures will take effect starting on Sept 1. The ministry has adjusted the control standards for some important components of drones, such as infrared imaging equipment and lasers for target indication. The move will better safeguard China's national security and interests, and ensure the security and stability of global industrial and supply chains, a ministry spokesperson said. The Chinese government firmly supports Chinese companies in conducting global trade and cooperation in the civilian drone sector, and opposes the illegal use of civilian drones for non-peaceful purposes, the spokesperson said, adding that China would continue to track and assess the situation of drone exports and make timely adjustments and improvements to relevant policies. The adjustments came after China announced export control measures in July 2023 on certain drones and a number of items of drone-related equipment, including lasers, communication instruments, hyperspectral cameras, and anti-drone systems. Yang Jincai, director of the Shenzhen Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Industry Association in Guangdong province, said the cancellation of temporary controls targeting certain consumer-grade drones will help more Chinese drone makers expand their footprint abroad and develop more high-end and advanced drones to satisfy international demand. Yang said the optimized export control measures are good news for the development of China's drone industry, as the move will encourage domestic drone enterprises to increase their research and development spending, promote technological advancements, and enhance the core competitiveness of drone products globally. DJI, the world's largest commercial drone manufacturer by market share, said in a statement to China Daily, "We are pleased to note the adjustments made to the export control measures by the Ministry of Commerce." It added that the revised measures are "expected to be more favorable for the development and technology application of the entire drone industry". DJI stressed that its products are for civilian use only, emphasizing that "we have never designed, developed or manufactured military-grade equipment, we have never adapted our products or pursued business opportunities for combat operations. We have never marketed or sold our products for combat use in any country". The Shenzhen-based company said it will continue to strictly comply with and implement China's export control regulations, and the applicable laws and regulations of the countries and regions where it operates. Pan Jun, a visiting professor at Donghua University in Shanghai, said the export control adjustment means that Chinese drone enterprises will have more opportunities to enter the international market, adding that it will have a positive impact on the whole industrial chain of drones, including raw material supply, production, sales, and investments. The scale of China's civilian drone market reached 165 billion yuan ($22.8 billion) in 2023, an increase of 37.96 percent year-on-year, according to a report released by market research company AskCI Consulting. The figure is expected to reach 176.5 billion yuan this year. Pan Helin, a member of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's Expert Committee for Information and Communication Economy, said, "The move will enhance the global competitiveness of Chinese drone makers, reduce the compliance costs of these enterprises, and benefit the high-quality development of China's drone sector." (Web editor: Tian Yi, Liang Jun) Airlines are avoiding Iranian and Lebanese airspace and cancelling flights to Israel and Lebanon. Photo: Freepik Airlines are avoiding Iranian and Lebanese airspace and cancelling flights to Israel and Lebanon, as concerns grow over a possible conflict in the region after the killing of senior members of militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah this week. Singapore Airlines on Friday appeared to no longer be using Iranian airspace for any of its routes, according to flight tracker Flightradar24. The airline did not respond to a request for comment. Click here to connect with us on WhatsApp Taiwan's EVA Air and China Airlines also appeared to be avoiding Iran airspace for flights to Amsterdam on Friday which previously had flown over Iran, Flightradar24 data showed. The airlines did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the route changes. In a bulletin, OPSGROUP, a membership-based organisation that shares flight risk information, advised traffic between Asia and Europe to avoid Iranian and Iraqi airspace, a day after sources told Reuters that top Iranian officials will meet the representatives of Iran's regional allies from Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen to discuss potential retaliation against Israel. Many airlines, including US and European airlines, already avoid flying over Iran, especially since the reciprocal missile and drone attacks in April between Iran and Israel. Singapore Airlines' flight to London Heathrow early on Friday went north of Iran through Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan, rather than crossing through Iran as it did the day before, Flightradar24 showed. However, a significant number of airlines on Friday were still flying over Iran, including United Arab Emirates carriers Etihad, Emirates and FlyDubai, as well as Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines. Over the past two days, Air India, Germany's Lufthansa Group, US carriers United Airlines and Delta Air, and Italy's ITA Airways said they had suspended flights to Tel Aviv. Airlines this week have also been cancelling and delaying flights to the Lebanese capital Beirut after a strike in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Saturday. Israel has blamed the attack on Lebanon-based armed group Hezbollah, which denied involvement. Canada on Thursday issued a notice to Canadian aircraft to avoid Lebanese airspace for one month due to the risk to aviation from military activity. Britain has for the past month advised pilots of potential risk from anti-aircraft weaponry and military activity in Lebanon's airspace. Should an all-out war break out in the Middle East, OpsGroup said civil aviation will likely face the risk of drones and missiles crossing airways, as well as the increased risk of GPS spoofing - a growing phenomena around Lebanon and Israel where militaries and other actors broadcast signals that trick a plane's GPS system into thinking it is somewhere it is not. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An Indian politician was implicated in an immigration scam involving the US H-1B visa lottery system. Kandi Srinivasa Reddy, previously a Congress candidate for the Telangana Assembly elections, has been accused of exploiting a loophole in the lottery process by making multiple registrations, according to a report by Bloomberg. What is the US H-1B visa lottery? The H-1B is a United States visa that comes under the Immigration and Nationality Act. It allows employers in the US to hire foreign workers in specialty occupations for a specific time. In terms of guest worker numbers, it is the largest visa category in the US. Fields that typically qualify under this visa include tech, finance, engineering, etc. Click here to connect with us on WhatsApp To qualify for the visa, applicants must have a job offer from a US employer and proof of qualification. The employer must also provide proof that there is a lack of qualified candidates in the US for the role. As there is a high demand for this visa, the US has a cap for the amount that can be issued per year. When the number of available slots is full, a lottery system is held in April to randomly select applications to be processed. What was the H-1B visa scam? The scam revolves around the H-1B visa lottery system, which was streamlined in 2020 to simplify the application process. However, this change also opened up opportunities for exploitation. The scam operated through multiple registrations. By submitting numerous applications under different company names, the chances of being selected in the lottery significantly increased. Numerous companies linked to Reddy, such as Cloud Big Data Technologies LLC and Machine Learning Technologies LLC, reportedly used the multiple registration tactic to increase their chances of securing visas. By submitting multiple entries for the same worker, they managed to generate numerous visas. In the 2020 lottery, Cloud Big Data submitted around 288 names, with other companies under Reddy also submitting the same names, resulting in more than 3,000 entries that year alone. Data shared by Bloomberg showed that between 2020 to 2023, Reddy's candidates were almost always successful in winning the lottery. How does the H-1B visa scam impact US workforce? The manipulation of the H-1B visa system has altered not only the type of companies winning visas but also the nature of workers being admitted to the US. Data shared by Bloomberg said the median salary at staffing firms last year was about $90,000, compared with $125,000 for regular employers. Workers recruited through Reddys companies earned approximately $87,000 annually. How much did Reddy make from the scam? Reddys companies charged a hefty fee for securing H-1B visas, taking 20 to 30 per cent of the workers pay, amounting to around $15,000 or more each year. Despite claiming limited involvement, official documents and Reddys election data indicate his ownership and control over these staffing firms. Reddys H-1B visa scam: Not an isolated incident Reddys case is not an isolated one in the United States. Reports suggest that thousands of other staffing firms have adopted similar tactics, collectively securing around 40,000 H-1B visas over four years. To put this in perspective, approximately 446,000 individuals applied for H-1B visas in 2023, with only 85,000 available. More than 11,600 of these visas went to multinational outsourcing companies, and another 22,600 went to IT staffing firms, a report by Times of India pointed out. Just a registered agent, nothing illegal: Reddys defence Reddy downplayed his involvement, claiming to Bloomberg that he is merely a registered agent for the companies and has limited involvement with them. However, this assertion is contradicted by previous statements he made, including his claim to Texas authorities that he was the CEO of Cloud Big Data. Additionally, an affidavit filed with Indian election officials and business registry documents in the US indicates that Reddy and his wife own or control all the companies in question. Moreover, Reddy told The Times of India that his actions were legal. He argued that when multiple visa entries are filed, the choice of employer ultimately lies with the employees. He also noted that recent changes to the lottery system, which now require the inclusion of passport numbers, would reveal multiple entries, suggesting that his method was within legal boundaries. Biden trumpeted the exchange, by far the largest in a series of swaps with Russia. (Photo: Reuters) The United States and Russia completed their biggest prisoner swap in post-Soviet history on Thursday, with Moscow releasing journalist Evan Gershkovich and fellow American Paul Whelan, along with dissidents including Vladimir Kara-Murza, in a multinational deal that set two dozen people free. Gershkovich, Whelan and Alsu Kurmasheva, a journalist with dual US-Russia citizenship, arrived on American soil shortly before midnight for a joyful reunion with their families. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were also there to greet them. Click here to connect with us on WhatsApp The trade unfolded despite relations between Washington and Moscow being at their lowest point since the Cold War after Russian President Vladimir Putin's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Negotiators in backchannel talks at one point explored an exchange involving Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, but after his death in February ultimately stitched together a 24-person deal that required significant concessions from European allies, including the release of a Russian assassin, and secured freedom for a cluster of journalists, suspected spies, political prisoners and others. Biden trumpeted the exchange, by far the largest in a series of swaps with Russia, as a diplomatic feat while welcoming families of the returning Americans to the White House. But the deal, like others before it, reflected an innate imbalance: The U.S. and allies gave up Russians charged or convicted of serious crimes in exchange for Russia releasing journalists, dissidents and others imprisoned by the country's highly politicized legal system on charges seen by the West as trumped-up. Deals like this one come with tough calls, Biden said, He added: There's nothing that matters more to me than protecting Americans at home and abroad. Under the deal, Russia released Gershkovich, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal who was jailed in 2023 and convicted in July of espionage charges that he and the U.S. government vehemently denied. His family said in a statement released by the newspaper that we can't wait to give him the biggest hug and see his sweet and brave smile up close." The paper's editor-in-chief, Emma Tucker, called it a joyous day. While we waited for this momentous day, we were determined to be as loud as we could be on Evan's behalf. We are so grateful for all the voices that were raised when his was silent. We can finally say, in unison, Welcome home, Evan,' she wrote in a letter posted online. Also released was Whelan, a Michigan corporate security executive jailed since 2018, also on espionage charges he and Washington have denied, and Kurmasheva, a Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist convicted in July of spreading false information about the Russian military, accusations her family and employer have rejected. The dissidents released included Kara-Murza, a Kremlin critic and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer serving 25 years on charges of treason widely seen as politically motivated, as well as multiple associates of Navalny. Freed Kremlin critics included Oleg Orlov, a veteran human rights campaigner convicted of discrediting the Russian military, and Ilya Yashin, imprisoned for criticizing the war in Ukraine. The Russian side got Vadim Krasikov, who was convicted in Germany in 2021 and sentenced to life in prison for killing a former Chechen rebel in a Berlin park two years earlier, apparently on the orders of Moscow's security services. Throughout the negotiations, Moscow had been persistent in pressing for his release, with Putin himself raising it. At the time of Navalny's death, officials were discussing a possible exchange involving Krasikov. But with that prospect erased, senior U.S. officials, including national security adviser Jake Sullivan, made a fresh push to encourage Germany to release Krasikov. In the end, a handful of the prisoners Russia released were either German nationals or dual German-Russian nationals. Russia also received two alleged sleeper agents jailed in Slovenia, as well as three men charged by federal authorities in the U.S., including Roman Seleznev, a convicted computer hacker and the son of a Russian lawmaker, and Vadim Konoshchenok, a suspected Russian intelligence operative accused of providing American-made electronics and ammunition to the Russian military. Norway returned an academic arrested on suspicions of being a Russian spy; Poland sent back a man it detained on espionage charges. Today is a powerful example of why it's vital to have friends in this world, Biden said. All told, six countries released at least one prisoner and a seventh Turkey participated by hosting the location for the swap, in Ankara. Biden placed securing the release of Americans held wrongfully overseas at the top of his foreign policy agenda for the six months before he leaves office. In an Oval Office address discussing his decision to drop his bid for a second term, Biden said, We're also working around the clock to bring home Americans being unjustly detained all around the world. At one point Thursday, he grabbed the hand of Whelan's sister, Elizabeth, and said she'd practically been living at the White House as the administration tried to free Paul. He then motioned for Kurmasheva's daughter, Miriam, to come closer and took her hand, telling the room it was her 13th birthday. He asked everyone to sing Happy Birthday with him. She wiped tears from her eyes. The Biden administration has now brought home more than 70 Americans detained in other countries as part of deals that have required the U.S. to give up a broad array of convicted criminals, including for drug and weapons offenses. The swaps, though celebrated with fanfare, have spurred criticism that they incentivize future hostage-taking and give adversaries leverage over the U.S. and its allies. The U.S. government's top hostage negotiator, Roger Carstens, has sought to defend the deals by saying the number of wrongfully detained Americans has actually gone down even as swaps have increased. Tucker, the Journal's editor-in-chief, acknowledged the debate, writing in a letter: We know the U.S. government is keenly aware, as are we, that the only way to prevent a quickening cycle of arresting innocent people as pawns in cynical geopolitical games is to remove the incentive for Russia and other nations that pursue the same detestable practice." Though she called for a change to the dynamic, for now, she wrote, we are celebrating the return of Evan. Thursday's swap of 24 prisoners surpassed a deal involving 14 people that was struck in 2010. In that exchange, Washington freed 10 Russians living in the U.S. as sleepers, while Moscow deported four Russians, including Sergei Skripal, a double agent working with British intelligence. He and his daughter in 2018 were nearly killed in Britain by nerve agent poisoning blamed on Russian agents. Speculation had mounted for weeks that a swap was near because of a confluence of unusual developments, including a startingly quick trial for Gershkovich, which Washington regarded as a sham. He was sentenced to 16 years in a maximum-security prison. In a trial that concluded in two days in secrecy in the same week as Gershkovich's, Kurmasheva was convicted on charges of spreading false information about the Russian military that her family, employer and U.S. officials rejected. Also in recent days, several other figures imprisoned in Russia for speaking out against the war in Ukraine or over their work with Navalny were moved from prison to unknown locations. Gershkovich was arrested March 29, 2023, while on a reporting trip to the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg. Authorities claimed, without offering any evidence, that he was gathering secret information for the U.S. The son of Soviet emigres who settled in New Jersey, he moved to Russia in 2017 to work for The Moscow Times newspaper before being hired by the Journal in 2022. Gershkovich was designated as wrongfully detained, as was Whelan, who was detained in December 2018 after traveling to Russia for a wedding. Whelan, who was serving a 16-year prison sentence, had been excluded from prior high-profile deals involving Russia, including the April 2022 swap by Moscow of imprisoned Marine veteran Trevor Reed for Konstantin Yaroshenko, a Russian pilot convicted in a drug trafficking conspiracy. That December, the U.S. released notorious arms trafficker Viktor Bout in exchange for WNBA star Brittney Griner, who'd been jailed on drug charges. Paul Whelan is free. Our family is grateful to the United States government for making Paul's freedom a reality, his family said in a statement. Blue Yonder, the leader in digital supply chain transformations, today announced the closing of its acquisition of One Network Enterprises (One Network) at an enterprise value of approximately $839 million. The acquisition gives Blue Yonder customers the ability to collaborate and share data from inventory levels to raw and finished goods materials movement in real time across all trading partners up and down the supply chain. With increasing volatility and continuous disruptions, retailers, manufacturers and logistics service providers (LSPs) need to achieve multi-enterprise transparency with trading partners, unify plans and actions, and conduct business in real time in order to enable more accurate cross-functional decision-making and eliminate the time gap between order planning and fulfillment. Its no longer sufficient for companies to rely on periodic updates about their inventory, capacity, and resources; true business agility requires real-time information across an entire network. With the addition of One Networks commercial technology, Blue Yonder can now offer customers a multi-enterprise, multi-tier network ecosystem; artificial intelligence (AI)-powered supply chain assistants to identify, monitor, analyze, and resolve problems; and a simplified process to onboard and work with trading partners. Real-time inventory and capacity views help customers match supply and demand, detect and resolve problems, and orchestrate resources across their network of trading partners. One Network will continue to independently service and provide tailored technology solutions to its government customers. One Networks industry-leading commercial technology will seamlessly be integrated into the Blue Yonder Platform. Their supply chain network and intelligent control tower deliver superpowered insights to businesses looking to fortify their supply chains, said Duncan Angove, CEO, Blue Yonder. Our customers can boost visibility, agility and speed thanks to a single source of truth provided by the Blue Yonder Platform and the digital network, all enhanced by our AI assistants, solvers and predictions. This allows customers to see issues both downstream and upstream in real time, so they can avoid disruptions and make better decisions. From One Networks capabilities to its forward-looking mission, the company perfectly embodies Blue Yonders vision to transform the supply chain. With this acquisition, Blue Yonder customers will be able to address volatility and disruptions in the market, plan with greater accuracy, meet rising customer expectations, and simplify complexity within their supply chains. Blue Yonder customers will have access to the following benefits: Navigating increasing uncertainty and volatility with real-time visibility across multiple tiers to anticipate risks, assess scenarios, and instantly redirect resources where needed most to deliver the greatest impacts to their business and sustainability goals. Optimizing of resources, from capacity and inventory to workforce and carriers to better serve their business customers, capitalize on new market opportunities, and accelerate revenue growth. Collaborating and orchestrating of their supply chain in real-time across a global network of 150,000 (and counting) trading partners using a shared view and dataset that ensures planning objectives flow into execution and vice versa to optimize critical KPIs. Blue Yonder is building the supply chain of the future, said Angove. To succeed in todays business environment, planning and logistics teams need to make decisions faster. They need to collaborate with more partners. They need faster responsiveness to disruptions. One Networks multi-tier and multi-enterprise network has a large role to play here, and were proud to join forces with them to make a lasting difference. This acquisition also catalyzed Blue Yonders expanded presence in Dallas, where it has been hiring extensively to support its momentum. Blue Yonder is now designating Dallas as its Global Innovation Center. In May during its annual customer conference, ICON, Blue Yonder announced a new AI Innovation Studio in Dallas where the company is hosting design-led AI Agent workshops with customers. Blue Yonder also plans to add a state-of-the-art Customer Experience Center in Dallas where the company will showcase its latest innovations that are transforming complex global supply chains. One Network is the third company Blue Yonder has acquired since Q4 2023, following Doddle in November 2023 and flexis AG in February. These deals mark approximately $1 billion in M&A investments and are emblematic of Blue Yonders intent to transform the global supply chain. About Blue Yonder Blue Yonder is the world leader in digital supply chain transformation. Global retailers, manufacturers and logistics providers leverage Blue Yonder to optimize their supply chains from planning through fulfillment, delivery and returns. Blue Yonders AI-embedded, interoperable supply chain solutions are connected end-to-end via a unified platform and data cloud, enabling business to collaborate in real time across functions, which supports more agile decision-making, improved customer satisfaction, profitable growth, and more resilient, sustainable supply chains. Blue Yonder - Fulfill your PotentialTM www.blueyonder.com Blue Yonder is a trademark or registered trademark of Blue Yonder Group, Inc. Any trade, product or service name referenced in this document using the name Blue Yonder is a trademark and/or property of Blue Yonder Group, Inc. All other company and product names may be trademarks, registered trademarks or service marks of the companies with which they are associated. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240731317929/en/ Regulatory News: This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240801283987/en/ SLB OneSubsea manufacturing facility in Curitiba, Brazil. (Photo: Business Wire) SLB (NYSE: SLB) has announced a major contract award by Petrobras (NYSE: PBR), following a competitive tender, to its OneSubsea joint venture for their standardized, pre-salt subsea production systems and related services. The scope covers the further development of two oil fields in the strategically important Santos Basin. As part of the second development of the Atapu and Sepia fields, SLB OneSubsea will provide the Petrobras-standard configured, pre-salt vertical trees, subsea distribution units, subsea control systems and pipeline systems, along with related installation, commissioning and life-of-field services. Much of the technology and equipment to be deployed, including the vertical trees and subsea control systems, will be produced and serviced locally at SLB OneSubseas facilities in Brazil. This award deepens our valued partnership with Petrobras, and we are proud to be supporting the development of such important assets to Brazil, said Mads Hjelmeland, chief executive officer of SLB OneSubsea. Leveraging our proven, locally developed technology platform facilitates on-time delivery and maximizes local content from our Brazilian manufacturing and service facilities. Brazil is a key market for us, and our continued in-country investments are key to support the growth we envisage for the region. These projects add to Petrobras material pre-salt investments and will enable the addition of two new floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) platforms, P-84 (Atapu) and P-85 (Sepia). They will each have a daily production capacity of 225,000 barrels of oil per day and processing of 10 million cubic meters of gas per day. About SLB SLB (NYSE: SLB) is a global technology company that drives energy innovation for a balanced planet. With a global footprint in more than 100 countries and employees representing almost twice as many nationalities, we work each day on innovating oil and gas, delivering digital at scale, decarbonizing industries, and developing and scaling new energy systems that accelerate the energy transition. Find out more at slb.com. About SLB OneSubsea SLB OneSubsea is driving the new subsea era that leverages digital and technology innovation to optimize our customers oil and gas production, decarbonize subsea operations, and unlock the large potential of subsea solutions to accelerate the energy transition. SLB OneSubsea is a joint venture backed by SLB, Aker Solutions, and Subsea7 headquartered in Oslo and Houston, with 10,000 employees across the world. Find out more at onesubsea.com. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. federal securities laws that is, statements about the future, not about past events. Such statements often contain words such as expect, may, can, estimate, intend, anticipate, will, potential, projected" and other similar words. Forward-looking statements address matters that are, to varying degrees, uncertain, such as forecasts or expectations regarding the deployment of, or anticipated benefits of, SLBs new technologies and partnerships; statements about goals, plans and projections with respect to sustainability and environmental matters; forecasts or expectations regarding energy transition and global climate change; and improvements in operating procedures and technology. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the inability to achieve net-negative carbon emissions goals; the inability to recognize intended benefits of SLBs strategies, initiatives or partnerships; legislative and regulatory initiatives addressing environmental concerns, including initiatives addressing the impact of global climate change; the timing or receipt of regulatory approvals and permits; and other risks and uncertainties detailed in SLBs most recent Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K filed with or furnished to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. If one or more of these or other risks or uncertainties materialize (or the consequences of such a development changes), or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual outcomes may vary materially from those reflected in our forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release, and SLB disclaims any intention or obligation to update publicly or revise such statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240801283987/en/ CAMEROUN :: AIDS- Free Holidays 2024:Under the banner of vigilance for a conscious and healthy youth. :: CAMEROON The national response to HIV/ AIDS has a challenge, that of guaranteeing Cameroon and therefore the world, healthy future leaders who are sufficiently aware of the issues, a priority of the Cameroonian Government. It is under the theme "No to deviance and moral depravity, yes to a future without HIV/ AIDS", that the 22nd edition of the "Holidays Without AIDS" campaign was launched on July 31 at the esplanade of the headquarters of Synergies Africaines in Yaounde, Cameroon. In his speech, and following his colleague MOUNOUNA FOUTSOU, Minister of Youth and Civic Education, Dr Malachie MANAOUDA, Minister of Public Health and President of the National Committee for the Fight against AIDS, took the opportunity to thank all the actors involved in this noble approach, both nationally and internationally. He returned to this vulnerability of young people which is accentuated by deviant behaviors and which multiply these risks of infection in a more than considerable way. He named in particular the consumption of alcohol and drugs, disobedience to parents, indiscipline, the search for virtual independence, the desire to adopt behavioral models of defiance, as many factors which plunge these young people into the category of people more than vulnerable to the risk of HIV infection (young girls). It should be noted that, this campaign, initiated in 2003 by the Cameroonian First Lady, Mrs. Chantal Biya, intensively mobilizes young people, particularly those aged 15 to 25, throughout the national territory. The objective is to fight against HIV/ AIDS through local communication and targeted messages. Let us recall that, the results are palpable and encouraging, but vigilance remains heightened so that the figures continue to fall and the threat is considerably controlled, for a youth conscious and responsible in good health, the said campaign ends on August 31 with the first assessments expected. IRELANDS neutrality is not up for grabs so said Sinn Feins newly-elected Ireland South MEP Kathleen Funchion. Kathleen Funchion MEP Speaking to The Nationalist at the end of her first week in the European Commission, Kathleen said: As I pledged during the election campaign, I voted against the re-election of Ursula von der Leyen as commission president. Her time in office has been bad for Ireland. Her full support of Israel has been disgraceful as the people of Palestine are subjected to a horrific genocide. While in office, several of her decisions have moved towards EU militarisation and undermined Irelands neutrality. Kathleen was one of 284 members to vote against the re-election of Ms von der Leyen as commission president. However, she won a second five-year term after receiving 401 votes in the 720-member chamber. Reflecting on her week, Kathleen said she has hit the ground running in what she describes as an exciting and incredible experience to get to represent Ireland South. Throughout the election campaign, I listened to people right across Ireland South, which includes one of my home counties of Carlow. They made it clear to me that they want an MEP who will work hard and deliver for the area. That is what I am committed to doing. This week, I have hit the ground running and will be using my voice in Europe to deliver for ordinary workers and families on the issues that matter to them." As a Dail deputy for Carlow/Kilkenny, Kathleen chaired the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth and is keen to continue her work in the area of childrens rights. I got the opportunity to meet two childrens rights organisations one that specialises in beating childhood cancer and trying to work on this on an EU level. Last week also saw her become a member of the Regional Development Committee, where she will be seeking fair and balanced investment for the southeast. Meanwhile, she says, her experience as a trade unionist will be put to good use on the Employment Rights Committee, ensuring that workers' rights are strengthened and enhanced. A SECRET is something that someone somewhere doesnt want anyone else to know about. But if two or more know something, then it is no longer a secret and as night follows day, the facts of a case will also come out. How true when it comes to the late Eamonn Casey. In case you are wondering have I got his title wrong, I have not. That is deliberate on my part. He may have been a priest and later a bishop, but to refer to him as either is only an insult to all the good men who have had to live with the shame of what Casey and his ilk did to innocent and gullible people in the past. Lets be clear: there is no place in society, modern or otherwise, for people who carried on, and perhaps still do, like Eamonn Casey and other sexual predators. Thank God, we have finally woken up in this country. No-one, irrespective of whatever title they hold or position they occupy, should be free to do whatever they like. No matter what the consequences, they must be held accountable in life or in death for the pain and suffering they inflicted on others. Eamonn Casey is one such individual, although he was not alone. I got tired of covering court cases involving members of the clergy and all they got up to. Some mimed remorse, but if you asked me to be truthful about the number that were actually ashamed of what they did or showed any remorse, Id have to say it was minuscule. Okay, the Eamonn Casey scandal was extremely high profile and, like a lot of cowards, he did a runner, first to England and then on to The Missions, as working in Africa was often referred to. In hindsight and in light of all that has been made public since, who in their right mind would send that man anywhere to administer the word of God? He certainly gives that concept a bad name. You could argue that those covering for him were ignorant of all the facts, but as we have since found out, that is not entirely true. However, the Church did, as we later discovered, what was the norm for such cases: they simply moved him on to somewhere else. In light of the revelations in the most recent RTE investigation into the carry-on of Casey, I wonder how the late Gay Byrne or members of the audience of the 2 April 1993 edition of the Late Late Show would react if they had the opportunity to again interview or question Annie Murphy, the woman who had a child for Casey in 1974 and then wrote a book about her relationship with the man. It was this breaking story which prompted Casey to run in the first place. At that time, anyone associated with the clergy was held in high esteem and their word was taken as Gospel. So naturally, many people immediately jumped to Caseys defence. But the subsequent exposure of a litany of abuse to others put paid to any doubts people had about the man. Which then begs the question: why, when he died, was he buried with pomp and ceremony by his previous diocese? That is inexcusable. They knew about the rape and abuse of his niece and others by the man. He had been reported to the authorities in Ireland and in England as far back as 2005. Compensation had been paid to victims, counselling had been provided at diocesan expense, yet what happened? A big farewell with up to 1,600 in attendance, including the President of Ireland, at a funeral Mass in Galway cathedral. And just to add insult to injury, burial in the crypt beneath the church. Fr Brian DArcy, a priest I have the utmost respect for, was right when he immediately blamed the diocese and Rome for allowing this catastrophe to happen. He was right when he said the Church should have defrocked Eamonn Casey because there are protocols in place governing how such a person is buried, which would have ensured the events surrounding Caseys death could not have taken place. But as is often the case in Ireland, we have a tendency to canonise the dead suddenly all the wrongs they did in life are forgotten about and we applaud the one or two good things they may have done. Thanks to the bravery of some of Caseys victims, whatever plaudits were wrongly given to this man will now be reversed, and hopefully he will be interred in a grave more reflective of the type of man he really was. By Rebecca Black, PA Churches and trade unions have urged against a suggestion of anti-Islamic protests in Northern Ireland this weekend. Earlier this week, Chief Constable Jon Boutcher said police are working to establish if the protests mooted on social media will materialise on the ground. He also urged people in society to push back against the poisonous nonsense being propagated by those seeking to organise demonstrations against the Islamic faith, adding if they do happen they will be policed effectively. It comes after disorder in England following the fatal stabbing of three young girls in Southport on Monday. People look at floral tributes on Maple Street, Southport. Photo: Danny Lawson/PA. Violent unrest has been witnessed in Southport as well as in London, Hartlepool and Manchester. Church of Ireland Bishop of Down and Connor Alan McGuckian described disturbing scenes of violence, rioting and protest, often motivated by Islamophobia, xenophobia and racism, organised and mobilised by social influencers. It is particularly concerning that some individuals and groups have deliberately used the recent attack in Southport, in which three children lost their lives and many others injured, to misinform and inflame fear within the local community and beyond, he said. He urged against those in Northern Ireland that are similarly stoking the coals of fear and mistrust against Muslims. Particularly in Northern Ireland, we have journeyed so far from a history of conflict and live now in a place that is rightly moving towards mutual respect, dialogue and tolerance, he said. There is no place for racism and sectarianism in a modern civil society. Those who promote mistrust and fear do not speak in the name of Christianity. Standing in solidarity and seeking an honest dialogue with our sisters and brothers from different cultures and religions is the only authentic Christian way forward. I make an appeal calling for all to remain calm, to seek peace and to promote community harmony. Let us not be influenced by messengers of fear and misinformation. Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland Rev Trevor Gribben urged anyone considering taking part in such protests to think again. As the police service seeks to establish what may or may not happen on Saturday, Mr Boutcher referred to the calls to protest as poisonous nonsense. Hatred against any section of the community is indeed poisonous, and is not only wrong, but entirely anti-Christian, he said. It is my prayer, that those seeking to undertake this misguided course of action think again, and understand that we are called by Jesus Himself, to love your neighbour as yourself. ICTU president Justin McCamphill. Photo: Liam McBurney/PA. Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) president Justin McCamphill described whipping up hate and fear as not acceptable. We endorse the assertion of our friends in the TUCs North-West region that Southport and our communities do not need to meet violence with further violence, he said. Whipping up hate and fear is not acceptable. As trade unions in the region, we will continue to work with our members in workplaces across Southport and beyond, to provide practical support and solidarity and defeat the narrative of hate. The playbook being spread around the UK this week is the same as the lies and fearmongering after a similar attack on children in Dublin last November. The message from trade unionists then is the same today we stand with all victims of hate crime; we support our public servants who defend the vulnerable and we have zero tolerance for divisive misinformation or attempts to spark violence. Gordon Deegan Extinction Rebellion Ireland (ERI) has warned that if a planned new Google Ireland data centre gets the planning go-ahead for south Dublin it will be met with massive local and national pushback and action. In an objection against the planned new data centre expansion by Google Ireland for Grange Castle Business Park in south Dublin, Emer Connolly of Extinction Rebellion Ireland has told the Council: This expansion is a disaster for local communities, water shortages, transition to a more sustainable economy, and reaching our climate targets. Ms Connolly states that if this planning goes through, it will be met with massive local and national pushback and action. She said: Environmental groups are watching closely and wont let this go through easily. In a separate submission, An Taisce has warned that planning for the data centre "would further compromise our ability to achieve compliance with our carbon budget limits and would put additional pressure on renewables capacity to deal with the significant additional power demand. The scheme is the third phase of the Google Ireland data centre campus at Grange Castle Business Park and will involve the creation of 800 construction jobs and 50 jobs when operational. The new 72,400 square-metre data storage facility data centre will involve the construction of eight data halls on a 50 acre greenfield/brownfield site. However, in the eight-page submission, An Taisces Planning Officer, Sean O'Callaghan states that the proliferation of data infrastructure has largely gone unchecked, and data centres now consume 21 per cent of Irelands total metred electricity. He said that this is up from 5% in 2015 and represents more electricity use than all urban households in Ireland combined. Mr O'Callaghan has stated that the planned data centre will put great pressure on an already strained electricity grid in the Dublin region, particularly in light of the large number of existing and proposed data centres already in the area. Mr O'Callaghan stated that a projected increase of 0.44 per cent in national emissions from the project "is entirely incompatible with our obligations to reduce emissions. Mr O'Callaghan states: "Also, we consider an increase in national emissions of almost half a percentage point as a result of one singular development to be very significant. He said that granting development consent for the data centre, on its own terms and when considered cumulatively with the high concentration of other data centres, would greatly risk Irelands ability to meet carbon budget and sectoral emissions ceiling obligations for the electricity sector. Head of Policy at Friends of the Earth, Jerry MacEvilly has called on the Council to reject the planning application. Mr Mac Evilly states our concern is that the proposed development would actively undermine the achievement of the states carbon budget programme. Dr Colin Doyle has told the council that claims of commitment by Google and Google Ireland Ltd to decarbonisation amount to greenwashing. He said: The claims are all based on purchase of renewable electricity. While these purchases can be reported in corporate Green House Gas (GHG) accounting systems, they do not mitigate or offset in any way the physical additional GHG emissions caused by Google's activities in Ireland. In a separate submission, Gino Kenny TD (People Before Profit Solidarity) along with party colleagues, Cllr Madeleine Johansson and Cllr Darragh Adelaide have told the council that the development would have an adverse impact on the local community, the electricity grid and on Irelands carbon emissions. Raising concerns about possible black-outs in the area from data centre development, the three state that Grange Castle has seen a significant number of data storage developments, some of which have not yet started operating, and we would be extremely concerned about the capacity of the electricity grid at this time to cope with any further developments. A decision is due on the application later this month. Aodhan O'Faolain Convicted rapist Michael Murray has brought a High Court challenge against sanctions he received from the Prison Authorities for allegedly making a threatening phone call stating there was a bomb at the home of the Taoiseach Simon Harris. The High Court heard that Murray rejects a finding that he breached the prison rules by making a threatening phone call on June 26th last from the Midlands Prison, where he is currently incarcerated. It is claimed that the threat was made by Murray in a call to the Samaritans. Arising out of the allegation Murray was made the subject of disciplinary procedure which was heard by the Midlands Prison governor. The governor found that the prisoner had engaged in misconduct by misusing the prison's phone system. After finding that such behaviour contravenes the 2007 Prison Rules, the governor imposed a sanction of 40 days loss of ordinary privileges within the prison and 12 days' remission from Murray's sentence. Both the governor's finding and the sanctions imposed were upheld on an appeal to the Irish Prison Operations Directorate. Through his lawyers Murray has brought High Court judicial review proceedings where he claims the sanctions are unlawful and should be set aside. He claims that after he denied the claim against him he was not given a proper opportunity to respond to the allegation. He claims that during the disciplinary hearing he asked for to be provided with the information supporting the allegation against him. He says that his request was refused on the grounds that the material was "confidential". He further claims that he was not informed about the nature of the evidence used against him. In his High Court action against the governor of the Midlands Prison, where he is represented by Niall Storan Bl, instructed by John Shanley Solicitors, Murray seeks various orders and declarations including an order quashing the decision against him and sanctions imposed. He also seeks a declaration from the court that the disciplining of a prisoner under the 2007 rules for misconduct is subject to the principals of natural justice and fair procedures. The Irish Prison Service, the Minister for Justice & Equality, Ireland and the Attorney General are notice parties to the judicial review proceedings. The matter came before Mr Justice Tony O'Connor during Friday's High Court vacation sitting. The judge said that he was prepared to grant Murray permission, on an ex-parte basis, to bring his challenge. The judge said he was also prepared to grant the applicant a stay on the sanctions from being implemented until his action has been determined by the court. The case was adjourned and will come before the court after the new legal term commences in October, 53-year-old Murray formerly of Seafield Road, Killiney, Co Dublin, is currently serving a lengthy prison sentence at the prison. In 2013, he was jailed for 19 years for the rape of a woman whose child he abducted. In 2021, he was convicted, and jailed for a further 16 years, on charges including threatening to kill and harassing lawyers who had prosecuted him. Earlier this year, Murray was given an additional two years in prison for phoning in a false bomb threat against the Minister for Justice Helen McEntee. Murray, who had denied the charges against him, is not expected to be released from prison until 2037. Olivia Kelleher The Irish Coast Guard, the RNLI and Water Safety Ireland are calling on members of the public to take care when they are on or near the water this bank holiday weekend. People who are going on day trips are urged to check the weather forecast including tides and to ensure that they have the right equipment for the activity they are about to undertake on the water. Kevin Whitney, Operations Manager with the Irish Coast Guard, said that they are seeing an increase in the number of incidents this summer involving paddleboarders, persons becoming stranded due to incoming tides, recreational boater groundings and diving incidents. Remember to have the right equipment for the activity you are about to undertake, such as a correctly fitting personal flotation device, and to let someone ashore know where you are going and when you will return, and most importantly, to have a means to call for help, such as a marine VHF Radio, fully charged mobile phone, or Personal Locator Beacon. Ensure you plan for the event you are about to undertake and are familiar with all your safety equipment before venturing out. This will allow you to use this equipment in a hurry should the need arise. If participating in any diving activities, then it is highly recommended that you file a float plan with someone ashore or the Coast Guard so that emergency services are aware of your location and can assist if need be. Water Safety Irelands CEO, Joanne Walsh, said rip currents can be a danger at Irelands beaches and swimmers are advised to know what to do if they encounter one. Rip currents are not always easy to spot and the best way to remain safe is to swim between the red and yellow flags at lifeguarded waterways. Lifeguards are trained to identify when and where it is safe to swim. If you do get caught in a rip current, remain calm and dont try to swim against the current. Instead, swim out of the current in a direction parallel to the shoreline and then back towards shore. If still in difficulty, call for help and float on your back like a starfish. RNLI Water Safety Lead, Linda-Gene Byrne said paddleboarding, kayaking and canoeing are increasingly popular, especially during the summer months. The RNLI has seen an increase in our lifeboats going to the aid of people involved in these activities over the past few years. Its important to be aware of some simple safety advice which could save your life. If you are heading out on the water, we would always advise you to wear a suitable personal flotation device for your activity. If you are on a paddleboard, choose the right releasable leash for the location you are paddling. Always check the weather forecast and tide times as this can affect your paddling and always tell someone where youre going and when youll be back. Keep a means of calling for help attached to you in a waterproof pouch or close to hand so that in an emergency you can call 999/112 and ask for the Coast Guard. ATLANTA The Carter Center has awarded two journalists a new fellowship as part of the Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism. This new fellowship, a shared initiative of the Carter Center Human Rights and Mental Health programs, supports journalists efforts to explore the impacts of climate change on mental health in countries with low socioeconomic status. The fellowship is made possible through the SNF Global Center Communicators program at the Child Mind Institute. The selection process was very competitive. Initially, the new fellowship opportunity was available for one journalist. However, due to the high volume and quality of applicants, The Carter Center determined that two journalists would be added to the 2024-25 fellowship cohort. One will be funded through the SNF Global Center Communicator program, and the second through The Carter Center. More than 250 candidates took part in the application process, which opened in June. The 2024-2025 Climate Change and Mental Health Fellows are: Avit Ndayiziga Community Voice, Burundi X: @ANdayiziga Topic: Relentless heavy rainfall in Burundi has raised Lake Tanganyika's water level, causing floods, river overflow, and landslides. This ongoing disaster has left 29 dead, 175 injured, and about 42,000 displaced. At Matyazo camp, internally displaced people are housed in tents, exposing them to harsh impacts of climate change, including extreme cold and scorching heat, affecting their mental health with conditions such as depression, isolation, and anxiousness about the future after losing their possessions. Avit Ndayiziga is the editor in chief at Community Voice, a community-based media outlet in Burundi that investigates and publishes underreported stories shedding light on various issues such as climate change, health, corruption, human rights, and other community-interest topics. Ndayiziga has previously reported on climate change and health-related topics through the Excellence in Health Journalism Fellowship from Internews Health Journalism Network and Aga Khan University. Ndayiziga has also worked with InfoNile, a regional media outlet, producing water-related stories that compelled the authorities to make major decisions on groundwater protection. Ndayiziga has received training through Oxford Climate Journalism Network and the RNTC Media Training Centre in Haarlem, Netherlands. Hellen Kabahukya Solutions Now Africa, Uganda X: @tecyhellen Topic: Northern Uganda is facing increasingly frequent and severe heat waves due to climate change, with temperatures reaching up to 40C (104F). The impact of heat waves is especially challenging for farmers, mostly women who are charged with the responsibility of growing food for their families. This same region is just recovering from a 20-year civil war that left many with PTSD and dependence on alcohol and drugs. Hellen Kabahukya is a reporter with Solutions Now Africa in Uganda's capital, Kampala. She writes about women's issues, minority rights, mental health, and climate change. Prior to working for Solutions Now Africa, Kabahukya was a communications officer at Mental and Reproductive Health Uganda. Later, she worked at Health Lifestyle Options as project and programs developer for a substance use organization. Kabahukya has a certificate in multimedia journalism and storytelling with the Media Challenge Initiative and a certificate in digital storytelling with Ultimate Media Consult. She also holds a certificate in narrative change with Global Press Institute. Ndayiziga, Kabahukya, and three other international journalists from the United Arab Emirates and the Republic of Ireland will join nine U.S. fellows for the annual meeting of fellows in September at The Carter Center. Fellows receive stipends, training, and mentoring throughout the fellowship year to assist them while they conduct research and interviews for use in a project related to their chosen topic. The Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) Global Center Communicators of the Rosalynn Carter Mental Health Journalism Fellowship was established to close the communication gaps that impede understanding and addressing the needs of children and families living with mental health and learning disorders around the world, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. The SNF Global Center Communicators Fellowship Program is part of the SNF Global Center for Child and Adolescent Mental Health at the Child Mind Institute, established in 2022 with founding support from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) as part of the Global Health Initiative (GHI). We are thrilled to partner with The Carter Center on this fellowship program and support journalists reporting on child and adolescent mental health issues by equipping them with the knowledge they need to impact their communities and the lives of children and families globally, said Samantha White, managing director of the SNF Global Center at the Child Mind Institute. The Carter Centers peace programs, inspired by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and First Lady Rosalynn Carter, work independently and with local partners to prevent conflicts, mediate disputes, and advance democracy, human rights, and the rule of law. The Human Rights Program aims to create the circumstances for people to realize their human rights, for those in power to uphold those rights, and for stakeholders to collectively prioritize, protect, and promote human rights. The program focuses on advancing protected groups rights, applying a comprehensive human rights framework to U.S. policies, promoting climate and environmental justice, and offering expertise on critical human rights issues. ### Contact: media@cartercenter.org The Carter Center Waging Peace. Fighting Disease. Building Hope. A not-for-profit, nongovernmental organization, The Carter Center has helped to improve life for people in over 80 countries by resolving conflicts; advancing democracy, human rights, and economic opportunity; preventing diseases; and improving mental health care. The Carter Center was founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, in partnership with Emory University, to advance peace and health worldwide. Heidelberg Materials embraces AHS at Texas quarry Suzanne Starbuck By 02 August 2024 Heidelberg Materials is deploying US-based Prontos Autonomous Haulage System (AHS) at its Lake Bridgeport quarry in Texas. The move follows the successful pilot of the system in 2023. Pronto specialises in commercial transportation with its AHS designed to perform in the most challenging off-road situations as well as improving safety, reducing costs and increasing productivity. At the Lake Bridgeport quarry, Pronto and Heidelberg Materials have joined forces with Komatsu North America to deploy the AHS on the Komatsu HD605-8 haul trucks, which also feature Komatsus Smart Quarry technologies. According to Pronto, the combination of its AHS and Komatsus Smart Quarry platform will enable enhanced data collection and analysis, as well as improved safety and productivity for Heidelberg Materials. Prontos AHS is a cost-effective solution to addressing the challenge of recruiting skilled operatives, while also increasing the utilisation of haul truck assets. The AHS leverages advanced sensors, cameras, and artificial intelligence to autonomously operate haul trucks in complex and dynamic environments, explains Pronto. Prontos software learns a haul route from a mining operator manually driving a vehicle on the desired route just one time. Operators then dispatch trucks to saved routes from their smartphones via Prontos simple-to-use mobile app, eliminating the need for a control room. Authorised site personnel can now command vehicle operations wherever they are, whether theyre in the seat of the loading unit, at the crusher, or anywhere else where site supervisors work. Published under Nuvoco Vistas Corp posts 6% uptick in April-June revenue Muriel Bal By 02 August 2024 India-based Nuvoco Vistas Corp saw its consolidated revenue from operations for the April-June 2024 quarter decline by six per cent YoY to INR26.36bn (US$314.8m) as lower volumes and weaker prices affected the company's result. The group sold 4.8Mt of cement, down from 5Mt in the year-ago quarter. Consolidated EBITDA for the quarter stood at INR3.48bn, down more than 13 per cent from a year ago. The company's consolidated net profit fell by more than 80 per cent YoY to INR28.4m in the April-June 2024 quarter. The Company navigated the quarter marked by soft demand, primarily due to elections, weather-related factors, and continued pressure on pricing, managing director Jayakumar Krishnaswamy said. Despite these challenges, the focus remained on strategic priorities such as value optimisation, cost optimisation, and operational efficiency, he added. However, Mr Krishnaswamy sees a demand-supply imbalance and continued pricing pressure as headwinds in the near term, and said that the pace and timing of a recovery in demand will depend on the on-ground execution of infrastructure and housing projects. Published under Two Soddy Daisy police officers, who went to the District Attorney's Office over alleged wrong-doing in the department, have been fired. Lt. Jake Elrod and Captain Eric Jenkins were terminated on Wednesday. Attorney Janie Varnell, who is representing them, said, "Three months ago, two long-time Soddy Daisy police officers, Lt. Elrod and Capt. Jenkins, came forward with evidence that another Soddy Daisy Officer, Jeremy Wright, had lied in a previous internal affairs investigation. "Legal experts explain that such allegations of untruthfulness must be disclosed in criminal proceedings. However, while both Lt. Elrod and Capt. Jenkins testified in Hamilton County Criminal Court that they were threatened with their jobs by Soddy Daisy officials if they came forward and told the truth, the two persisted and brought the evidence to the Hamilton County District Attorneys office who promptly turned it over to defense attorneys. "Hamilton County Judge Boyd Patterson, after a hearing, found both Lt. Elrod and Capt. Jenkins to be credible witnesses in their testimony in the case of State v. Justin Whaley and ordered a new trial for Whaley based upon their testimony of Wrights untruthfulness. "Yesterday, Soddy Daisy terminated Lt. Elrod and Capt. Jenkins in clear retaliation for them bringing forward the evidence about Wright. Shame on Soddy Daisy for terminating these two long-time officers, Lt. Elrod and Captain Jenkins. This is the most blatant act of retaliation I have seen. These officers brought information to our local District Attorney about the truthfulness of an arresting police officer. Even the DA said in open court that this evidence should have been given to the defense before trial. "Soddy Daisy tried to hide it and now they are punishing the officers who morally and legally did the right thing. The message that this sends to our community is that the Soddy Daisy Police Department wants to hide and cover up all of the bad deeds of their officers. She said Tennessee law "allows public employees to freely communicate their concerns to their elected officials. To be terminated for bringing this truthful information to the DA is not only a violation of their freedom of speech but opens the city of Soddy Daisy to liability." Logan Davis, another attorney at Davis & Hoss representing the two officers, said, These are the types of police officers you want to root for, the ones who do what is right, even when their jobs are on the line. What you hope, however, is that their department will stand behind them. "Unfortunately, in this case, Soddy Daisy didn't. We look forward to ensuring that justice is done for these two officers who have admirably served the city of Soddy-Daisy and its citizens for 17 years. We will ensure they have their day in court." The longtime girlfriend of Hixson plumber Ray Rzeplinski on Thursday told a Criminal Court jury it has been "five years of torment and hell" since a SWAT takedown at their house on Crabtree Road on Aug. 16, 2019. Jackie Cordell said they began that day going to the Sheriff's Office to meet with detective Jason Maucere about concerns Rzeplinski had that somebody was embezzling funds from his business. She said he had stayed up almost all night gathering up documents to show the detective. But she said when they arrived some 10 minutes late they were told the detective would not be meeting with them. She said Rzeplinski was especially upset now. "He had gathered up all these papers for basically nothing." In the meantime, the Sheriff's Office had gotten a call from Rzeplinski's son saying he was so stressed he had talked of suicide. The Sheriff personnel were planning to go to the Rzeplinski home, where they had been told multiple guns were stored. Deputy Maucere had also learned that Rzeplinski had a felony conviction from when he was 19 and living in Bradley County. Ms. Cordell said they were in their garage with the door open when an officer came up. She said they ordered him off the property. She said at that time both were wearing their handguns in their holsters. She said both were gun collectors and had made multiple gun purchases over the years, with accompanying background checks. Ms. Cordell said they then got a call and were told to come out of the house. She said they both put their guns down and began to walk down the driveway. She said, "There were 30 SWAT Team members with their guns pointed at Ray. We're unarmed." Ms. Cordell said Rzeplinski put his hands up and kept them up. She said he got down on his knees at their orders. Then she said, "They began beating him, hitting him and kicking him." She said she was placed in handcuffs for about 30 minutes and a SWAT member shouted at her to give the code to two gun safes inside. Rzeplinski, 48, also testified with his attorney, Ben McGowan, going over in detail his Bradley County conviction. The defendant, who said he was extremely nervous, at one time said he was clear that he had pleaded guilty to a felony. Another time he said, "I thought I was acting lawfully" when he bought numerous weapons despite the burglary conviction. He said the Bradley County case involved him driving three other youths to get cigarettes. He said the other three, finding the store closed, broke out the front door window and took cigarettes and candy. He said he drove back by and picked them up. They were arrested a couple of days later. He said at sentencing he got less time than the others because he agreed to be wired during a drug buy on three separate occasions. He got a three-year sentence, but received probation with 30 days to serve. He said it turned out to be 38 days when he did not report for probation. He said he paid all the restitution. Of the takedown, he said, "We got a call that they were either coming in or we were coming out." He said he called 911 to announce that he was unarmed as he started out of the garage. He said in the encounter with law enforcement he received six fractured ribs, lacerations to his head that caused significant bleeding, and other bruises and abrasions all over his body. Law enforcement testified that Rzeplinski would not follow orders and was remaining scrunched up. They said they could not be sure at first if he had a gun because his shirt was partially covering his holster. Rzeplinski said he bought guns because he felt they were a good investment, they were for protection, and at one time he hunted. His son, Curtis Rzeplinski, said he was in Cleveland, Tn., when he got a call from his dad who was talking about suicide and was "extremely stressed out." He said he was at his father's house when a deputy showed up just after a burglar alarm went off. He said his father told the deputy to get off his property. He said his father then left the house with a shotgun and a handgun. He said he tried to follow his father, but could not keep up. The son said he called his mother about the situation. He said at the time she was married to a sheriff's deputy. Rzeplinski is charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm, reckless endangerment, resisting arrest, possession of a prohibited weapon, and possession of a firearm with a conviction of a prior violent felony. Judge Amanda Dunn, at the close of the state's proof, ruled out the reckless endangerment. The Worlds Longest Yard sale on Highway 127 is now underway through Sunday. Its literally the Worlds Longest Yard Sale whose route spans six states (Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama) and is 690 miles long. This unique event draws hundreds of thousands of people (shoppers and vendors) each year from all around the country. The event began in 1987 when several officials, including Chattanooga Convention and Visitors Bureau Chief Bob Elmore, planned a weekend to encourage travelers to bypass the interstate highways in favor of scenic routes that would take them through rural communities and experience what small towns and communities have to offer. Visitors from all over the country, as well as the locals, enjoy both the yard sales and attractions along the 127 yard sale. Since the very beginning a popular stretch has been Highway 127 over Signal Mountain, thru Dunlap and onto Pikeville. The Tennessee Highway Patrol is urging everyone to use extreme caution when looking for those treasures. The Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport announced Friday that Delta Air Lines will restart daily nonstop service from Chattanooga to LaGuardia International Airport starting Oct. 7. New York has been the most sought-after market that our business community has requested every year, said April Cameron, Chattanooga Airport president and CEO. Delta has always been a tremendous partner, and we are deeply grateful for their continued confidence in our city and region. The schedules will be very accommodating for business travelers who need to fly out and return the same day. The daily flight will be operated on a CRJ-900, a 76-seat aircraft with 12 first-class seats, 20 Delta Comfort+ seats and 44 seats in the main cabin. Service to LaGuardia is an early morning departure and an evening arrival. Tickets go on sale this weekend. Mayor Tim Kelly stated that resuming air service to LaGuardia has been a high priority for his administration since coming into office, because of its key impact on economic development and the access to all the culture and tourism New York City has to offer. I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to Delta, and thank April Cameron and her team at CMAA, as well as her board, for all the progress we are making at Lovell Field." The Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport Authority operates independently of city government but is governed by a board appointed by the mayor of Chattanooga and confirmed by the city council. Ms. Cameron was chosen by a board made up of majority Mayor Kelly appointees, and the Airport Authority has worked closely with the mayors office and community partners to recruit new air service. In December 2023, Mayor Kelly traveled to Atlanta with Ms. Cameron and officials from the Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce to meet with Delta Air Lines officials and discuss possible new flights at CHA, including the CHA-LGA direct flight. "Providing local institutions and entrepreneurs with same day return direct flights to New York will certainly be a game-changer for companies and institutions with limited travel budgets, said City of Chattanooga Economic and Workforce Development Senior Advisor Charita Allen. For entrepreneurs and creatives, the likely increase in investments, knowledge transfer, and collaborations will be fun to watch. CMAA Board Chairman Jim Hall added, On behalf of the Board of Directors, we deeply appreciate Deltas ongoing commitment to Chattanooga. We also want to sincerely thank all our passengers that fly out of Chattanooga because we believe their commitment to choose to fly from Chattanooga helped to influence Deltas decision to provide this new service. There is a renewed effort to revoke the Medals of Honor that were awarded to U.S. Cavalry in 1890 who were involved in what is wrongly called the Battle of Wounded Knee and rightly called the Wounded Knee Massacre, the sight of which is now a National Historic Landmark. The confrontation with Lakota natives near Wounded Knee Creek on December 29, 1890, was a lethal example of failed military leadership during the Plains Indian Wars.What began as an order to surrender arms, in a charged environment where there was concern about the Lakota Ghost Dancers, ended up in the slaughter of mostly unarmed people.One prominent account claims that a deaf Lakota native named Black Coyote did not want to give up his rifle because he had paid much for it and relied on it for subsistence hunting.In a struggle to take his rifle, it discharged, resulting in the Cavalry opening fire on the tribal group, most of whom had already been disarmed.Lakota Sioux Chief Spotted Elk was among the estimated 250 Lakota men, women, and children killed that bitter winter day with 51 known wounded (four men and 47 women and children).Among COL James W. Forsyths 490 Seventh Cavalrymen, there were 31 killed and 33 wounded. Disgracefully, in my long-held view after researching the primary historic accounts of the Wounded Knee confrontation, there were Medals of Honor awarded to 20 Cavalrymen, most if not all of whom did not meet the most rudimentary service threshold to receive our nations highest award for valor in combat.For context regarding my assessment of this revocation effort, I have a decent historical understanding of and disdain for the repeated treaty betrayals of native peoples by 19th-century American presidents. My interest in those betrayals was sparked first by learning the history of Tennessean Andrew Jacksons Trail of Tears removal of the Cherokee tribes in defiance of a Supreme Court decree that he did not have the authority to do so.To be clear, I dont romanticize the Cherokee or any other native tribal peoples. In addition to violent attacks by the Cherokee on settlers, they have their own violent past with other tribal people, including the Shawnee and Muskogee-Creeks.I have visited many native ancestral lands in North America and have been fascinated by both the culture and weaponry of Eastern and Plains tribes. From the earliest records of native immigration into the North American west thousands of years ago, once those nomadic groups established tribal territories, many unleashed unmitigated violence upon other native tribes, both defending their own territories and in conquest of others. They slaughtered men, women and children, they raped and enslaved survivors, and then claimed their lands.Reading deep into the historic autobiographies of tribal leaders, including Lakota Chiefs Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull, Apache leader Geronimo, Tecumseh of the Shawnees, and local Cherokee Chief John Ross, those histories dispel the notion that these were the peace-loving naturalists as popularized in Kevin Costners 1990 epic American West film Dances with Wolves, or other similarly idyllic portrayals of peaceful tribal bands.That notwithstanding, I was moved by Dee Browns 1970 book, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee one of the first books to chronicle the lives of the Hunkpapa Lakota, Oglala Lakota and other tribes from their perspective.I have visited the site of the Battle of the Little Bighorn, where the arrogant and derelict George Armstrong Custer met his most deserving end on June 25, 1876, at the hands of the Lakota Sioux, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho. Notably, Custer, who was instrumental in cornering Robert E. Lee at Appomattox in April of 1865 in a war ostensibly to free enslaved men, women, and children, then headed west to enslave native men, women, and children on government plantations called reservations.The sentiments about the defeat of Custer at Little Bighorn had much to do with shaping the antagonistic attitudes of both civilian and military leaders regarding native populations in the years leading up to the Wounded Knee Massacre. Those sentiments undoubtedly informed the racial bias of the troopers who fired on the Lakota at Wounded Knee.Congressional support for revocation of the Wounded Knee Medals actually goes back 35 years. In 1990, both the House and Senate passed a resolution on the centennial of the attack, condemning the massacre.Additionally, the revocation of unearned Medals of Honor has a well-documented history.In 1917, a Medal of Honor Board revoked 911 Medals. Most were erroneously awarded to Union soldiers for actions during the War Between the States that clearly did not meet the standard for valor above and beyond the call of duty. Among them was the only woman to hold the Medal of Honor, Dr. Mary Walker, whose Medal was unlawfully restored by the Department of Defense in 1977 under Jimmy Carter.As for consideration of the merits of the Wounded Knee Medals now, I think the Department of Defense should be more focused on accelerating the long-overdue awarding of Medals of Honor to qualified recipients. That was the case three weeks ago with PVTs Shadrach and Wilson, the last of the Andrews Raiders to receive Medals of Honor for their actions in 1862. But there are more than 10 contemporary nominees currently stalled in the DoD pipeline, including Vietnam Vets SFC(R) Cliff Newman and CPT(R) Ike Camacho and nominees from more recent combat theaters.However, the Wounded Knee wrong should be righted.I am in agreement with my colleague, GEN B. B. Bell (USA, Ret.), who offered me his assessment this week: The heroism, valor, and intrepidity that are necessarily attached to the combat actions associated with the awarding of the Medal of Honor are tarnished by allowing the Wounded Knee awards to stand. Similar to hundreds of other Medals of Honor that have been revoked in our past, the Wounded Knee awards should also be revoked.Semper Vigilans Fortis Paratus et FidelisPro Deo et Libertate 1776* * *Mark CaldwellJoin us in daily prayer for our Patriots in uniform Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen standing in harms way in defense of American Liberty, and for Veterans, First Responders, and their families.Please consider a tax-deductible gift to support our hometown National Medal of Honor Sustaining Fund. Make a check payable to NMoH Sustaining Fund and mail to: Patriot Foundation Trust, PO Box 407, Chattanooga, TN 37401-0407. Visit the National Medal of Honor Heritage Center at Aquarium Plaza. (https://www.MOHHC.org). In northern Spain, a large Roman venue known as a circus that held horse-drawn chariot races was discovered by researchers. During aerial investigations at Iruna-Veleia, an ancient Roman city located in the Alava province of the Basque Autonomous Community, the circuss outline was detected. The circus is about 920 feet long by 235 feet wide. It is estimated that the venue could accommodate around 5,000 spectators. The project was led by the Provincial County of Alava and the Basque regional government. The Spanish software technology startup Arkikus documented the circus during a survey of an area that covered more than 620 acres. The area was mapped using a remote sensing method known as light detection and ranging (LiDAR). Drones captured images of the area. Researchers also examined historical and modern aerial photography of the site. LiDAR involves the firing of laser pulses at the ground to produce three-dimensional models of a landscape. The technique can map the topography while also revealing features that are not visible to the human eye. This is the third known Roman circus to be discovered in the northern half of the Iberian Peninsula. The other two were found in the ancient settlements of Tarraco and Calagurris. Sign up for Chip Chicks newsletter and get stories like this delivered to your inbox. If youre a cat owner, you know that scratched-up furniture can be a common problem with feline pets. Even though scratching is a natural instinct for cats, its frustrating to see torn couches and cushions ripped to shreds in your home. A team of researchers from Turkey, Portugal, and France have investigated the factors that cause unwanted scratching behavior in domestic cats. Certain factors, such as having young children at home, their activity levels, and their overall stress levels, contribute to your cats desire to claw at furniture. Some of these aspects can be adjusted to reduce scratching. Our findings can help caregivers manage and redirect scratching to appropriate materials, which could help foster a more harmonious living environment for both cats and their caregivers, said Dr. Yasemin Salgirli Demirbas, the first author of the study and a veterinary researcher at Ankara University in Turkey. The team asked over 1,200 cat owners in France to fill out an online survey about the daily routines, characteristics, and scratching behaviors of their cats. The French animal health company, Ceva Sante Animale, helped collect this data. The company also funded the study. The results revealed that having kids at home, high levels of playtime, and nocturnal activity were associated with increased scratching. Additionally, owners who described their cats as aggressive or disruptive were naturally prone to scratch more. The leading reason for unwanted scratching was stress. Small children in the home can heighten felines stress, causing them to scratch. However, the link between children in the home and increased scratching is not fully understood. More research is needed to learn about the connection. Another stress-related factor is playfulness. When cats play for a long period of time, they can get more stressed because of the uninterrupted stimulation. While some factors cannot be immediately changed, such as the presence of children or the personality of the cat, other environmental aspects can be modified. Ensure your cat has plenty of designated scratch posts in various areas of the home and nooks and crannies to hide in. Providing safe hiding places, elevated observation spots, and ample play opportunities can also help alleviate stress and engage the cat in more constructive activities, Salgirli Demirbas said. Sign up for Chip Chicks newsletter and get stories like this delivered to your inbox. In Italy, an ancient princes tomb featuring a chariot was unearthed among more than 150 artifacts. The tomb was discovered in the Corinaldo Necropolis, which is located in the Ancona province in the central Italian Marche region. The necropolis dates back to the seventh century B.C. and is associated with an ancient Italic people called the Piceni. They lived between the ninth and third centuries B.C. in what is now the region of Marche and in parts of Abruzzo. The territory they occupied was called Picenum by the Romans. Eventually, it was incorporated into the Roman Republic. At the site, archaeologists have found a tomb belonging to an ancient prince from the seventh century B.C. Previously, the Corinaldo Necropolis yielded the Tomb of the Prince of Corinaldo in 2018. The latest find was uncovered during excavations for the ArcheoNevola Project led by the Department of History Cultures Civilization at the University of Bologna. The Municipality of Corinaldo and the Superintendency of Archaeology, Fine Arts, and Landscape for the provinces of Ancona and Pesaro Urbino have collaborated on the project, which has been active since 2018. Recently, investigations have led to the discovery of a pit that is about 12 feet by seven feet. The pit lies within a larger, circular ditch that originally had a diameter of about 100 feet. Inside the pit, there were more than 150 artifacts. Of particular note is the presence of a two-wheeled chariot and a prestigious set of bronze objects, including a helmet, a cauldron, and numerous finely decorated containers, said the Municipality of Corinaldo. In addition, there was a helm and a cauldron. Some of the objects were related to feasts and banquets that may have been held for the deceased, such as an iron axe for cutting meat and pottery for serving food and drink. These finds indicate that the owner of the tomb was someone of high status who was greatly revered. Sign up for Chip Chicks newsletter and get stories like this delivered to your inbox. This 30-year-old man has been working for his familys business ever since he was just 13 years old. He only took three years off from the time he was 20 to 23 years old before returning to the family business, and hes been there ever since. How much time he spends working each day can range from five hours to 16-hour shifts. Despite that, he averages a total of 60 to 70 hours every single week. Except for January and February when Im almost totally off because of the off-season, he explained. His younger 22-year-old brother, on the other hand, has decided to pursue higher education and has never worked more than 10 days at the family business. According to him, thats because his parents love to spoil his younger brother who just landed an unpaid internship in IT through his network connections. So, he believes that, when the time comes, he should be entitled to more of the family business than his brother. Right now, ownership is split evenly between his mother and father; meanwhile, he gets paid as an employee, even though he has various other separate bonuses and investments created for him through the company. Most of the decisions in the backroom are made by me, and I also take care of almost everything, such as clients, finances, web management, social media post and support, email support, driving, etc., he explained. Despite that, his mother recently told him some shocking news. She claimed that, once she steps down, 50% of the business will be going to his younger brother. Sign up for Chip Chicks newsletter and get stories like this delivered to your inbox. At the University of Lisbon, a well-preserved human head in a glass jar sits up on a shelf, where it can easily be observed by anyone who happens to enter the anatomical theater. But whose head is it? The head belongs to Diogo Alves, who is known for being the first serial killer in Portugal and the last man to die by hanging. However, those claims are only half true. Diogo Alves was born in 1810 in Galicia. He traveled to Lisbon during his youth to work as a servant for the wealthy. Soon, he realized that he would earn more money if he turned to a life of crime. So, from 1836 to 1839, he would prey on people traveling along the Aqueduto das Aguas Livres (Aqueduct of the Free Waters). The aqueduct was 0.62 miles long, and it provided a passageway for people like farmers to get to the city, where they would sell their produce. It was also 213 feet high. Alves would lie and wait for the farmers to make the trip home, steal their money, and shove them over the edge to their deaths. During the three years he worked at the aqueduct, he conducted 70 robberies and murders. He was never apprehended by the police since the deaths were ruled as suicides. After moving on from the aqueduct, Alves crimes started to escalate. He formed a gang and broke into peoples homes. One day, he broke into a physicians house and murdered everyone inside. The police finally caught him and sentenced him to death by hanging in February 1841. Alves was not the last man to be executed in this manner. Between 1842 and 1845, at least six more individuals were hanged. In 1867, Portugal banned capital punishment. Alves was also not the first serial killer in Portugal. A woman named Luisa de Jesus was actually the first. She was a resident of Coimbra and confessed to murdering 28 newborns she took from the local foundling wheel, which was a space for women to leave unwanted babies anonymously. Sign up for Chip Chicks newsletter and get stories like this delivered to your inbox. close_reversed Apple Podcasts Down Arrow Down Arrow Down Arrow arrow_left_alt Left Arrow Left Arrow Right Arrow Right Arrow Right Arrow arrow_up_alt Up Arrow Up Arrow Available at Amazon caret-down Close Close Email Email Expand Expand External External Facebook facebook-square Gift Gift Google google Google Keep hamburger Instagram instagram-square Link Link linkedin-square Listen Listen Listen Christianity Today CT Creative Studio Logo logo_org Megaphone Menu Menu pause Pinterest Play Play Pocket Podcast RSS RSS Save Save Save Search Search search Spotify Stitcher Telegram Table of Contents Table of Contents twitter-square WhatsApp X YouTube YouTube Got a question for CTs advice columnists? Email advice@christianitytoday.com. Queries may be edited for brevity and clarity. Q: A woman at our church wants to join my community group, but her husband doesnt seem to want to connect with the men in the group, and now they dont want to reach out to him either. The women want to invite the family to join, but I feel uneasy about the husbands relationship. Hesitant in Hawaii Beth Moore: You used a perfect word in your description: uneasy. One of the biggest challenges of fellowship within a local church is that we may have little in common beyond pulling into the same parking lot on Sundays. We may not even naturally like one anotheryet the New Testament calls us family. Sign up for CT Pastors Each weekly CT Pastors issue equips you with the best wisdom and practical tools for church ministry. Email* Sign Up This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Thanks for signing up. Please click here to see all our newsletters. Sorry, something went wrong. Please try again. If community among flawed humans is anything at all, its uneasy, and Jesus likely fashioned it this way on purpose: to require not only his help but also his presence to foster prayer, faith, and the setting aside of personal preferences. Ive learned through the years that some of the relationships I found most bewildering to develop became the most satisfying over time. We fought hard for the relationship and won. Sometimes group dynamics prove too strained to maintain, but do give the Lord time to work. I recommend asking the family to join. If the husband doesnt wish to come, then youve not withheld community from the one longing for it. If he does come but remains aloof, receive him anyway and encourage the group to welcome him. Disruption is a different story, but let us not be resistant to those who simply dont feel like a good fit: God may be working toward deeper maturity in your groupand the husband may warm up over time and explain his reluctance. God bless you all as you take the relational risks that invariably come with community! Seek the Lord, and if he leads differently, dont give this matter another glance. Beth Moore and her husband, Keith, reside outside Houston. She has two daughters and an armful of grandchildren. Beth leads Living Proof Ministries, helping women know and love Jesus through Scripture. Q: Im a runner involved in a local running group. The group is hosting a one-mile beer race: Before each quarter mile, you drink a whole beer. Id be at least very buzzedif not outright drunkafter four beers. Is this the kind of drunkenness the New Testament forbids? Parched in Pennsylvania Kevin Antlitz: The short answer is yes. When I think of what the Bible says about alcohol, I think of Johns gospel. Marys first words in this gospel, funnily enough, are They have no more wine (John 2:3). Jesus first miracle is turning water into wine. He did this at a Jewish wedding after the party had been raging for a while, which means the guests were probably already feeling pretty good. But context matters. Of all things, a wedding is worth celebrating with a few brews. Im not so sure about a beer mile. As I thought about your race, another runner and race came to mind: Eric Liddell and the race he didnt run. Though a favorite to win the 100-meter dash in the 1924 Olympics, Liddell refused to run in the qualifying heats because they took place on a Sunday. Liddell went on to win gold in a different event, but his costly obedience offers some helpful perspective. If Liddell was willing to forgo the chance at Olympic glory so as not to disobey the command to rest on the Sabbath (Ex. 20:810), you should probably forgo whatever glory is to be had around your local track so as to not disobey Gods prohibition of drunkenness (Eph. 5:18). So Id sit this one outor ask if you can trade cans of beer for cups of milk. If the goal is to be miserable while running a mile, this will help you earn a new PR. Kevin Antlitz is an Anglican priest at a Pittsburgh church positively overflowing with kids. He and his wife have three children under ten, whom they pray will never know a day apart from Jesus. Q: The last time a friend of mine came to stay with me, he visited my church. Hes disabled, and the sermon used a metaphor about disability. It was biblical, and he didnt comment, but I know he didnt appreciate it and can understand why. Now hes coming to visit again. Do I invite him to church? Mortified in Minnesota Kiara John-Charles: I can only imagine how uncomfortable the entire sermon must have been for you. You invited a friend with a disability to church, expecting to share the positive experience youve had. But the sermon took an unexpected turn with a metaphor about disability, likely leaving you feeling awful. Its disheartening when our expectations arent met, especially when were excited to share an experience. While your assumption that the sermon made him uncomfortable may be valid, its essential to acknowledge that you dont know for sure. Our own anxieties can sometimes cloud our perception of a situation. And even if he did have unexpressed frustrations, that doesnt necessarily mean hes against visiting your church again. Consider asking God for guidance on how best to discuss the idea of attending church together during his visit. God will give you peace and clarity about how to proceed with the conversation. If I were in your shoes, I would approach this talk casually, giving your friend the power to decide whether he wants to attend or not. Maybe just let him know what time the service is and that you plan to attend, welcoming him to join if he wants to. If he declines, it provides an opportunity to explore why, if you feel comfortable doing so. On the other hand, if he agrees to come, it could lead to a positive experience, and this time he might find encouragement in a sermon that resonates with him. Kiara John-Charles is an LA native with Caribbean roots and a love for travel and food. She works as a pediatric occupational therapist and serves at her local church in Long Beach, California. Got a question for CTs advice columnists? Email advice@christianitytoday.com. Queries may be edited for brevity and clarity. The vice presidents faith and commitment to issues stirs enthusiasm among the traditionally Democratic voting bloc. Justin Sullivan / Staff / Getty Vice President Kamala Harris isnt the type of politician to cite the Bible a lot. Darryl Ford, the former pastor of a nondenominational evangelical church in Atlanta, thinks that might be a good thing. Weve gotten used to seeing people who will make Bible quotations and pray for me on a Sunday, then vote to disenfranchise me on a Tuesday, he told Christianity Today. Sign up for The Daily Briefing Get the most recent headlines and stories from Christianity Today delivered to your inbox daily. Email* Sign Up This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Thanks for signing up. Please click here to see all our newsletters. Sorry, something went wrong. Please try again. Ford and many other Black Christians say they care about the faith of the new Democratic Party nominee, who is replacing President Joe Biden on the ballot in November, but theyre focused more on issues than rhetoric. The former pastor says Black Christians support Harris because she has a good grasp on things like criminal justice and health care. Because shes been in it, shes lived amongst it. Shes not new to it, he said. Even if I dont agree with her on a certain issue, I believe she has a good handle on what that issue actually is. Black clergy across the country report a new enthusiasm in an election year that was previously leaving voters feeling discouraged and depressed. African Americans have overwhelmingly supported Democratic candidates since the party threw its weight behind civil rights legislation in the 1960s. But having Harris at the top of the ticket has brought a new energy, reminding some of Barack Obamas historic first campaign. It feels like 2008, said Khristi Lauren Adams, an ordained Baptist minister who works at a private school in Baltimore County, Maryland. I think theres a similar sentiment happening right now. According to a recent YouGov poll, nearly 40 percent of Black people say they are enthusiastic about voting this November. Seventy-four percent say they plan to vote for Harris come November. A month ago, Black support for Bidens reelection was only 69 percent. The reason youre seeing the organic response from the Black faith community is because she belongs, Matthew L. Watley, senior pastor at Kingdom Fellowship African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in Maryland, told CT. Shes one of us, and its been demonstrated for a long time. Harris hasnt shied away from talking about her deep roots in the Black church tradition. In a 2022 speech at the Annual Session of the National Baptist Convention, USA, the largest traditionally Black denomination in the country, Harris connected her faith and politics, crediting her childhood church experiences for giving her a framework for action. I was raised to live my faith, Harris said. Marching for civil rights, my parents pushed me in a stroller. That was faith in action. Now her candidacy is motivating other Black Christians to action. Were ten toes downall the way in, said Gabby Cudjoe-Wilkes, co-pastor of The Double Love Experience Church in Brooklyn, New York, which is part of the Progressive National Baptist Convention. Were not saying this is a perfect person, no candidate is. Kamala may not be leading with her faith, Im okay with that, she said. I don't feel like she is dangling it for a vote. Some Black pastors who are known as theological conservatives have come out in support of Harris too. Dwight McKissic, senior pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Arlington, Texas, and an influential Black leader in the Southern Baptist Convention until he left in 2021, praised Harriss superior qualifications on social media. I believe the energy, synergy, fundraising, volunteerism, and momentum driving and characterizing her campaign is unprecedented in American political history, McKissic wrote. Kamala Harris represents those whove been rejected among us. The support shes galvanized is amazing to me. He said that while he doesnt agree with Harris on everything, he will personally vote for her. McKissic specifically disagrees with Harriss positions on abortion. She is believed to be the first vice president to visit an abortion clinic, and has said she supports legislation protecting nationwide abortion access. McKissic said since the Republican Party removed the commitment to push for a constitutional ban on abortion from the party platform, however, neither major party offers a pro-life ticket. He believes many Christians will make their decision based on who seems most qualified to be president of the United States. For him, its an obvious choice. Harris is not without Black Christian critics, though. Some ministers are skeptical of where she would lead the country, if she makes it to the White House. I dont feel that sense of hope that I sense that others might, said Walter Harvey, pastor emeritus of Embassy Center MKE and president of the National Black Fellowship of the Assemblies of God. In Harveys eyes, Harriss positions on social issues are disqualifying. The Democrats have championed some policies that are unbiblical to family, that are unbiblical as it relates to sexuality, and I think its cost the African American community, he said. His majority Black congregation in Milwaukee is pretty diverse politically. He expects a divided reaction to Harriss candidacy. I think half would welcome her and champion her, be excited about her, he said. I think theres the other half, or close to half, who would be challenged by her message and would not want to endorse. A YouGov poll found that around 10 percent of Black voters plan to vote for Trump. Less than 10 percent are unsure of who they will vote for. Around 5 percent plan to vote for a third party candidate. Harris is just now ramping up her presidential campaign, so it remains to be seen what kind of outreach she might do to try and persuade Black Christians like those in Harveys church in Wisconsin to vote for her. Since the announcement that Biden was stepping down and Harris was going to run, her longtime pastor, civil rights leader Amos Brown, has organized a 100 days of prayer campaign. Brown, who was once taught by Martin Luther King Jr. at Morehouse College, is well respected by Black Christians, and many have noted his relationship with Harris. One of the first things she reportedly did, preparing her run for the White House, was to call Brown and request prayer. Harris has also established relationships with some Black churches in the greater DC area. She has occasionally attended Kingdom Fellowship, the AME church in Maryland where Matthew Watley serves as pastor. He told CT her most recent visit was a surprise. Watley got a phone call on Sunday morning from the vice presidents staff. She woke up and she wanted to come worship with us, Watley recalled. Harris may not be in a church pew every Sunday, but it is clear she was formed by the church and still has the principles of Christian living, Watley said. I think any honest pastor would say that many of our parishioners move that way these days. Since Biden became president in 2020, he has brought in faith leaders from various traditions to hear their concerns, get their input, and ask for prayer and support, the AME minister said. Watley hopes that outreach will deepen if Harris wins. My prayer, he said, is that the party will once again embrace faith as central to its identity, as historically it always has. Home News Christian politician abducted during church Bible study shooting; 2 killed ABUJA, Nigeria Gunmen in southern Nigeria on Tuesday kidnapped a prominent Christian woman and wife of the attorney general of Delta state from a church Bible study in an attack that left her driver and a policeman dead, according to various sources. Joan Onyemaechi, also known as Ada Anioma, was abducted from the King Jesus and I Church in Asaba, capital of Delta state, area residents said. A representative in the federal House of Representatives in 2015 and commissioner for Technical Education before her resignation earlier this year, Onyemaechi is married to state Attorney General Peter Mrakpor, who is also the states Commissioner of Justice. Besides killing her driver and the policeman in the kidnapping, the gunmen also reportedly wounded another policeman and a civilian. Church members Kenneth Ohen and Austin Okoronko told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News that the gunmen stormed into the church building while members were holding a Bible study. 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 Her police security men were killed before she was dragged into a car and drove off by the gunmen, Ohen said. The attack caused pandemonium as church members scattered amid the shooting, church members said. Motives for the kidnapping were unclear, especially as her family reportedly has not received a demand for ransom from the assailants. Bright Edafe, spokesperson for Delta State Police Command, confirmed the kidnapping and killings, telling Christian Daily International-Morning Star News officers have been deployed to areas of the Delta to track down the gunmen. We appeal for calm from the church members and public, Edafe said. On Jan. 23, 2023, in Delta state, assailants described as Fulani herdsmen killed two Christians and wounded and kidnapped others in Toru-Angiama village, Patani County. In the 2024 Open Doors World Watch List report of the countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian, Nigeria was ranked No. 6, as it was in the previous year. Nigeria remained the deadliest place in the world to follow Christ, with 4,118 people killed for their faith from Oct. 1, 2022, to Sept. 30, 2023. More kidnappings of Christians than in any other country also took place in Nigeria, with 3,300. Nigeria was also the third highest country in number of attacks on churches and other Christian buildings such as hospitals, schools, and cemeteries, with 750, according to the report. This article was originally published by Christian Daily International-Morning Star News. Home News Nearly 1,000 people baptized in Californias latest spiritual revival A record number of baptisms took place at a beach in Orange County over the weekend, as believers professed their faith in Jesus Christ at Southern Californias latest spiritual revival. Nearly 1,000 people turned out at the Chino Hills-based Calvary Chapel's outdoor baptism, which was held at Newport Beachs Corona Del Mar State Beach on Saturday. While Calvary Chapel hosts a baptism at Corona Del Mar Beach every year, Pastor Jack Hibbs described the baptism as our biggest to date. California may be experiencing a spiritual revival, Calvary Chapel Church Director Gina Gleason told CBN News in an interview. She said that the turnout at this years outdoor baptism was remarkable and a significant number, far exceeding the typical turnout of around 300 attendees. 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 Spiritual revivals at the beach have become a common sight in southern California as believers grapple with restrictions imposed on religious services amid the coronavirus pandemic. In July, the group Saturate OC held powerful worship sessions on the beach every Friday night, where attendees had the opportunity to hear the gospel, be baptized in the ocean, and be filled with the Holy Spirit and be set free. In a previous interview with The Christian Post, worship artist Sean Feucht described the worship sessions as a return back to a gritty, raw Gospel, Jesus people movement foundation. According to Feucht, A lot of that is in part because we cant be in our churches. We are kind of forced to be outside of our buildings and forced to be innovative and creative and come up with alternate solutions. Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Corona del Mar was a popular destination for mass baptisms. In 2018, evangelist Greg Laurie held a Jesus revolution style baptism at the beach, where over 550 people were baptized. These events have become even more popular now that coronavirus restrictions have prevented worshipers from gathering indoors at their churches for much of the year. Pastor Hibbs is one of many California religious leaders who have strongly criticized those restrictions. On Facebook, Hibbs asked, If pastors are still debating among themselves whether or not to open up their churches, to get back to ministering to the emotional, physical, and spiritual needs of their flock and to the preaching of the gospelthen I ask you when? Calvary Chapel is still offering worshipers the opportunity to gather in person and online as part of the Come Back California campaign. Following a week of fasting and prayer, which will include special evening services at Calvary Chapel, Hibbs will partake in an all-day social media event called Come Back California on Saturday. Throughout the event, Hibbs will be joined by some of the biggest influences in our culture to inform viewers how they can promote their biblical values ahead of the 2020 election. Other speakers include radio personalities Larry Elder and Dennis Prager as well as One America News Network host Liz Wheeler. Hibbs has urged people across California to turn their homes and churches into sanctuaries of prayer and worship as part of an effort to seek a radical move of God in the state. In a Facebook post Monday, the first day of fasting and prayer, the pastor proclaimed that we will be crying out to God for the healing of California. Each special evening service held at Calvary Chapel and streamed online this week will have a different focus. On Monday, worshipers prayed for purity and holiness within the church as well as spiritual revival and salvation to spread throughout California. On Tuesday, attendees were asked to pray for our governor, state, and local leaders. On Wednesday, Hibbs will examine Gods prophetic Word in light of current world events. On Thursday, viewers will gather in prayer for the military, law enforcement, and first responders. The week will conclude Friday with a prayer service against the sins and injustices of our nation and for our president, national leaders, and the upcoming election. Home News Oklahoma AG asks court to force cancellation of state's contract with Catholic charter school Republican Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond has asked the Oklahoma Supreme Court to order the Statewide Charter School Board to cancel its contract with what was poised to become the first Catholic charter school in the United States as the school and its supporters continue to seek judicial relief at the federal level. In a court filing Tuesday, Drummond urged the court to require the board to comply with a June 25 order to dissolve its contract with the St. Isidore Virtual Catholic Charter School, which is slated to open this fall. The court ruled 7-1 that "the state is prohibited from using public money for the 'use, benefit or support of a sect or system of religion'" and that the contract with St. Isidore is unconstitutional. 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 In the petition, Drummond maintained that the board violated the June 25 court order and that "'[a]ny petition for rehearing regarding this matter shall be filed within (10) days of the date of this opinion.'" "Yet for nearly a month, the Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board has ignored this Court's patently clear Order requiring rescission of the unlawful contract," he wrote. "Every day the Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board refuses to comply with this Court's Order is another day that a state-established religious school persists. This is repugnant to Oklahoma and federal law, and it must be immediately remediated." In a statement, Drummond declared Oklahomans "should be outraged by the board's blatant hostility toward religious liberty." "Rather than acting to protect religious liberty, they are recklessly committed to using our tax dollars to fund radical religious teachings like Sharia law," he wrote. "I will continue to protect the religious liberty of all four million Oklahomans by upholding their constitutional rights." Following the court's decision, St. Isidore of Seville Catholic School vowed to continue the legal fight, calling the ruling "unconstitutional discrimination against educators and families of faith." "[W]e are currently in discussions with the legal team as to our next steps for appealing the decision," the school said in a statement. "Unfortunately, as appeal in this case will take time and because of this ruling, we are unable to open St. Isidore for the 2024-2025 school year as planned," the school added. "Sadly, our committed families will need to seek other options for the 2024-2025 school year. We remain steadfast in our belief in the promise of this school and in our constitutional right to help serve Oklahoma families through the charter-school program. The need for a Catholic virtual school in Oklahoma is apparent as our 200+ applications reflect." The agenda for the Catholic charter school's June 28 Board of Directors meeting indicated that the school was seeking a review of the Oklahoma Supreme Court decision by the U.S. Supreme Court. The school also predicted that it would not open until at least the 2025-26 school year. Ryan Walters, Oklahoma's Republican state superintendent of public instruction, who has emerged as a strong supporter of the Catholic virtual charter school, published an X post Tuesday advocating the school's next steps. "Proud to support sending the St. Isidore case to the Supreme Court," Walters stated. "Parents and kids deserve options in education. Governments should not be promoting atheism as a state run religion," he insisted. Drummond urged the Oklahoma Supreme Court to refrain from holding Walters and the rest of the board in contempt, citing a desire to provide "one last opportunity to comply with this Court's order." However, he asserted that he would ask the court to hold members of the board in contempt if they continue to disobey the order to dissolve the contract with St. Isidore. Home Opinion Atheist Richard Dawkins' refreshing question, with humility New Atheist icon and Oxford biologist Richard Dawkins recently asked a surprising question on X. Referring to his most famous book published 18 years ago, Dawkins wrote: What do religious people think I got wrong in The God Delusion? The replies were insightful. One person pointed out that Dawkins depended on methodological naturalism, the belief that only material explanations are valid, but which is, itself, a belief that cant be proven by material explanations. Another pointed out: [You] spent the majority of the book making a moral case against religion; [but] you state in other works that there isnt objective morality. In fact, Dawkins moral case against religion is central to The God Delusion. He wrote: 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 God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a capriciously malevolent bully. These are strange words from a man who wrote elsewhere that: The universe that we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but pitiless indifference. So, which is it? Is the God of the Bible not worth believing in because Hes evil, or is evil an illusion? Dawkins seems to have wanted to have his moral indignation and eat it too. Still, a more fundamental mistake in his bestselling book is one which virtually every prominent New Atheist copied. As Susannah Roberts pointed out in her reply to Dawkins, the main thing he got wrong was the meaning of the word God. Dawkins wrote as if God is just a bigger and stronger human, a being like the rest of us who merely happens to be very powerful. The god he described was like the polytheistic gods worshipped by the Greeks, Norse, and Egyptians. Dawkins confirmed this was his view in a famous line from the book: We are all atheists about most of the gods that humanity has ever believed in. Some of us just go one god further. Years ago, I met a woman on a plane who challenged me to prove that God exists. I asked, Well, what do you mean by God? She replied, A grumpy old man with a beard in the sky who cant wait for you to do something wrong so he can strike you with a lightning bolt. I dont believe in that god, either I said. Her definition of God was far more like Zeus than the Almighty Maker of Heaven and Earth and Father of Jesus Christ. The God of Scripture isnt a bigger and stronger human, a petty and selfish being like the pagan gods, nor even like a really powerful angel. God is a category by Himself. He is the ground of being, the unmoved mover, timeless, spaceless, omniscient, unchangeable, not subject to passions or tantrums, and not fully describable with human language. His character is not answerable to a higher moral law, but is itself the source of that moral law. He is, as James put it, the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change, and as Daniel wrote, none can stay his hand or say to him, What have you done? When Dawkins condemned God as a petty, unjust, unforgiving bully, he was suggesting God doesnt live up to a moral standard of fairness and mercy. But where did he get that standard to begin with, if not from God? As C.S. Lewis put it in Mere Christianity: [T]here is a difficulty about disagreeing with God. He is the source from which all your reasoning power comes: you could not be right and He wrong any more than a stream can rise higher than its own source. When you are arguing against Him you are arguing against the very power that makes you able to argue at all: it is like cutting off the branch you are sitting on. Its refreshing and encouraging to see Richard Dawkins ask a question like this, with this much apparent humility. After all, in the last year or so, he has called himself a cultural Christian, rebuked unscientific gender ideology, admitted he really likes Christmas carols, and showed genuine curiosity about why his friend and former atheist Ayaan Hirsi Ali converted to Christianity. Perhaps, God willing, Dawkins, is on the verge of a similar change. We can and should pray as much. Still, its worth noting that the straw-man god that Dawkins and his fellow New Atheists spent two decades denying and denouncing looks nothing like the God of the Christian worldview. Atheist authors could and should realize this, but like philosopher Thomas Nagle famously admitted, a major motivation is the hope that there is no God. So much so, in fact, that Nagle also admitted how unsettling it was that some of the most well-informed and intelligent people he knew believed in God. For both atheists and believers, its important to make sure our understanding of God is correct. Thank God for those willing to correct their bad theology. Originally published at BreakPoint. Home Opinion Olympics closing ceremony should convey Frances apology Frances contributions to intellectual studies in Western thought and culture have been noteworthy. Paris 2024 is an opportunity to show the world how much France has advanced from the 100 years prior when they hosted the Olympics in 1924. If that was an objective of the recent Olympics opening ceremony, France deserves a grade of F for its indecent portrayal of what the history of culture has treasured. They depicted Leonardo Davincis Last Supper in drag. Many Christians and Church leaders were offended and rightly so, but I wasnt. Honestly, my reaction was one of pity for France and its organizers. Was that their idea of encouraging a culture of inclusion? The lack of artistic discernment of a treasured international and cross-cultural painting reveals how deep Frances culture has sunk. Its pitiful. Paris 2024s ceremony splashed opprobrium on Davincis iconic piece of art by disparaging his traditional depiction that continues to inspire people of all cultures. A depiction that has captured the emotions of art lovers, whether Christian or not. The Olympic ceremonys sketch before a watching world challenged the treasured historical value of the Last Supper and mocked the rich traditional heritage of billions. It crossed the line of decency and civility. Its lewdness was taken to an unprecedented level. 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 If the plan of the organizers was to promote inclusion, they could have surely opted for other artistic and entertaining sketches that encouraged conversations among different thinking people. The international backlash from people of every generation, nation, societal status, and political position was fired at the French organizers. A young journalist, commented astutely: The West has officially fallen. So how is it that the French failed so miserably? The artistic director and mastermind behind the flamboyant opening ceremony said "religious subversion [had] never been his intention." Whatever the intention, it was not inspirational. Rather, it revealed how ideology can be a force that sacrifices tradition, culture, historical contributions, and civility in order to force an agenda. Globally, commentators were sharp in highlighting how such blasphemous sketches always single out the Christian faith. The French organizers have apologized, but its difficult to believe that such cultured people who are enriched with theological and philosophical heritages failed to anticipate the international condemnations. How could such an educated and culturally rich nation not foresee such a debacle? Consequently, the ceremonys mocking of Christian faith engendered global divisiveness. Note that this was not a sketch prepared for a private audience, though that would have also been questionable by cultured people. This was planned with forethought that the whole world would be watching. Did they care that billions of Christians would be offended by their choice of art? Did they care that an iconic painting that is treasured by history would be unfairly critiqued and denigrated? How could this have escaped their preparation processes? It was an obvious mocking of Christian values. Where it backfired is that the French probably thought that their artistic display would resonate with inclusiveness. On the contrary, it caused a backlash and revealed how French culture is progressing in bias. But France has an opportunity to make its apology real. It has enough time to prepare for the closing ceremony where it can show the world some respect for how the past 100 years have brought diverse cross-cultural appreciation worldwide and growing civil discourse. As a Christian, I acknowledge that not everyone believes like me. So this is not simply another writing from a Christian who is whining about how his faith was caricatured. Ideologies can be messaged but they must also tolerate counter-perspectives. That is a hallmark of French contribution to Western thought. As the famous Frenchman Voltaire once quipped, I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to death your right to say it. Hopefully, the closing ceremony of Paris 2024 will make an indelible impression that shows respect for the shared center of civility. That would be a remarkable and memorable finale. The French have contributed so much to Western thought and culture that I would be disappointed if that pitiful opening ceremony is what the world remembers from Paris 2024. France still has an opportunity to apologize meaningfully for its parody of Davincis Last Supper. The apology should materialize in its Olympic farewell to the world. Home News 'Coming move of God': 2,000 baptized during 'Jesus Revolution' baptism at California beach Around 2,000 people were baptized at a mass baptism gathering held at a California beach days after Evangelist Greg Laurie's 2024 Harvest Crusade was attended by thousands more. Last Saturday, Harvest Ministries hosted the second annual Jesus Revolution Baptism at Pirate's Cove Beach in Corona Del Mar, featuring approximately 2,000 baptisms overseen by nearly 70 pastors and other church leaders. The ceremony was organized by the California-based megachurch Harvest Christian Fellowship, led by Evangelical pastor and author Laurie. 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 baptisms occurred a week after the 2024 Harvest Crusade at Angel Stadium, "where individuals who made a profession of faith were invited to participate," Laurie told The Christian Post. "The preparation included public announcements and work from the Harvest Ministries team. All participants were walked through the significance of baptism and the mark of faith that it represents," Laurie noted. Those baptized at Pirate's Cove Beach received a New Believer's Bible and were "contacted personally to be invited to one of the many partnering churches." "Additionally, they are enrolled in Harvest's Gospel of John digital study guide and invited to join the Harvest Discipleship online community, which offers free online courses, small groups, and other resources to help them grow in their faith," Laurie told CP. In July 2023, approximately 4,500 people were baptized at the Harvest-organized Jesus Revolution Pirate's Cove Beach Baptism. Among those taking the public profession of faith was Laurie's granddaughter, Stella. With over 6,500 people baptized at Pirate's Cove Beach over the past 12 months, Laurie believes it "may be the indicative of a coming move of God that will sweep our land." "It is worth noting that all of this has happened in Southern California. This is where the last great spiritual awakening, known as the Jesus Revolution, happened before," said Laurie, referring to the 1970s revival event. "As a matter of fact, Pirate's Cove Beach was the exact location of the mass baptisms that took place over 50 years ago during that movement." Laurie believes that the 2023 movie "Jesus Revolution," which documented the 1970s revival, inspired people to come to Pirate's Cove Beach to be baptized over the past year. "That is the reason we have called each of these events a 'Jesus Revolution Baptism,'" he added. "There is no doubt that many people have been inspired by the scenes from that film and wanted to be baptized in the same spot." The "Jesus Revolution" movie was inspired by Laurie's 2018 book of the same name, where he recounts his experiences during the revolution. Laurie said Pirate's Cove Beach is where he heard the Holy Spirit tell him to "Preach the Gospel." "And so, I found myself preaching to these people up on the rocks," he said in a statement. "And the Lord was sort of giving me a glimpse into the future of what I was going to end up doing." The 2024 Harvest Crusade on July 20 saw the stadium home of the Los Angeles Angels filled to capacity with over 5,000 people making professions of faith, according to a statement from Harvest. In the last 12 months, Harvest tallies at least 12,000 professions of faith. "It is incredibly moving to witness so many lives transformed and committed to Christ," Laurie said. "The spirit of revival that began with the 'Jesus Revolution' continues to touch hearts and draw people closer to God. Pirate's Cove has become a place of renewal and hope, and we are blessed to be part of this ongoing journey of faith." Home News Half of Americans says First Amendment 'goes too far,' speech should be censored: poll Half of Americans say they believe the First Amendment goes too far in allowing free speech and favor some form of censorship, a new poll suggests. The survey, conducted in early September by Caravan Surveys on behalf of the Campaign for Free Speech, asked 1,004 adults in the United States about their views on hate speech and the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees the rights of free speech and religious freedom. The first question asked respondents whether they agreed or disagreed with the following statement: The First Amendment goes too far in allowing hate speech in modern America and should be updated to reflect the cultural norms of today. 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 Twenty-two percent of respondents said they strongly agreed while 28 percent of respondents said they somewhat agreed with that statement. Eighteen percent somewhat disagreed, while 24 percent strongly disagreed. Seven percent of respondents said they did not know if they agreed or disagreed with the statement. When asked if they think hate speech should be against the law, 48 percent said they think it should be against the law, while 31 percent said they think it should be allowed. Twenty-one percent of respondents answered with did not know. Respondents who said they think hate speech should be against the law were asked what they think the appropriate consequence for hate speech should be. Fifty-four percent responded with possible jail time and 46 percent said nothing more than a ticket or a fine. Sixty-one percent of respondents agreed that there are places where free speech should be restricted such as on social media and at universities, while 30 percent disagreed. These new polling results indicate free speech is under more threat than previously believed, Campaign for Free Speech Executive Director Bob Lystad said in a statement. Our new initiative aims to combat this concerning trend by highlighting how restricted speech and a restricted press harms everyone, regardless of political affiliation. America cant be a free country without open dialogue and a robust press. When it comes to social media, 49 percent of respondents said they think Facebook should monitor and restrict offensive speech and views, while 38 percent said Facebook should allow all speech. As for censorship of media, 36 percent said they would support the idea of a government agency reviewing content published by alternative media sources to ensure accuracy. While 47 percent said they dont support government regulating content, 17 percent said they did not know. Sixty-three percent of respondents expressed a willingness for the government to restrict the views of certain groups. According to the data, 52 percent of respondents said that, yes, the government should restrict the speech of racists, 50 percent said it should restrict the speech of neo-Nazis, 46 percent said the government should restrict views of radical Islamists. Only 35 percent said the government should restrict the views of Holocaust deniers and 20 percent said the government should restrict the views of anti-vaccine advocates. Only 18 percent said the government should restrict the views of climate change denies. A total of 37 percent said the government should not restrict the views of any of these groups. The surveys findings might be of particular interest to conservative Christians and others who oppose same-sex marriage and homosexuality because of their religious beliefs because some on the political left have labeled homophobic or transphobic language as hate speech. On college campuses, Christian and conservative student groups have been met with resistance from administrators and lawsuits have been fought for the right of student groups to run their organizations in accordance with their beliefs. The Campaign for Free Speech aims to bring awareness about the importance of the First Amendment so that Americans continue to have a robust, free, and open dialogue. As college campuses increasingly restrict public speakers and a surge of free speech cases continue to batter the court system, the need to highlight the First Amendment and the freedom of speech has become extremely important, the organization said. Home News Megachurch Pastor Keion Henderson says God told him followers will give $4.4 million in 3 weeks After Hurricane Beryl caused $20 million in damage to three of his church's four campuses, Pastor Keion Henderson, founder and CEO of The Lighthouse Church & Ministries in Houston, Texas, says God told him He damaged the churches so he could rebuild facilities twice as big and that his followers would give him approximately $4.4 million in three weeks to do it. Henderson made the bold announcement in an update on the state of his churches on Wednesday night from Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church, where he says he'll be hosting services for his 20,000 weekly attendees in August. While Henderson lamented the damage to his churches as "catastrophic," he claimed God revealed to him that it was all His doing so Henderson could build a bigger church to accommodate the thousands that want to hear God's Word from him. 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 won't pretend like I can do this by myself. If I could do this alone, trust me, it would be done already. But I am a feeble man who puts himself at the mercy of the court and asks you to join me in a journey because we do not have time to waste. We cannot build, and we cannot raise money for three years and then build another two years and have all of these people displaced," said Henderson. He claimed that before the damage from Hurricane Beryl, the church turned away between 600 and 700 people from his campuses weekly because the sanctuary was beyond capacity. "God gave me a vision, and He said we can do it in 21 days. I'm asking 2,100 people to give $2,100 in the next 21 days, and what we're calling it is 'Out of the Harbor,'" Henderson said. "I call you from California. I call you from New York. I call you from Florida. I call you from the U.K. I call you from Africa to join us in our call to action: 2,100 people, $2,100, 21 days, to kickstart our efforts to get back into our building." Henderson said that while some people may believe that insurance will be enough to cover the losses, he doesn't think it will be enough to cover God's vision for his church because the payout will be based on "depreciated" value. Before making the request of his followers, Henderson spoke of the journey he had been on for the last 15 years to build the church and the challenges he faced. "I can't give you all of the details but let me tell you our building is uninhabitable as of this moment. You can't even walk in it. It's catastrophic. It's shocking. It's sobering. It's actually emotional. The reason why it's emotional is that you could not have imagined all we had to go through just to get here," he said, recalling multiple deaths in his family as he prepared to buy the building that housed his church and church-run school 15 years ago. "I will never forget when we were signing the papers to close on the building we're in. Closing had to be postponed. My grandfather died on the same day we were scheduled to close. Well, we rescheduled closing 30 days later. I was signing the papers. The lawyer that was in the room with us, he looked at me with tears in his eyes, and I thought he was happy because of what God had done," Henderson said. "What I didn't know is that my mother had called him to tell him that my uncle had died while I was signing the papers. Three days later, when we walked in the building with the keys, we got the news that my oldest cousin died from a brain aneurysm. You can't imagine all that took place for us to get in the building, and now I am looking at 15 years gone in 15 minutes," he continued. Henderson said the storm damage caused him at times to suffer depression because it disrupted the lives of some 300 children in his church-run daycare and school as well as staff members. "Yes, I have moments of depression. Yes, I live by faith, and I walk by faith, but I had moments when I felt like giving up. The impact was so great, not just on the building, but all of the decisions I knew I would have to make," he said. "Where is the daycare going to go? Where is the school going to go? We've got 300 kids in daycare and school that are now displaced, and where do you put the 60 to 80 staff members? So many decisions so quickly with little time to think about. Then, I had to reach in my reservoir and remember that we are a royal priesthood. I am a resilient person because I walk by faith and not by sight." He said that faith has moved him to carry out God's vision of building back bigger with the help of followers who have never even attended his church in person. "Let me thank you, those of you who sit in your living rooms, and you loaned me your spirits. Thank you for using your hard-earned time and resources to call me your online pastor. Some of you I've never met, but I feel like I know you in my heart. And because you've helped us to get here, I'm going to call on you to help us to get there," he urged in his appeal. "I need you to help us in rebuilding ... All who have watched me, you've heard me say that it was time for us to expand our sanctuary. We were turning 600 to 700 people away every week. The parking was abysmal, but we made it. I told our church that we were going to start over, and yet again, I believe God said, 'Keion, your faith was too small, so let me blow the building down so you can build what I put in your heart,'" he claimed God told him. "I want to increase the size of our sanctuary by two. I want to double the size of it so that no one who has an opportunity to get in is turned away because we don't have a seat," he continued. "We can't wait on the insurance company to do that. I need you from around the world. If I've ever preached a message that has touched your spirit, if I've ever spoken into your life and you started the company that you were not going to start had I not pushed you in faith, If you were thinking about ending your own life, but somehow God gave me a word that made you fight to live another day, I need you." Donald Iloff, Lakewood's lead spokesman and Osteen's brother-in-law, confirmed that Henderson will be hosting services for his church at Lakewood for the month of August and was only asked to assist with "costs that incur" from his congregation's use of the space and is not being charged a typical rental fee. "Joel and Keion know one another," Iloff told The Houston Chronicle. "Joel respects the young man." Spokesman for The Lighthouse Church & Ministries, Brian Smith, confirmed the temporary relocation and said the gesture from Lakewood Church is a blessing. "Lighthouse is grateful to the Lakewood staff for providing us with the use of their building and sanctuary during the month," Smith said. "Their friendship and compassion are wonderful blessings to our church. The partnership between Lakewood and Lighthouse demonstrates that our community is all about the one resilience for the city of Houston." Lakewood Church doors and parking lots will be open for Lighthouse Church parishioners on Sundays at 6 p.m. CST, while the service will begin at 7 p.m. CST and end at 9 p.m. CST, according to an announcement. Home News Mistress of 'Jesus Christ Money Master' author gets life in prison for role in Ponzi scheme Debra Mae Carter, the mistress of former Texas radio host William Neil "Doc" Gallagher, who wrote the Jesus Christ, Money Master Leader Guide, was sentenced to life in prison Tuesday for her role in a Ponzi scheme that defrauded more than 190 people many of whom were older adult Christians of more than $31 million. Carter, 65, was found guilty by a jury on July 8 of money laundering after a two-week trial, the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorneys Office said in a press release. Gallagher, who was once president and CEO of the Gallagher Financial Group and called himself the "Money Doctor," was sentenced on Nov. 1, 2021, to three life sentences in prison plus another 30 years behind bars on charges including forgery, securing the execution of a document by deception, theft of property and exploitation of the elderly, the release said. 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 He claimed on his companys website that their mission was to be a vehicle of Gods peace and comfort to as many people as possible, helping first with their financial peace of mind, then also with their spiritual, emotional and family well-being. He also advertised on Christian radio with the tagline: See you in church on Sunday. In addition to visiting churches and promoting his business on Christian radio stations owned by Salem Media, Gallagher promoted his investment business in books like Jesus Christ, Money Master. His main role in the scheme was to bring in money while Carter's role was to make sure it wasn't recovered by the victims. The couple had planned to retire on a huge ranch together. Tarrant County Assistant District Attorneys Lori Varnell, Nathan Martin and Anastasia Frane told the jury that Carter and Gallagher preyed on the older adults they swindled. "These were hard-earned retirement (dollars) which ... got put into her account over and over again," Varnell said. "She is a blight on society." At Gallaghers sentencing in 2021, Varnell said he was one of the worst offenders she had ever seen. Doc Gallagher is one of the worst offenders I have seen, Varnell said. He ruthlessly stole from his clients who trusted him for almost a decade. He amassed $32 million in loss to all of his clients and exploited many elder individuals. He worked his way around churches preying on people who believed he was a Christian. Prosecutors said Carter laundered much of the money through assets like rental homes, land and fake charities. Some $200,000 worth of gold and silver was seized after it was found in her travel trailer. Brenda Wilkerson, 84, who invested in the couples scheme, said she is still paying a mortgage on her home because of the couple. She said she invested money she inherited from her late husband in their scheme. "Debbie Carter deserves life in prison," Wilkerson said. "She has ruined so many lives. ... It's despicable." Chinese Embassy in Rwanda celebrates PLA's 97th founding anniversary Xinhua) 09:56, August 02, 2024 KIGALI, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- A ceremony celebrating the 97th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), which falls on Aug. 1, was held on Wednesday in the Rwandan capital of Kigali. Speaking at the event, Chinese Ambassador to Rwanda Wang Xuekun said the PLA has been developed in the past years among China's great achievements. "The PLA has been reshaped with comprehensive reforms in its system and structure. It has made important contributions to the motherland in safeguarding the national independence, sovereignty, security, and development interests," he said. "In line with China's overall foreign policy, the PLA has done its part in safeguarding regional and world peace. The PLA is and will always be a staunch force for world peace and stability," he added. The ambassador noted that the establishment of the Chinese defense attache office in Rwanda is a milestone in the two countries' bilateral relations. "I firmly believe that our military exchanges and cooperation will continue to go deep and achieve more results. And that will, in turn, further strengthen our bond of friendship. China stands ready to work with Rwanda, to bolster the relations between our two armies and two countries," he said. Jean Baptiste Ngiruwonsanga, commandant of the General Headquarters of Rwanda Defense Forces (RDF), who represented RDF Chief of Defense Staff Mubarakh Muganga, said the occasion underscored the deepening of the shared commitment to the values of liberation and respect. He said the PLA's history of fighting for justice, protecting the rights of individuals, and striving to create a better future for all serves as a source of inspiration. "As we look ahead, let us renew our dedication to the cause of liberation, working together to address the challenges that lie ahead. Our collective efforts, grounded in mutual respect and understanding, will continue to advance the shared goals of peace, security, and prosperity," said Ngiruwonsanga. The PLA participates actively in international peacekeeping, maritime escort, and humanitarian rescue as part of China's efforts to build a human community with a shared future. Since 1990, more than 50,000 Chinese peacekeepers have participated in United Nations (UN) peacekeeping missions in more than 20 countries and regions, according to data provided at the event. Currently, 17,000 Chinese peacekeepers are serving in six UN missions in Africa and the Middle East. Chinese Defense Attache in Rwanda Li Dayi said the PLA has grown into a powerful armed force of the people over the last 79 years, striving for the independence of the Chinese nation while working for cooperation and peace in the international community. "Military cooperation is an important part of China-Rwanda relations. Both China and Rwanda are peace-loving countries and important contributors to international peacekeeping operations," he said. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) Home News Trump pressed on calls for police 'immunity from prosecution' after Sonya Massey killing Journalists pressed former President Donald Trump on his support for qualified immunity for police officers during an appearance in Chicago after the murder of Sonya Massey, a 36-year-old black woman shot and killed by a sheriff's deputy in her Illinois home earlier this month. Trump answered questions during a Wednesday discussion organized by the National Association of Black Journalists. Kadia Goba of Semafor, a news outlet founded by former BuzzFeed News editor-in-chief Ben Smith, asked the Republican presidential nominee if he believed the deputy who shot Massey should receive immunity. Former Sangamon County Sheriff's Deputy Sean Grayson shot Massey on July 6 after responding to a call from the woman about a prowler in the area. After body-camera footage of the encounter was shared online, Grayson was charged on July 17 with first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct. 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 shooting occurred not long after Trump vowed during a May rally in Waukesha, Wisconsin, that, if elected president, his administration would "give our police their power back" and ensure they have "immunity from prosecution." In response to Goba's question, Trump replied that he didn't know the full details of the case, stating that he "saw something, and it didn't look good." When Goba pressed again about whether officers should receive immunity, Trump explained that he did not mean that officers like Grayson should receive immunity. He went on to cite Chicago crime statistics as an example of why certain police need immunity, highlighting the dangers associated with the job that can force officers to have to make a quick decision that may result in a fatal shooting. "I'm talking about people that are much different cases, and that we need police to protect ourselves," he said, pointing to the series of shootings that took place throughout Chicago over Fourth of July weekend, where 19 people were killed and over 100 shot in over 74 shooting incidents. The youngest victim, 8-year-old Bryson Orr, was killed in a shooting in the Grand Crossing neighborhood on the morning of July 4, NBC News reports. The number of shootings over the July 4 weekend this year surpassed last year's numbers. In 2023, 11 people were killed over the holiday weekend and 62 were injured, the outlet notes. "Nobody wants that. We need to have our police officers have the respect and dignity back. In this particular case, I saw something that didn't look good," Trump said on Wednesday. "I didn't like it at all." Trump said that for the most part, people are protected by their police unions or their police departments. "There's a big difference between being a bad person and making an innocent mistake," he added. "If someone made an innocent mistake, I would want to help that person." "Sometimes you have less than a second to make a life and death decision, and sometimes very bad decisions are made," he continued. "They're not made from an evil standpoint, but they're made from the standpoint of 'they've made a mistake.'" During an interview shortly after the Massey shooting, the woman's father, James Wilburn, told CBS Mornings that he believes his daughter "feared for her life." "There was something, some premonition that she had, and it seems like [Grayson] was just an emissary of Satan. And that's what caused him to do what he did. It's just unexplainable," Wilburn said. Family members of Massey told CBS Evening News after the shooting that Massey had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia days before the incident. In video footage of the shooting, Massey appears agitated, and she told the two deputies who responded to her 911 when they arrived, "Please don't hurt me." At one point, Massey walked over to a boiling pot of water after Grayson requested that she check on it. As the woman removed the pot, the deputies backed away and ordered her to move away from the boiling pot. "Oh, I rebuke you in the name of Jesus," Massey is heard saying in the video. "I rebuke you in the name of Jesus." "You better f not, or I swear to God I'll f shoot you in the f face," Grayson told her. Massey, who appears in the video to be holding the pot next to her running faucet in her sink, can be seen taking her hands off the pot while still holding what looks like mittens in her hand. The woman placed her hands over her ears, and Grayson advanced toward her with his gun drawn, shouting "drop the f pot" and firing several shots. The officer later stated in the video that he had shot the woman in the head and implied that he did not see the need to provide her medical attention, arguing that Massey was likely dead anyway. In a statement, Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell called the shooting "unjustifiable and reckless." "Sonya Massey lost her life due to an unjustifiable and reckless decision by former Deputy Sean Grayson," Campbell said. "Grayson had other options available that he should have used. His actions were inexcusable and do not reflect the values or training of our office. He will now face judgment by the criminal justice system and will never again work in law enforcement. Ms. Massey needlessly lost her life, and her family deserves answers. I trust the legal process will provide them." Black Faith Leaders Denounce Sanger, Liberty U Faces Civil Rights Lawsuit, Gateway Church Scandal Continues link to download the audio instead. link to download the audio instead. 08:26 08:26 Top headlines for Friday, August 2, 2024 In this episode, we discuss the departure of a founding elder from Gateway Church amid declining attendance post-Robert Morris scandal. We also spotlight Black faith leaders denouncing Margaret Sanger's racist legacy in the pro-life documentary, The 1916 Project. Comedian Russell Brand critiques the controversial Olympics opening ceremony and shares a beloved Bible verse. Lastly, Sen. Mike Lee voices concerns over increasing anti-Christian sentiment among federal lawmakers. ?Follow Us on Social Media ?Get the Edifi App ?Subscribe to Our Newsletter ?Links to the News Muslim father burns teenage daughter for converting to Christianity In a harrowing incident in eastern Uganda, a Muslim father severely burned his 19-year-old daughter on 21st July after discovering she had converted to Christianity. Naasike Maliyati, a resident of Nampologoma in Butaleja District, attended an evangelistic crusade on 15 July while visiting her grandmother in Lwangoli, Busoba Sub-County, Mbale District. During the event, she decided to embrace Christianity. "When they called people to give their lives to Christ, I also went and prayed to receive Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour," Maliyati said, according to Morning Star News. "When I went back home, I told my sister that I had left Islam. She went and told our dad of my conversion to Christianity." On the following Sunday, after attending a church service, Maliyati was met by her angry father, Abdulrahim Kutosi, 44, and uncles. "They tied me up, beat me, and finally my dad picked up a hot flat iron and hot water and burned me and shouted loudly that I was an embarrassment to the family," said Maliyati, a student at Noor Islamic Institute in Mbale. "I was burned for leaving Islam and converting to Christianity, as my father furiously continued shouting that I had shamed the family," the teenager added. "He continued saying that even Allah is annoyed with me as the pain continued inside my body." Maliyati was then ordered by her father to stop attending church services. Subsequently, relatives placed her on a motorbike and abandoned her near the Namatala River. A passing Christian motorcyclist named Nicolas Ndobooli rescued her, demonstrating the actions of a Good Samaritan. "I saw someone yelling for help and calling, 'Jesus, Jesus, Jesus!'" Ndobooli said. "Being a Christian, I decided to stop and took the risk and put her on my motorbike to the clinic." Ndobooli then paid 30,000 Ugandan shillings for her medical care and treatment. Local Christians have condemned Kutosi's actions. Uganda's constitution protects religious freedom, including conversion. However, in practice, these protections are not always well enforced, and it often falls to vigilant journalism to bring abuses to light and prevent them from being ignored. Despite Muslims comprising only 12 percent of the population, predominantly in the eastern regions, incidents of religious persecution, particularly against Christians, remain a serious concern. We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form Aboneaza-te la rubricile dorite si primeste zilnic notificari pe email cu link-uri la articolele care au fost adaugate in ultimele 24 de ore. Notificarile vor fi expediate la adresa indicata mai jos. Daca doresti sa schimbi adresa - o poti modifica editand informatia de profil aici. A Bristol-based church charity breached the Code of Fundraising Practice during a recent campaign, the Fundraising Regulator has found. Yesterday, the regulator said St. Thomas Mar Thoma Church failed to follow the code in some respects while carrying out the Agape Project, a campaign aiming to raise 150,000 to buy a new building within 100 days. It found the charity in breach of one section of the code, which states that if an organisation fundraises for a particular purpose, it must include a statement saying what will happen to the funds received if the total amount raised is less or more than the target. Complaints to regulator St. Thomas Mar Thoma Church approved the Agape Project on 29 August 2021 to sell its existing vicarage, settle an outstanding mortgage on the church building and buy a new site with enhanced facilities. As part of the campaign, it sent a donation appeal letter to church members explaining the problems with the vicarage and providing information about the building the charity would ideally like to replace it with, according to the regulator. The charity said the project was executed in its fullness on 1 July 2022 but an anonymous person contacted the regulator, arguing that the campaign had failed to achieve the charitys objectives. The complainant said that the purchase of the new building was done outside of the time limit the charity had advertised in its fundraising materials and did not reach the level of donations it said was needed. They said that the purchased building did not fulfil the requirements set out in the campaign and that the charity had pressured donors by visiting their homes. The complainant said donors should have been refunded as the campaign had failed. Breach found The regulator found that St. Thomas Mar Thoma Church failed to reach its fundraising target during the 100-day limit but bought a new building shortly after nonetheless. While the charity missed its fundraising targets, the regulator said it was satisfied it had achieved its overall goal of purchasing the replacement building. The regulator disagreed with the complainant that the purchased building was outside the campaigns objectives, but thought that the charity could have been clearer about its requirements. From the information we considered, the only conditions for the new vicarage were that it was detached, had four bedrooms and cost approximately 500,000, it said. We thought that the charity failed to follow the code in some respects namely that it didnt consider, nor inform donors, what it would do with funds if it was unable to achieve the campaign objectives. However, we didnt think on balance that this would have swayed donors against supporting the campaign. There were issues in relation to complaint handling, although the charity did look into the matter when we asked it to. The regulator also considered the allegations around pressured fundraising but said it did not have enough information to arrive at a conclusion on this. Charity told to review policies and procedures The regulator found that St. Thomas Mar Thoma Church breached section 2.7.5 of the code. It recommended the charity undertake a thorough review of its policies and procedures, and consider the requirements of the code, should it pursue fundraising activities in future. From what we have seen in this complaint, it was clear that the charity didnt immediately recognise the Agape Project campaign as regulated fundraising, as it had primarily directed its fundraising efforts towards its own members, the regulator said. The charity accepted our findings and recommendations and will be informing its members of the recommendations as soon as it seeks to implement these. Civil Society has contacted St. Thomas Mar Thoma Church for comment. sign up to receive the free Civil Society daily news bulletin here . For more news, interviews, opinion and analysis about charities and the voluntary sector, Slamlabs / Adobe Stock The Scottish charity regulator has said it is increasingly concerned about dominant behaviour in charities. In a report published today , OSCR said that charity staff, trustees and members of the public are raising more concerns about a person or small group excluding other charity board members from decision-making. It warned that such behaviour can result in beneficiaries, staff and funders losing confidence in a charity. The regulator said that charity founders can dominate other trustees, who may be friends they invited to join the board, because they believe they know best and act as though it is their personal vision or aim. It said a long-time trustee or employee might take advantage of their colleagues trust in them to make decisions that they do not have the authority to make alone. Trustees reminded of legal duties OSCR also said that sometimes other trustees may be content for a colleague to dominate the charitys governance as it means they have less to do in their role. However, it warned that allowing someone to dominate the governance of a charity may mean the trustees are failing to meet their legal duty to act in the interests of the charity. It is quite common to see issues arising when a founder of a charity remains as a charity trustee for a long time, the report says. Often this is because their views and opinions are considered to have more legitimacy or weight compared to the views of others on the board. The founding trustee may actively portray that as being the case or it may simply be the pattern that the charity trustees fall into as a matter of default. Either way it means that all those charity trustees are failing to act in the interests of the charity by behaving in that way either by being dominant or allowing it to prevail unchecked. Challenging dominant behaviour OSCR advised trustees to challenge the behaviour of a dominant member of the board, be clear that it must stop and be prepared to take formal action if it does not. When an employee is being dominant, the regulator also urged trustees to discuss the behaviour with them but to offer support before considering formal procedures. It can be helpful to consider the reason why the dominant person is behaving in that way as this can help trustees to deal with the issue in a focused way and to manage the risks arising from the behaviour, the report says. sign up to receive the free Civil Society daily news bulletin here . For more news, interviews, opinion and analysis about charities and the voluntary sector, United States President Joe Biden says hes very concerned that the violence in the Middle East could escalate, adding that the killing of a top Hamas leader in Iran has not helped efforts to negotiate a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war. Biden said hed had a very direct conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday. We have the basis for a cease-fire. He should move on it and they should move on it now. Netanyahu has said his country was determined to win nothing less than total victory against Hamas. He also said that Israel hoped for a cease-fire soon and was working for one. The assassinations of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on Wednesday and senior Hezbollah commander Fouad Shukur in Beirut on Tuesday risks escalating the fighting into an all-out regional war, with Iran also threatening to respond after the attack on its territory. Israel has vowed to kill Hamas leaders over the groups Oct. 7 attack on Israel that sparked the war. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was among the growing voices internationally calling for a cease-fire in recent days, saying that it was the only way to begin to break the cycle of violence and suffering. Amazon shares are getting dinged on Thursday after its second-quarter sales missed expectations, despite a terrific performance from its cloud business. It doesn't change our thesis for this longtime core holding. Revenue increased 10% year-over-year to $147.98 billion, missing expectations for $148.5 billion, according to estimates compiled by LSEG. Earnings per share based on generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) increased to $1.26, compared with 65 cents last year and the $1.03 estimate. Operating income increased 91% over last year to $14.67 billion, a beat versus the $11.37 billion consensus forecast and above the high-end of management's previous guidance range of $10 billion to $14 billion. Amazon Why we own it : Amazon may be widely known for online shopping, but its cloud business is the real breadwinner. Advertising is another fast-growing business with high margins. Investment in robust e-commerce logistics infrastructure makes its online storefront the place to be as management works to aggressively decrease delivery times and reduce overall costs. Prime leverages free shipping and video streaming with tons of other perks to keep users paying every month. Competitors : Walmart , Target , Microsoft and Alphabet Most recent buy : Aug. 23, 2023 Initiated : February 2018 Bottom line It was by no means a clean quarter from Amazon, but that doesn't mean the story has changed. Amazon Web Services delivered great results, hitting a $105 billion revenue run rate and with operating margins that continued to trend higher despite heavy investment to keep up with demand. On the other hand, there were misses across its e-commerce and associated businesses, which we obviously don't like to see. But the crucial part of the story, the part that hasn't changed, is that the company continues reduce its "cost to serve," which is how much it costs Amazon to deliver a product to customers. Guidance was light and that matters when the market is worrying about a discretionary spending slowdown. However, it's hard for a company of Amazon's size to pinpoint revenues in advance, making it likely that the forecast is on the more conservative side. When there are outside events like the Olympics and the upcoming presidential election, people may be less focused on filling up their Amazon carts. Amazon is the company that will pick up on this trend first. Still, management has a track record of delivering results at the high end or above its guidance range, and next quarter may not be different. With AWS humming and management identifying more ways to lower its cost to serve, Amazon's profitability story is still intact. We reiterate 2 rating and our $220 price target but will look for additional weakness in this volatile market to upgrade to a 1. Quarterly results Let's start off with the good. Amazon Web Services was the star of the report, with revenue growth accelerating for the third straight quarter to 19% year over year, beating expectations of 18%. On the post-earnings conference call, CEO Andy Jassy pointed out three macro trends driving the strong AWS growth. "First, companies have completed the significant majority of their cost optimization efforts and are focused again on new efforts," Jassy said. "Second, companies are spending their energy again on modernizing their infrastructure and moving from on-premises infrastructure to the cloud." There's also an AI component that's driving sales higher, with "builders and companies of all sizes are excited about leveraging AI. Our AI business continues to grow dramatically with a multi-billion dollar revenue run rate," he added. AWS ended the quarter with a backlog of about $156.6 billion, up 9% year over year. The operating margins at AWS were incredible, expanding to about 35.5%, compared to estimates of 32.5% and 24.2% one year ago. To be fair, some of the big year-over-year increase is the impact of a favorable accounting change, but margins are also benefitting from cost controls and slowing in the pace of hiring. As for the rest of the company, sales came in below consensus estimates, causing overall revenue to miss estimates for the first time since October 2022. In North America, where sales grew 9% year over year, management provided some color that might help explain the slower trends from the 12% rate in the first quarter. One issue is that Amazon is seeing lower average selling prices across its stores because consumers are trading down on price where they can. While that may lead to lower sales levels per product, it may help Amazon gain market share. Jassy pointed out that discretionary, higher-ticket items like computers and TVs are growing faster at Amazon than the rest of the industry, but not as fast as one would expect in a hot economy. Additionally, Jassy believes Amazon's faster delivery speeds are helping it gain share in the everyday essentials. Another reason for the soft number was related to seller fees. These came in below management's expectations due to a change in behavior from its latest fee change. Third party seller services was the business line that missed consensus estimates by the widest margin. Still, Jassy doesn't think these are long-term issues to be worried about. "While some of these issues compress short-term revenue, we generally like these trends," he said on the call. Although North America operating margins declined slightly from 5.77% in the first quarter to 5.63% in the second quarter, CFO Brian Olsavsky attributed the decline to a step up in investment areas like satellites. Olsavsky said the profitability of North America stores improved quarter over quarter, driven by further improvements in its cost to serve. "We saw improvements in our cost to serve driven by our efforts to place inventory more regionally, closer to where our customers are. This resulted in more consolidated shipments, with higher units per box shipped. We also saw packages traveling shorter distances to customers, and this also led to better on-road productivity in our transportation network," Jassy explained on the call. Reducing the cost to serve is the key to Amazon's emerging profitability story. The company sees more levers it can pull in the future to reduce costs like by expanding the use of automation and robotics, further building out its same-day network, and regionalizing its inbound network. On the international side, Amazon attributed the profitable quarter mostly to improvements in its cost structure in established countries and expanded customer offerings in emerging countries. For capital expenditures, Amazon invested $30.5 billion through the first half of the year and expects this figure to rise in the second half to support the growing need for AWS infrastructure. This is not investing out of fear of underinvesting. The company pointed to strong demand signals for Gen-AI and other workloads. Guidance Amazon's third-quarter guide left investors wanting more. The company expects net sales of $154 billion to $158.5 billion, an increase of 8% to 11% year over year. The high end of guidance captures the consensus of $158.2 billion, but it's a miss on the analysts' consensus of $156.25 billion. The operating income forecast was light, too. Management expects operating income of $11.5 billion to $15 billion, which at a midpoint of $13.25 billion misses the consensus of $15.34 billion. Operating income in the third quarter of 2023 totaled $11.2 billion. (Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust is long AMZN. See here for a full list of the stocks.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED. The Amazon Prime logo on a package in Manhattan, New York City, on Sept. 16, 2023. Michael Kappeler | Picture Alliance | Getty Images Chevron missed second-quarter earnings expectations, hurt by lower refining margins as the stock is already under pressure from delays to its pending acquisition of Hess Corporation. Chevron's shares closed 2.67% lower Friday. The oil major also said Friday it is moving its headquarters from San Ramon, California, to Houston, with CEO Mike Wirth relocating by the end of 2024. All corporate functions will move to Houston over the next five years. Wirth said the move is not related to any political dispute with California. "Houston is the epicenter of our industry," Wirth told CNBC's "Squawk Box." "We've had our headquarters gradually growing in Texas and gradually pulling down in California. This is a continuation of a trend that has been underway for some time." Here is what Chevron reported for the second quarter compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG: Earnings per share: $2.55 adjusted vs. $2.93 expected $2.55 adjusted vs. $2.93 expected Revenue: $51.18 billion vs. $50.8 billion expected Chevron's net income declined 26% to $4.43 billion, or $2.43 per share, compared with $6.01 billion, or $3.20 per share, in the same period a year ago. When adjusting for $243 million in foreign currency impacts, Chevron booked earnings of $2.55 per share. Revenue rose to $51.18 billion from $48.9 billion a year ago. The oil major's U.S. production segment posted a profit of $2.16 billion, a 31% increase over $1.64 billion in the year-ago period on higher sales volumes and oil prices. Profit for international production fell about 30% to $2.3 billion compared with $3.29 billion in the year-ago period due to lower sales and natural gas prices as well negative foreign currency impacts. Overall, Chevron's global oil-equivalent production rose 11% to 3.29 million barrels per day on record production in the Permian Basin The U.S. refining business realized a profit of $280 million, a 74% decrease compared with the $1.1 billion posted in the year-ago period due to lower margins. International refining profit fell 25% to $317 million, compared with $426 million in the same quarter last year. Ed Bastian, CEO of Delta Air Lines, speaks during a keynote at CES 2020 in Las Vegas on Jan. 7, 2020. Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian on Friday offered employees two free travel passes to thank staff members who were caught in massive disruptions last month sparked by a botched CrowdStrike software update that stranded thousands of customers and crew. Delta had more trouble than competitors in recovering from the outages that took thousands of Windows machines offline around the world, affecting industries from health care to banking. The carrier canceled more than 5,000 flights between July 19 and July 24, more than it did in all of 2019, according to FlightAware. Bastian said earlier this week that the incident cost the company about $500 million, a sum that is equal to about 40% of Delta's second-quarter profit. A crew-tracking platform was a contributor to the cancellations and disruptions, the airline has said. Delta told CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Wednesday that the airline had to manually reset 40,000 servers. The disruption "has been a humbling moment for our company," Bastian said in his note on Friday, which was seen by CNBC. "I know it's been extremely difficult, and I'm deeply sorry for what you have endured. An operational disruption of this length and magnitude is simply unacceptable you and our customers deserve better." Upward of 4,000 Delta flight attendants picked up more than 6,100 trips during the disruptions, receiving extra pay, according to another Delta staff memo on Friday. "Your efforts throughout have been nothing short of heroic," Bastian told staff. The two "positive space" passes Bastian offered employees are confirmed seats like a customer would have, different from the free standby flying airline employees often do if there are available seats. The Delta organizing committee of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, which is in the middle of a campaign to unionize Delta's flight attendants, said the offer of passes "just isn't going to cut it." The organizing committee, in a written statement, said airline management routinely makes "meager adjustments to keep the operation running without making changes significant enough to prevent a future meltdown." Delta's operation has since stabilized but the flight cancellations and delays stranded thousands and scarred Delta's high reliability standings. Its executives frequently point out Delta's successful work to win over both leisure and corporate customers who are willing to pay more to fly the carrier, marketing itself as a premium airline. A Delta spokesman earlier this week said the airline has processed "thousands" of refunds and reimbursement requests. The U.S. Department of Transportation is investigating Delta's disruptions, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said last week. Similar disruptions at other carriers, such as the massive 2022 holiday meltdown at Southwest Airlines after winter storms, have highlighted how technology issues can severely disrupt air travel. Bastian said Delta plans to pursue legal action against CrowdStrike and Microsoft "to recover our losses caused by the outage" and that it has hired law firm Boies Schiller Flexner. Microsoft declined to comment. CrowdStrike said it has "no knowledge of a lawsuit and have no further comment." The price of Trump Media stock closed trading up more than 7% on Friday afternoon, hours after the company said it has started rolling out a TV streaming service that aims to air "neglected" content on its social media platform Truth Social. The company's stock, which trades under the ticker DJT on the Nasdaq, closed at $29.21 per share, a gain of 7.39%. Before Friday, DJT shares had been in a slump. While the share price briefly surged after former President Donald Trump, who is the company's majority shareholder, survived an assassination attempt on July 13, the share price had fallen more than 33% since then until Friday's open. Trump, who is the Republican presidential nominee, owns nearly 59% of the company's stock. An injection pen of Zepbound, Eli Lillys weight loss drug, is displayed in New York City on Dec. 11, 2023. All doses of Eli Lilly's highly popular weight loss injection Zepbound and diabetes drug Mounjaro are now available in the U.S., according to an update on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's drug shortage database on Friday. A previous update said some doses of the treatments were still in short supply. Some doses of Mounjaro have been in shortage since as early as 2022, while doses of Zepbound joined the FDA's shortage list earlier this year following its U.S. approval in November. Demand for weight loss and diabetes drugs has trounced supply for months, pushing Eli Lilly and its rival Novo Nordisk to invest billions to ramp up manufacturing. The FDA's update comes one day after Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks told Bloomberg that the shortages of Mounjaro and Zepbound would end "very soon." "I think actually today or tomorrow we plan to exit that process," he told the outlet in an interview. A spokesperson for Eli Lilly did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment on the FDA's update on Friday. All doses of Novo Nordisk's diabetes injection Ozempic are available in the U.S. as of Friday, according to the FDA's database. Meanwhile, the FDA said some doses of Novo Nordisk's weight loss drug Wegovy have limited supply. In this article TSLA Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT Elon Musk, Chief Executive Officer of SpaceX and Tesla and owner of X speaks during the Milken Conference 2024 Global Conference Sessions at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., May 6, 2024. David Swanson | Reuters If a voter in Michigan performs a search on Google , a somewhat shocking ad might pop up. The ad shows a young man lying in bed late at night when someone else texts him, "Hey you need to vote," and then sends the man a video of the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump. The man can hear the gunshots and people screaming in the background. As Trump is rushed off stage with blood pouring down his face, the man watching the video types in response, "This is out of control. How do I start?" The ad then displays a website for a group called America PAC. The website says it will help the viewer register to vote. But once a user clicks "Register to Vote," the experience he or she will have can be very different, depending on where they live. If a user lives in a state that is not considered competitive in the presidential election, like California or Wyoming for example, they'll be prompted to enter their email addresses and ZIP code and then directed quickly to a voter registration page for their state, or back to the original sign-up section. But for users who enter a ZIP code that indicates they live in a battleground state, like Pennsylvania or Georgia, the process is very different. Rather than be directed to their state's voter registration page, they instead are directed to a highly detailed personal information form, prompted to enter their address, cellphone number and age. If they agree to submit all that, the system still does not steer them to a voter registration page. Instead, it shows them a "thank you" page. So that person who wanted help registering to vote? In the end, they got no help at all registering. But they did hand over priceless personal data to a political operation. Specifically, a political action committee created by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, one aimed at giving the Republican presidential nominee Trump an advantage in his campaign against Vice President Kamala Harris, the de facto Democratic nominee. "I have created a PAC, or a super PAC ... the America PAC," Musk said in a recent interview. Musk also owns the social media platform X, and has a net worth of more than $235 billion, according to Forbes. The combination of owning a social media company that gives him an enormous platform to push his political views, and creating a PAC with effectively unlimited resources, has made Musk, for the first time, a major force in an American presidential election. Musk PAC uses 'register to vote' data The America PAC has spent more than $800,000 since early July on digital ads that target voters in the key battleground states of Arizona, Michigan, Georgia, North Carolina, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, according to AdImpact. The ads appeared on Facebook, Instagram and Google through YouTube, and many encouraged people to register to vote at America PAC's website. The PAC's effort to collect information from people using the idea of "voter registration" is a critical piece to its plan to make personal contact with these voters. "America PAC is focusing on door-to-door canvassing in support of Trump," said Brendan Fischer, a deputy executive director at campaign finance watchdog Documented. "I think it is safe to assume that the voter data gathered through these digital appeals are going to inform America PAC's canvassing and other political activities," he added. Fischer pointed to the group's privacy policy which says it can use the data they've collected on "other activities and/or fundraising campaigns." Since June, America PAC has spent more than $21 million on canvassing, digital media, text message services and phone calls, according to Federal Election Commission filings. The PAC's website offers no indication one way or another what the group's political leaning is. But in its federal filings, the group discloses that all of its work is designed to either help Trump or hurt his opponent. Fischer said he has seen some other PACs try to use a "register to vote" message to gather people's data. But what is unique about America PAC's project is who is backing it and the timing of its creation. In most cases, super PACs are not allowed to directly coordinate the ads they pay for with the campaign. But this spring, regulators ruled that door-to-door canvassing falls outside the scope of the ban because, unlike an ad, it is a person-to-person exchange. "What makes America PAC more unique: it is a billionaire-backed super PAC focused on door-to-door canvassing, which it can conduct in coordination with a presidential campaign," Fischer said. "Thanks to a recent FEC advisory opinion, America PAC may legally coordinate its canvassing activities with the Trump campaign meaning, among other things, that the Trump campaign may provide America PAC with the literature and scripts to make sure their efforts are consistent." "Coordination is incredibly important: it ensures that the PAC's activities are maximally beneficial to the campaign, and frees up the campaign's own funds for other uses," he said. "I suspect that the PAC's ability to coordinate its data-driven canvassing activities with the Trump campaign made it very appealing for donors." Longtime Republican strategists Phil Cox, Generra Peck and Dave Rexrode are among those now guiding the PAC after a shake-up in mid-July, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. This person was granted anonymity to speak freely about a private matter. The change suggests there could be a shift in tactics by the PAC come November. The New York Times first reported on the moves. Musk is not the only tech executive backing this effort. The America PAC raised more than $8 million between April 1 and June 30, according to FEC records. It has received donations from veteran investor Doug Leone, cryptocurrency investors Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, and a company run by longtime venture capitalist Joe Lonsdale, according to FEC records. Lonsdale, a co-founder of the software company Palantir, is also a leader of the PAC, and "serves as a political confidant to" Musk, according to the Times. The records do not yet list Musk as a donor. He recently said on X that he is "making some donations to America PAC," but did not say how much. The PAC is not required to file a third-quarter report until Oct. 15, the first time that Musk's name could be listed as a donor. A spokesman for America PAC declined to comment. Musk did not return emails seeking comment. Musk on X mirrors Musk PAC Founders of one of the hottest artificial intelligence startups Character.AI are rejoining Google along with other team members. Noam Shazeer and Daniel De Freitas, in addition to certain members of Character.AI's research team, are joining Google's AI unit DeepMind, the companies said Friday. Character.AI uses large language models to allow users to create chatbots and interact with those created by other users. The startup reached a $1 billion valuation as the AI boom began last year. Character.AI did not generate revenue then but said it was considering offering a subscription service in the future. The two founders left Google in 2021 after the search giant reportedly rebuffed their attempts to try and get Google to push a chatbot forward. They went on to start Character.AI that same year. Freitas criticized the company's slow-moving pace, telling Axios last March, "There are some overlaps, but we're confident Google will never do anything fun," regarding the Bard, which is now Gemini chatbot. Character.AI will provide Google with a nonexclusive license for its current large language model, or LLM, technology, the company's blog post states. "This agreement will provide increased funding for Character.AI to continue growing and to focus on building personalized AI products for users around the world," it states. "Over the past two years, however, the landscape has shifted many more pre-trained models are now available," the blog post continues. "Given these changes, we see an advantage in making greater use of third-party LLMs alongside our own. This allows us to devote even more resources to post-training and creating new product experiences for our growing user base." Alphabet, facing criticism of getting beat to the AI chatbot craze by OpenAI's ChatGPT, has enacted changes to its organization to move more quickly to market. Late last year, Google was reportedly in talks to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in Character.AI. "I am super excited to return to Google and work as part of the Google DeepMind team," Shazeer said in a statement on Friday. "I am so proud of everything we built at Character.AI over the last 3 years. I am confident that the funds from the non-exclusive Google licensing agreement together with the incredible Character.AI team positions Character.AI for continued success in the future." A Google spokesperson said in a statement to CNBC, "We're particularly thrilled to welcome back Noam, a preeminent researcher in machine learning, who is joining Google DeepMind's research team, along with a small number of his colleagues." The move also comes amid a competitive talent and AI landscape, leading companies to form partnerships against a tough regulatory landscape that has placed scrutiny on mergers and acquisitions. Britain's competition watchdog said earlier this week it is looking into Google's partnership with AI startup Anthropic, for example. In March, Microsoft hired Mustafa Suleyman, a co-founder of AI startup DeepMind that Google acquired in 2014, and much of its staff to lead AI initiatives. Suleyman became an executive vice president and CEO of Microsoft AI, reporting to CEO Satya Nadella. Last month, U.K. regulators opened a merger probe on Microsofts hiring of the staff. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign event in Atlanta on July 30, 2024. The presidential campaign of Vice President Kamala Harris said Friday that its political operation raised $310 million in July, dwarfing the tally raised for the Republican nominee Donald Trump in the same month. Harris' team raised the eye-popping sum between the campaign, the Democratic National Committee and joint fundraising committees. The vast majority of July's tally more than $200 million arrived during the first week of her candidacy, after President Joe Biden dropped out of the election contest on July 21 and endorsed Harris. The de facto Democratic nominee's team entered August with $377 million on hand. Hunter Biden, son of U.S. President Joe Biden, and his wife Melissa Cohen Biden arrive at the federal court during his trial on criminal gun charges in Wilmington, Delaware, on June 5, 2024. Hunter Biden will be sentenced in his criminal gun case in Delaware on Nov. 13, eight days after the 2024 presidential election, a federal judge said Friday. Hunter Biden, the sole surviving son of President Joe Biden, was convicted in June by a jury in U.S. District Court in Wilmington of three criminal counts related to his purchase and possession of a revolver while being an illegal drug user. The 54-year-old is the first child of a sitting U.S. president ever to be convicted of crimes. Hunter Biden faces a maximum possible sentence of 25 years in prison, but is likely to receive a much lighter punishment from Judge Maryellen Noreika due to federal sentencing guidelines. Hunter Biden faces another criminal trial in September in Los Angeles federal court. He is charged there with nine counts stemming from his alleged failure to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes over several years. His lawyers on July 18 asked the judges in both the Delaware and LA cases to dismiss the charges. Hunter Biden's attorneys in their motions cited a new opinion by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas questioning whether the Department of Justice has the authority to appoint special counsels as prosecutors, and the related dismissal of the criminal classified documents case against former President Donald Trump in Florida federal court. Signage for the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is displayed outside the central bank's headquarters in Singapore. Singapore's central bank established a task force to bolster the city-state's stock market. The Monetary Authority of Singapore announced that the review group will evaluate measures to "improve the vibrancy" of the Singapore equities market. MAS said on Friday the panel will focus on addressing market challenges, fostering listings, and facilitating market revitalization, as well as enhancing regulations to facilitate market growth and foster investor confidence. It said another key goal will be to identify methods for encouraging private sector participation, including from capital market intermediaries, investors and listed companies. The authority noted that a "dynamic equities market is an important part of the capital formation value chain," and that a liquid market enables companies to not only access capital as they expand, but also "allows asset owners and the investing public to participate in the growth of quality companies." "Improving the attractiveness of Singapore's equities market can therefore enhance Singapore's standing as a vibrant enterprise and financial hub," the MAS said, adding that this will also "[complement] Singapore's innovation and start-up ecosystem, private markets, as well as asset and wealth management sectors." Whenever billionaire philanthropist Melinda French Gates contemplates a tough decision, she seeks input from her three closest friends of more than 30 years. Every Monday morning, the four women go for a walk a ritual that often serves as a site for deliberation, she told Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King in an episode of French Gates' "Moments That Make Us" YouTube series, which published last week. "If you're in town, you walk," French Gates said. "They are my truth counsel. Whenever I'm going to make a really hard decision or make a big transition, I know I have to have the courage to tell them." For example, the trio of friends was the first to know when French Gates began to consider ending her marriage to Bill Gates after 27 years, she said and they offered her unanimous support. "I would not have gotten through my divorce without my three closest friends. There's no chance," she said. "You actually need a friend who will tell you the truth, even when you don't want to hear it." French Gates learned the importance of quality over quantity in friendships early in life, she said. Research backs her up: A decades-long study conducted by researchers at Harvard University found that positive relationships are the key to a happy, healthy and long life. "Our social life is a living system, and it needs exercise," the study's directors, Marc Schulz and Robert Waldinger, wrote for CNBC Make It last year. "Social fitness requires taking stock of our relationships, and being honest with ourselves about where we're devoting our time and whether we are tending to the connections that help us thrive." Schulz and Waldinger listed seven integral types of support that humans depend on each other to provide, including safety and security, learning and growth, and emotional closeness and confiding. You can take stock of your relationships by writing down a tally of how many types of support each one offers, they wrote. It's normal for many relationships to not offer every dimension of support so your goal should be identifying the support gaps in your life, the duo added. "You might realize that you have plenty of people you have fun with, but no one to confide in," Schulz and Waldinger wrote. "Don't be afraid to reach out to the people in your life ... It's never too late to deepen the connections that matter to you." Want to stop worrying about money? Sign up for CNBC's new online course Achieve Financial Wellness: Be Happier, Wealthier & More Financially Secure. We'll teach you the psychology of money, how to manage your stress and create healthy habits, and simple ways to boost your savings, get out of debt and invest for the future. Start today and use code EARLYBIRD for an introductory discount of 30% off through September 2, 2024. Plus, sign up for CNBC Make It's newsletter to get tips and tricks for success at work, with money and in life. In this article AMZN MSFT Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT EzDubs founders Amrutavarsh Kinagi (left), Kareem Nassar and Padmanabhan Krishnamurthy pose for a photo in Palo Alto, California, in August 2023. EzDubs, a developer of language-translation technology, got started the way many tech startups get off the ground. It launched on public clouds from Amazon and Google . However, after EzDubs went through the Y Combinator startup program last year, the company made a quick pivot, adding Microsoft's cloud into the mix. That's because EzDubs' founders learned of a partnership that enabled Y Combinator companies to receive $350,000 worth of credits on Microsoft Azure. It was a "manna from heaven message," EzDubs co-founder Padmanabhan Krishnamurthy told CNBC. The credits were particularly useful, Krishnamurthy said, because Microsoft has been at the forefront of the artificial intelligence boom, investing in OpenAI and hosting scores of projects that use the company's large language models (LLMs). On Azure, EzDubs was able to obtain access to the advanced graphics processing units (GPUs) needed for a new wave of AI model training, which no other cloud provider could match. "At that point, it was a no-brainer," said Krishnamurthy, who co-founded his company in 2022 as generative AI was taking off. "It was the exact setup we needed," with GPU availability that "literally no one else had." EzDubs' story can be heard in various forms from startups across the AI landscape. While Amazon Web Services maintains the market lead in cloud infrastructure and Google remains a popular option for companies utilizing multiple clouds, Microsoft's perceived strength in AI is giving the company an edge, at least when it comes to startups. In Amazon's second-quarter earnings report on Thursday, the company said AWS revenue increased 19% from a year earlier, trailing Microsoft's 29% growth for the latest period, though that includes other cloud services in addition to Azure. AWS was the first of the cloud providers to dole out credits to young companies, hoping that they'd be hooked by the time the credits ran out and eventually turn into big spenders. AWS' Activate program started in 2013, following the launch of key EC2 (compute) and S3 (storage) services in 2006, and helped cement Amazon's dominance in public cloud. watch now Microsoft's access to hefty GPU clusters coupled with its long history as an enterprise technology company ubiquitous inside IT departments is changing the narrative. And, of course, money matters. In November, Microsoft formed a partnership with Y Combinator known for helping spawn Dropbox , Airbnb , Stripe and other companies that gave $350,000 in credits to startups entering the accelerator. Startups in a select few other programs, such as the Alchemist Accelerator and Alt Capital's Generate, are also eligible. Amazon followed in April, announcing $500,000 in credits to Y Combinator companies, including $200,000 in cloud credits and $300,000 in credits for proofs of concept using the cloud provider's Trainium and Inferentia chips for AI, an AWS spokesperson said in an email. The current offer includes $350,000 in AWS credits, plus $300,000 reserved for tapping the custom silicon, the spokesperson said. Annie Pearl, a Microsoft corporate vice president, told CNBC that prior to the Y Combinator partnership, only about 5% of companies in the program were building on Azure. By May, more than 50% were using Azure, she said. A spokesperson later said 58% of Y Combinator startups had taken up Microsoft's credit offer, a figure that doesn't reflect actual Azure usage. AWS said it's seeing a different dynamic play out. "That claim just doesn't ring true to us," the AWS spokesperson said in an email, referring to Pearl's statement that over half of Y Combinator startups were using Azure. "In their early stages, startups might accept promotional credits from different cloud providers, but when they mature and need to make a decision on who to trust the future of their organization with, they overwhelmingly turn to the provider with the best security, reliability and scalability." Amazon said in an April blog post that over 80% of startups in Y Combinator's 2022 and 2023 batches ran on AWS. Narrowing the gap Microsoft and Amazon are competing for startups well beyond accelerator programs. Last month, AWS doubled to $200,000 the maximum amount of credits a startup can use if it's raised a Series A funding round in the past year, CNBC reported. In the Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub program, companies can get $150,000 in Azure credits. In looking at the overall cloud market, industry data shows Microsoft has narrowed Amazon's lead. AWS' share in the first quarter of this year was 31%, and Azure was in second place at 25%, according to research firm Canalys. Three years earlier, AWS controlled 32% of the market, while Microsoft was at 19%, Canalys estimated. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said on an earnings call in October that more emerging businesses were turning to Azure because of demand for OpenAI's models. "We're expanding our reach with digital-first companies," he said. "Leading AI startups use OpenAI to power their AI solutions, therefore, making them Azure customers as well." Former OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella at OpenAI's DevDay in San Francisco on Nov. 6, 2023. Hayden Field | CNBC InKeep, whose technology lets companies search internal documents using chatbots, chose to use Azure while participating in Y Combinator in early 2023, shortly after OpenAI launched ChatGPT. OpenAI's underlying LLMs weren't available on other clouds. "Especially when I started, OpenAI did have kind of the state-of-the-art models," Nick Gomez, InKeep's co-founder and CEO, said in an interview. InKeep also began using Google's Cloud Platform for certain workloads. Gomez said Azure has less downtime than other clouds and acts quickly even when dealing with compute-intensive AI models. He said data privacy is very important to customers when it comes to AI training. OpenAI had initially trained models with customer data but later stopped the practice, CEO Sam Altman told CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin last year. "People would ask all the time, 'Are you training on our data?'" Gomez said. "Being able to say, 'Hey, no, we don't, we use Azure, they don't retain it, they don't train on it,' stuff like that, definitely helped to put a lot of folks at ease." Cloud infrastructure has proven not to be a winner-take-all market. Amazon, Microsoft and Google have all steadily grown their revenue in a business that Canalys expects to expand by 20% this year to almost $350 billion. That's in part because large companies are increasingly using multiple clouds to ensure they're not overly reliant on a single vendor and to take advantage of the differing services and technologies from various providers. For startups that rely on venture funding to fuel their operations, accepting credits from multiple suppliers allows them to keep their expenses in check, which is particularly important given the high costs of running AI workloads. Accepting credits is "almost like raising money," said Prady Modukuru, co-founder and CEO of Sync Labs, a developer of lip-synching technology. "No one can spend $20,000 to $30,000 a month on infrastructure costs," said Modukuru, a former Microsoft product manager. Modukuru said Sync Labs has used Amazon, Google and Microsoft, but started with Azure earlier this year while in Y Combinator. It's the only place where the company could find GPUs, he said. "We would just request, and within an hour and a half, we would get access to them on Azure," Modukuru said. "That's what we needed as a startup." Earlier this year, Sync Labs learned how to run high-performance code across many GPUs by talking with Microsoft technicians during office hours, Modukuru said. AWS also makes its experts available to Y Combinator founders, a spokesperson said. AWS has other ways of taking on Microsoft and its tight partnership with OpenAI. For example, Amazon poured billions of dollars into Anthropic, which is developing its own LLMs. Anthropic has released a model that's at least as good as OpenAI's GPT-4, said Daksh Gupta, CEO of Greptile, a startup helping developers work with source code. Because Anthropic's model is available on AWS, Greptile plans to end its use of the Azure OpenAI service and switch to AWS' competing Bedrock tool, Gupta said. "For the quality of experience, it doesn't make sense to pinch pennies on it," he said. "We spend whatever we need to spend." Still, OpenAI gives Microsoft a big head start in AI and is forcing AWS into the unfamiliar position of trying to play catch-up. Kareem Nassar, who co-founded EzDubs with Krishnamurthy, said OpenAI's rapid market penetration has helped Microsoft deal with complex AI infrastructure maintenance issues. "I know it's been battle-tested," Nassar said. "I wasn't hitting huge bugs. You could just tell it has some mileage on it." Simone Biles of Team USA reacts after competing on the vault during the Artistic Gymnastics Women's Qualification on day two of the 2024 Paris Olympics at Bercy Arena in Paris on July 28, 2024. Jamie Squire | Getty Images Sport | Getty Images American gymnast Simone Biles appeared to take a swipe at former President Donald Trump on Friday morning, tweeting "I love my black job" after winning her second individual all-around gold medal at the Paris Olympics. Biles' post on the social media platform X seemed to reference Trump's recent controversial comments that immigrants are "taking Black jobs." The Republican presidential nominee had said, "They're taking Black jobs now and it could be 18, it could be 19 and even 20 million people," during his June 27 debate against President Joe Biden. "They're taking Black jobs, and they're taking Hispanic jobs, and you haven't seen it yet, but you're going to see something that's going to be the worst in our history," Trump said. Data does not support Trump's claim that immigrants are "taking" jobs from American workers. CNBC has requested comment from Trump's campaign about Biles' tweet. Former U.S. President and 2024 Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump answers questions during the National Association of Black Journalists annual convention in Chicago on July 31, 2024. Kamil Krzaczynski | Afp | Getty Images Trump was asked on Wednesday to clarify what he meant by "Black jobs" in a Q&A session with three reporters at the National Association of Black Journalists' annual convention. "A Black job is anybody that has a job," he said. "That's what it is. Anybody that has they're taking the employment away from Black people. They're coming in, and they're coming in, they're invading." During the same session, Trump also questioned Vice President Kamala Harris' race, falsely suggesting that the de facto Democratic presidential nominee has not always presented herself as Black. Simone Biles poses with the gold medal during the podium ceremony at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games at the Bercy Arena in Paris on July 30, 2024. Lionel Bonaventure | Afp | Getty Images "She was always of Indian heritage and she was only promoting Indian heritage," Trump said. "I didn't know she was Black until a number of years ago, when she happened to turn Black and now she wants to be known as Black." Harris' father, who is Black, is from Jamaica. Her late mother was from India. Harris attended Howard University in Washington, D.C., one of the most well-known historically Black universities. Biles, who is widely seen as the greatest American gymnast of all time, won her second individual all-around gold medal in Paris on Thursday. With nine Olympic medals, six of them gold, Biles is the most decorated U.S. gymnast in history. She is also the first American to win the individual gold more than once, and the first Olympic gymnast ever to win two in nonconsecutive Games. Her success in her third Olympics is the culmination of a three-year-long comeback story. Biles withdrew from the team final at the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021 after struggling with the "twisties," which occur when a gymnast loses spatial awareness while in the air. This year offers the latest proof for an old joke about investing in airlines. When Richard Branson, the British business magnate who co-founded the Virgin Group, was once asked how to become a millionaire, he quipped: "There's really nothing to it. Start as a billionaire and then buy an airline." To prove the point, many airline stocks have tumbled since the start of the year, contending with discounted seats, safety issues that have grounded planes and last month's global tech outage that canceled thousands of flights. The U.S. Global Jets ETF , whose largest holdings are Southwest Airlines , United Airlines , American Airlines and Delta Air , is off 7.5% just since the end of June. The iShares U.S. Transportation ETF (IYT), a collection of domestic airlines, railroads, and truckers, is down about 2% in 2024, while the S & P 500 has gained 14.2% this year. But investors are more positive on the supplier side of the industry. They suspect that manufacturers, and the aftermarket business in particular, could get a boost from a backlog in airplane deliveries from Boeing and Airbus that's forced carriers to optimize the use of their existing fleet. As of July, Boeing had a multi-year backlog of $437 billion in commercial aircraft , equal to more than 5,400 airplanes. "We like the set up right now for the aerospace and defense markets, specifically the aftermarket," said John Belton, portfolio manager at Gabelli Funds. "There's an interesting secular backdrop where travel demand and air cargo demand is strong, even accelerating in certain cases." Meanwhile, "new aircraft deliveries are slow, have paused for a variety of reasons, and it's causing airlines and air freight companies to have to get better utilization of their existing fleet." As a result, aerospace is "sort of an interesting sector with a unique cycle that's currently seeing a lot of momentum, which should continue for the foreseeable future," Belton said. What's more, these investors say the future of commercial aerospace is bright as travel demand recovers to pre-pandemic levels, and as the rise in global travel offers a long-term tailwind. The International Air Transport Association (IATA), an airline trade association, said full year 2023 traffic reached 94.1% of 2019 levels. Put it all together, and here are some stocks set to benefit. AAR Corp. AAR Corp. , a $2.3 billion small-cap company that supplies aftermarket parts to the commercial aerospace industry, will benefit from the re-equipment cycle coming out of Boeing and Airbus, according to Nicholas Galluccio, portfolio manager at Teton Advisors. Shares have risen just 1.3% this year through Thursday, but Galluccio said AAR is a high quality asset that generates a lot of free cash flow. As of March, the stock was the fourth-largest holding in the Teton Westwood SmallCap Equity Fund (WESCX) , accounting for 2.6% of the portfolio, according to Morningstar. The fund has $81 million in total assets, with an expense ratio of 1.250%. "It's harder to get new planes now, with all the regulations now, with the issues Boeing has had, so older planes are flying longer, and require more maintenance," Galluccio said. "And AAR benefits from all the maintenance requirements to refurbish, and basically meet specifications of a lot of the aging aircraft that [are] flying." The stock is also a consensus buy on the Street. Of the six analysts covering the stock, four rate it a buy and two a strong buy, according to LSEG. GE Aerospace GE Aerospace is a pure play on the rise of global air travel, according to John Belton, portfolio manager at Gabelli Funds. The aerospace stock, which began trading on its own on the New York Stock Exchange in April, has surged 67% this year following the split of General Electric into three separate companies . Belton said GE Aerospace is a "long-term compounder" that has plenty of upside, able to climb to $200 one year from now, up from $169.75 on Thursday. Nor is he alone. Just about all 18 analysts polled by LSEG consider GE Aerospace a buy, with five rating it a strong buy. Central to the investment thesis for GE Aerospace is its market leadership. GE Aerospace, which sells commercial engines to Boeing and Airbus, has a 30- to 40-year time period when it services the engines and their owners, Belton said. The aerospace company has an installed base of roughly 70,000 commercial and defense engines that represent roughly 70% of its recurring revenues. The GE revenue model "is based on number of hours and aircraft" in service, Belton said. "Airlines will come and go, and airline competition cycles will rise and fall, but so long as there's demand for travel, there's going to be airline businesses there." "And so long as that is the case, they will be, by and large, using GE engines, and heavily incentivized to keep those engines going as long as possible and as frequently as possible," Belton said. The stock held in the Gabelli Growth Fund (GABGX) , a large-cap growth fund that's returned 22% this year, according to Morningstar. GE Aerospace is also a holding in the Gabelli Global Growth Fund (GICPX), as well as the Gabelli Growth Innovators ETF (GGRW) funds, Belton said. Boeing Elsewhere, Tony Bancroft, portfolio manager at Gabelli Funds, said that he is particularly bullish on Boeing after its selloff this year. The maker of the 737 Max passenger jet may be down almost 32% in 2024, but Bancroft said that represents a "big opportunity" for investors. "Near term, there's probably going to still be a lot of volatility until we get this cap lifted from the [Federal Aviation Administration], and they're starting to really pump out jets on a quality basis," Bancroft said. "But that time will come, and I think they're going to do very well going forward." Bancroft runs the Gabelli Commercial Aerospace & Defense ETF (GCAD), an actively managed ETF that is up 20% this year. Boeing is one of the top holdings. Other companies in the same sector include Heico Corporation , Triumph Group and TransDigm Group. To be sure, among the risks to the air travel business is its sensitivity to the economic cycle, as well as outside risks such as war in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Any hits to the supply chain could also affect the aftermarket business. Still, investors see no decline in people's wanderlust and desire to mark off their bucket lists. "The air travel industry is a growth industry," Galluccio said. "And it's going to continue growing over time." Check out the companies making headlines before the bell: Exxon Mobil The energy giant reported a stronger-than-expected profit for the second quarter amid record production in Guyana and the Permian Basin. Earnings per share came in at $2.14, beating an LSEG forecast of $2.01 per share. Shares were up slightly in the premarket. Intel Shares plunged 20% on the back of weaker-than-expected earnings and revenue for the second quarter. The company also announced it would lay off more than 15% of employees due to a $10 billion cost-cutting push. Snap Shares of the Snapchat parent company sank 17% on disappointing guidance. For the third quarter, Snap expects adjusted earnings to range between $70 million and $100 million, versus a StreetAccount estimate of $110 million. Cloudflare The IT company jumped 7% after raising its full-year outlook. The company guided full-year earnings in a range between 70 cents and 71 cents per share, higher than the 60 cents to 61 cents it had previously announced. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had estimated full-year earnings per share at 61 cents. Full-year revenue guidance also topped forecasts. Cloudflare posted an adjusted earnings and revenue beat in the second quarter. DoorDash The stock advanced 9% after the food delivery service posted second-quarter revenue of $2.63 billion, which exceeded the LSEG consensus of $2.54 billion. DoorDash also lifted the third-quarter guidance for its marketplace gross order value. Amazon The e-commerce stock fell more than 8% following weaker-than-expected quarterly results. The company reported weaker-than-expected revenue for the second quarter and issued a disappointing forecast for the third quarter. Revenue in its cloud division increased 19% in the second quarter, beating analysts' estimates , however. Block The fintech company advanced more than 3% after posting an earnings beat in the second quarter. Block reported adjusted earnings of 93 cents per share, coming above an LSEG consensus estimate for 84 cents per share. Meanwhile, revenue of $6.16 billion missed analysts' estimates for $6.28 billion. Clorox The household goods stock rose 1.7%. Clorox issued fiscal full-year earnings guidance in a range between $6.55 and $6.80 per share, topping an LSEG forecast of $6.45 per share. Fiscal fourth-quarter adjusted earnings came in at $1.82 per share, while analysts had forecast $1.56 per share. Apple Shares of the iPhone maker ticked up 0.3%. The company beat analysts' estimates on the top and bottom lines for the fiscal third quarter. Apple reported earnings of $1.40 per share while analysts surveyed by LSEG called for $1.35 per share. Revenue came in at $85.78 billion, also surpassing the Street's estimates. Twilio The cloud communications stock jumped 5% after Twilio beat quarterly expectations on the top and bottom lines. The company posted second-quarter adjusted earnings of 87 cents per share on revenue of $1.08 billion. Analysts polled by LSEG had expected earnings per share of 70 cents on revenue of $1.06 billion. Coinbase The crypto exchange operator added 1.3%. In the second quarter, revenue came in at $1.45 billion, slightly above estimates of $1.40 billion, according to LSEG. Booking Holdings Shares of the online travel company slipped more than 5% despite a top- and bottom-line beat in the second quarter. Booking guided third-quarter adjusted EBITDA between $3.25 billion and $3.35 billion, while analysts had estimated $3.58 billion, according to FactSet. GoDaddy Shares jumped around 7% after the web hosting company increased its outlook for the full year. GoDaddy issued full-year revenue guidance between $4.525 billion and $4.565 billion, while analysts polled by FactSet had expected $4.53 billion. Coterra Energy Shares pulled back 1.5% after Coterra Energy reported disappointing earnings results . The energy company announced adjusted second-quarter earnings of 37 cents per share, below the FactSet consensus estimate of 39 cents in earnings per share. Roku The streaming device company added 2.3% after reporting a second-quarter loss of 24 cents per share postmarket Thursday, better than the 43 cents loss per share expected from analysts polled by LSEG. Revenue came in at $968 million, beating the $938 million consensus estimate. Atlassian The software stock tumbled more than 12% after issuing weak guidance. Atlassian estimates fiscal first-quarter revenue in a range of $1.149 billion and $1.157 billion, while analysts surveyed by LSEG had forecast $1.16 billion. Full-year revenue growth was also guided lower than expected. Microchip Technology The semiconductor stock fell 7%. Adjusted earnings in the fiscal first quarter topped analysts' estimates, while revenue came in line with forecasts. Meanwhile, forward earnings per share guidance of a range between 40 cents and 46 cents in the second quarter missed consensus calls for 59 cents in earnings per share, according to FactSet. Management cited a challenging macro backdrop leading to an extended period of an inventory correction. CNBC's Sarah Min, Samantha Subin, Lisa Han and Michelle Fox contributed reporting. Turkey blocked access to Instagram for its 85 million people, the country's Information and Communication Technologies Authority announced Friday morning. "Instagram.com has been blocked by a decision on the date of 02/08/2024," local media cited a post on the authority's website as saying. According to Turkish media, there are more than 50 million users of the photo-sharing app in the country. The Turkish government did not disclose a reason for the ban nor how long it would be in place. Reports however suggest the ban was a response to the Meta -owned platform removing posts related to the death of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. Turkey's Daily Sabah newspaper, which typically toes the government line, wrote in a headline that the ban was "over Haniyeh posts removal," referring to posts by users in the country expressing condolences over the Hamas leader's death on Wednesday. Haniyeh, the head of the Palestinian militant organization's political wing, was killed in a blast in Tehran while visiting the country for the inauguration of its new president. Iranian officials and Hamas blame Israel for what they say is an assassination, while Israel has declined to comment. Fahrettin Altun, head of Turkey's presidential communications and an aide to Turkish President Recep Tayip Erdogan, on Wednesday criticized Instagram, accusing it of censorship. In a multi-paragraph post on X lamenting the death of "our dear brother Ismail Haniyeh," Altun wrote: "I also strongly condemn the social media platform Instagram which is actively preventing people from posting messages of condolences for the passing of Hamas leader Haniyeh without citing any policy violations." "This is censorship, pure and simple," he added. "We will defend freedom of speech against these platforms that have showed many times that they are primarily in the service of global exploitative system of injustice." CNBC has contacted Meta for comment. Unlike the U.S. and many of its Western allies, Turkey does not consider Hamas to be a terrorist organization. Turkey's government has long been a vocal critic of Israel's military offensive in Gaza and its occupation of the Palestinian territories although it maintains diplomatic and economic relations with Israel and Turkish President Erdogan has described Hamas as "liberation fighters." Water scarcity remains a concern for people around the world. In fact, a 2022 Gallup poll revealed that 57% of Americans worry more about safe drinking water than global warming, air pollution, or the extinction of animal species. Americans are also using more water than ever before, according to J.D. Power. The combined water and sewer bill for a typical household in the U.S. has increased 54.8% since 2012. The data also found that 41% of customers say they do not feel the water provided by their local utility is safe to drink. Don't miss: Get paid to visit luxury hotels and spas around the worldheres how In August, J.D. Power ranked the states with the best and worst tap water based on its U.S. Water Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study. It measures satisfaction among residential customers from 92 water utilities, or companies, around the U.S. that deliver water to populations of at least 400,000. Customers were asked to rate the quality of water in terms of taste, color, odor, hardness, and other factors on a scale of one to 10, with one being unacceptable and 10 being outstanding. The states were ranked based on responses from 32,833 residential water utility customers from June 2023 through March 2024. Ramah Vaughn, director of utilities intelligence at J.D. Power, tells CNBC Make It that this year's special report is different from last year's version. Last year, the special report focused on asking customers about the reliability and quality of their water, and this year, it was solely focused on the quality. 10 U.S. states with the best tap water Washington Kansas Hawaii Kentucky Massachusetts New York Connecticut Georgia Louisiana Virginia Washington ranked as the state with the best tap water, with 84.5% of customers giving their water positive marks, according to J.D. Power. "Washington has been able to avoid problems that other states have been facing. In Washington, they've been able to provide a premium product without complaints about taste and smell. They are meeting customers' expectations of what clean fresh water should look like," Vaughn says. "When we look at what customers in Washington are rating and saying, they're extremely pleased with the quality of the product." Washington Caroline Purser | The Image Bank | Getty Images The state established a program in 2021 to target the per-and-polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS or "forever chemicals," found in its drinking water. In 2023, the Washington State Department of Health also launched a dashboard showing people if tap water had been contaminated with "forever chemicals." After J.D. Power's study was conducted, Washington announced it was also adopting a drinking water standard higher than the EPA's regulation on PFAS. This is in an effort to continue limiting people's exposure to "forever chemicals." 10 U.S. states with the worst tap water Arizona New Mexico Alabama Oklahoma Indiana Nevada Maryland Wisconsin Texas California Arizona has the worst tap water in America, according to the report. The state received a 62.6% favorability score. "The number one complaint was that the water was too hard. Customers said the water is causing damage to pipes, leaving residue on the walls in the shower, and they complained about the smell and color of the water," Vaughn says. "Arizona customers indicated that the hardness of the water is unacceptable." Water hardness is determined by the amount of dissolved calcium and magnesium. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the harder the water, the higher the amount of these dissolved minerals. Arizona Danny Lehman | The Image Bank | Getty Images As organizations scramble to patch vulnerabilities caused by CrowdStrike's massive IT outage on July 19, hackers are exploiting the situation by impersonating CrowdStrike in phishing campaigns, posing as legitimate support sources for affected businesses to gain unauthorized access to corporate networks. "When your system is down, it creates the best opportunity for hackers to compromise your data," said Javad Abed, assistant professor of information systems at Johns Hopkins Carey Business School. "That's why multiple layers of security are crucial. Redundancy is key. You need to assume 100% that threats will happen and build your security around zero trust." The CrowdStrike incident which disrupted health care, airlines and financial services, among others, and cost Delta Air Lines alone an estimated $500 million is a stark reminder that despite the advanced capabilities of leading cybersecurity firms, vulnerabilities can and do occur, prompting an urgent reassessment of current defenses, especially in regulated industries where the stakes are exceptionally high and the threats ever evolving. This brings a crucial question to the forefront: In an era where cyber threats are becoming increasingly sophisticated and relentless, are regulated industries doing enough to elevate their cybersecurity standards? According to Abed, more needs to be done. "Business owners still see security as a cost. That's what causes many problems," he said. "Spending money in security is an investment and shouldn't be considered a cost." Finance, health care and other regulated industries should consider their specific needs and tailor their defenses with military-grade components, he added. Abed defines military-grade cyber defense as heavily proactive, emphasizing prevention over detection through advanced threat intelligence, real-time data analytics, machine learning, and predictive modeling. He says it also uses the highest encryption standards and sophisticated access control systems, often incorporating biometric verification and smart cards. Conversely, Abed explains that traditional cybersecurity methods focus more on detection and response, using robust but less stringent encryption and simpler authentication methods. The implementation of military-grade cybersecurity is not without challenges. High costs, the need for specialized personnel, and potential compatibility issues with existing systems are significant hurdles that organizations must consider. "Some military-grade strategies may interrupt the operation or cost more than their revenue, so it may not make sense to employ it," Abed said. The solution? A hybrid model, he says, makes the most sense. "Little by little, they can employ the technologies, the controls and the strategy by analyzing how much they can sacrifice in different aspects of their business process." Regulated industries are a prime target Organizations that handle sensitive information are a prime target for breaches. In 2024, regulated industries have witnessed a significant increase in both the number and cost of data breaches. The most affected industries are health care ($9.77 million per breach), finance ($6.08 million per breach), and industrial ($5.56 million per breach), with technology not far behind, at $5.45 million per breach, according to the latest annual report on the cost of data breaches from IBM and the Ponemon Institute. These industries have stringent cybersecurity requirements, said Cole Two Bears, vice president of security services at ThinkGard, adding that non-compliance comes with hefty fines, depending on the level of negligence and whether the violation was corrected promptly. The risk isn't limited to the U.S. In 2022, ride-hailing service Didi was fined more than $1 billion by China for breaking data security laws and Amazon faced an $877 million fine in 2021 for violations of the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation. Cyber threat landscape The exploitation of vulnerabilities as an initial access point for breaches has seen a 180% increase since 2023, according to the 2024 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report. On average, it takes organizations 55 days to remediate 50% of critical vulnerabilities, giving threat actors ample time to exploit weaknesses. However, vulnerability exploitation isn't the only method cyber criminals use to infiltrate an organization. According to the Verizon report, human error accounts for 68% of incidents, including employees falling victim to phishing attacks and mishandling data internally. Credential attacks accounted for 33% of breaches over the last decade, and supply chain attacks, involving third-party vendors or partners, increased from 9% to 15% since 2023. The number of ransomware attacks worldwide grew as much as 74% in the past year, according to Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines at a hearing on global threats in May. Significant breaches in the past year include AT&T's massive data breach, exposing nearly all of its 241 million wireless customers; the Cencora breach, affecting data from 11 major drug companies; and the cyberattack on UnitedHealth's Change Healthcare, compromising data from an estimated one-third of Americans and costing $22 million in ransom. "Things are going to continue to get worse," said Two Bears, citing generative AI as the biggest reason. He points also to Gen Z as a growing threat. "Something we're going to see over the next five years, unless the economy improves, is Gen Z willing to commit fraud, because they have such a hopelessness to their economic outlook here in America. So we not only have to worry about the threats coming from the outside, you also have to worry about your internal users," he said. Abed agrees. "The poor economic condition is a motivator, especially in the tech and IT fields. Employees inside the organizations will do more intentional attacks." While military-grade cybersecurity offers robust defenses, the human element remains critical, and regulated industries must balance advanced technologies with effective personnel management and comprehensive employee education to protect against ever-evolving cyber threats, said Gary Orenstein, chief customer officer at Bitwarden. "Ultimately it comes down to the people," Orenstein said. "Most breaches are drawn back to an employee who doesn't have the right habits. I don't think it's an option anymore for people to skirt this, because the consequences are too drastic." Frederic Rivain, chief technology officer of Dashlane, holds a contrarian view on the need for military-grade defenses. He argues that human error remains the most common infiltration method and believes education is crucial. "Security is a lot of common sense. You need to ensure employees have proper credential hygiene and aren't exposed to unnecessary risks," Rivain said. He emphasizes the importance of best practices and tools to guide employees. But Two Bears says that regardless of employee education, the increasing use of generative AI tools to craft highly realistic phishing emails makes it harder for recipients to identify them as fraudulent. "Multifactor authentication is important, and you must have it, but you still need to have multiple layers," Two Bears said. "Without it, threat actors can still gain access." On the Windows desktop, press the Windows key and X, then select Windows PowerShell (Admin) from the resulting pop-up menu. Alternatively, you can type powershell into the Start menu search box, then right-click Windows PowerShell and select Run as administrator from that pop-up menu. 2. In the Administrator: Windows PowerShell window that appears, type this string and hit Enter: dism /online /cleanup-image /analyzecomponentstore Youll see something like whats shown in Figure 9. Figure 9: DISM /analyzecomponentstore finds two packages for cleanup (reclamation). Ed Tittel / IDG As I wrote this story, I had just installed a Cumulative Update and other update items earlier that week. Sure enough, /analyzecomponentstore reported that there were two reclaimable packages ready for cleanup. Notice that the response text reported Yes in the field labeled Component Store Cleanup Recommended. Thats your clue that DISM has something it can clean up on your behalf. 3. To make that happen, in the Administrator: Windows PowerShell window, enter this string: dism /online /cleanup-image /startcomponentcleanup The results appear in Figure 10, with an extra /analyzecomponentstore operation to show the results of the cleanup. Figure 10: /startcomponentcleanup does its thing, and /analyzecomponentstore shows a reduced footprint and nothing left thats reclaimable. Good! Ed Tittel / IDG Please note the dual progress lines (the first goes only to 10%, the next all the way to 100%) after the /startcomponentcleanup operation: this is a well-known foible of DISM in x86 Windows versions (both 10 and 11). As far as I can tell, its an output glitch. DISM works properly. Now lets compare the numbers from the first and second /analyzecomponentstore operations, to wit: Size of component store: 13.66GB vs. 9.11GB (diff: 4.55GB) Actual size of component store: 12.75GB vs. 8.80GB (diff: 3.95GB) Shared with Windows: 6.81GB vs. 6.78GB (diff: 0.03GB) Backups and disabled features: 5.81GB vs 2.02GB (diff: 3.79GB) If you add the savings for Shared with Windows and Backups and disabled features, you get 3.82GB, which is nearly the savings in the actual size of the component store (3.95GB) just as it should be. Recently updated systems may recover up to 4 or even 5GB using this technique. (Actual results depend on the number and size of reclaimable packages removed.) For more incredibly useful things you can do with DISM, see Why DISM is the Swiss Army knife of Windows maintenance. Step 6: Inspect the system drive with WizTree Once all preceding cleanups are complete, its a good idea to inspect the system drive to see where the big files are. I use the free, donation-ware WizTree program, but TreeSize Free is a worthy alternative. Both programs produce treemap diagrams graphical renderings of disk contents that make it easy to spot big files and folders. To run a scan of the ever-popular C: drive, here are the steps to follow: 1. Launch the WizTree application. 2. Select the C: (or some other) drive as the scan focus from the pull-down list just below the File and Options menus at upper left (see Figure 11). 3. Click the Scan button to the right of the selected drive. This generates a treemap diagram for the selected drive fairly quickly usually under a minute, even on ginormous drives. (I just pointed it at a 4TB Hitachi drive and it finished in under 10 seconds.) Figure 11 shows the C: drive from my Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x Copilot+ PC. Figure 11: The WizTree drive contents treemap uses box size to show how file (and folder) sizes stack up. Ed Tittel / IDG In this situation, youre looking for big files, because getting rid of them provides useful, quick wins in the disk space recovery game. Right here, I see that the largest files are the ones youd expect to see namely, the system hibernation file (hiberfile.sys) and the system page file (pagefile.sys), in yellow-green near center right. After those behemoths (6.1 and 1.0GB, respectively), the next largest is named USMT.PPKG. A quick lookup reveals this is output from the User State Migration Tool (USMT), used to snapshot Windows app files and settings. According to the Windows community, this information is part of the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) and is thus eminently worth keeping around. Indeed, I dont see any obvious candidates for clean-up in this recently rebuilt Windows installation. But lets pick the USMT.PPKG file as an example anyway. Heres how youd get rid of it (or stop short, as we will do): 1. Position the cursor over the file of interest: USMT.PPKG, in this case. 2. Right-click to produce a pop-up menu. 3. On the pop-up menu, click Delete (2nd item from bottom) to remove the selected file. Well skip that this time. By clicking other big blocks in the treemap, you can quickly figure out where your biggest potential space recovery opportunities lie. You wont be able to get rid of all of them the paging and hibernation files must stay, for example but if some of them can go, big space savings can result. For me, thats often Windows ISO files I no longer want or need. (They usually consume 4GB to 6GB of disk space, so each one tossed is a savings in its own right.) Step 7: Uninstall unused or unwanted Windows apps If you really want to clear out some clutter on your disk, consider removing apps you dont use. Heres how: 1. Click Settings > Apps > Installed apps (in Windows 11) or Settings > Apps > Apps & features (in Windows 10). Youll find yourself faced with a list of everything thats currently installed on the target PC. 2. Off to the right of each app, youll see an ellipsis. This is Windows iconography that tells you clicking will show more options. Click the three-dot icon next to any app, and youll see a pop-up menu that includes some or all of the following options: Modify Repair Uninstall 3. Getting rid of an app you never use is easy: simply click the Uninstall button. If you pick the stuff you never use with certain exceptions, including Microsoft Edge, the Microsoft Store, and the Settings app itself you can then follow other cleanup recommendations earlier in the story to recover the disk space they would otherwise consume. The best guidance on this topic comes from Windows 10 Forums and Windows 11 Forum, where youll find tutorials that include uninstall apps in their titles. Highly recommended to help you pick things to scrap, if youre of a mind to do so. I remove third-party apps Im no longer using (as when I switched from WinDirStat to WizTree a few years back), but I prefer to leave Microsofts built-in apps alone. Do whatever suits you best. Practice makes perfect If you perform such cleanups periodically (I shoot for at least once a month), youll be able to keep your space consumption under much better control. Try this regimen out for yourself and youll soon see what I mean. And dont forget to slog through the Users folder (especially your account subfolder) from time to time, too, because junk too often tends to accumulate there. You can find that folder on your C: drive, where it sits alongside other, well-known top-level folders (e.g., Windows, Program Files, and so forth), as shown in Figure 12. Figure 12: The Users folder is at the top of the C: drive hierarchy, along with Windows, Program Files, and so forth. Ed Tittel / IDG After all the work is done, you can then blissfully enjoy your clean machine! This article was originally published in January 2019 and most recently updated in August 2024. Ever since its introduction in just the second Simpsons episode Bart the Genius on January 14, 1990, the opening sequence of The Simpsons has been the single most iconic intro scene in American TV history. But like America itself, its been in decline since the 1990s. Every Simpsons fan knows the sequence by heart the shot opens as the camera soars through the clouds to a patch of blue sky where the title card awaits, announced by the angelic chorus. The camera goes through the show title to pan down on the town of Springfield, stylishly cutting between each member of the Simpsons family as they finish up their days activities and rush home to watch TV and engage in the weeks couch gag. Bart skateboards out of detention. Lisa boogies her way out of band practice. Homer tosses a nuclear rod onto the street. And Marge, distracted in the checkout line of the grocery store, recoils in shock that gives way to relief as Maggie gets scanned and placed in a bag. Don't Miss Though the bones of the intro have remained mostly the same through 35 seasons, the individual scenes themselves have changed significantly along with The Simpsons' animation style both for the worse, as many superfans recently bemoaned. The popular Simpsons fan account @CriminalSimpsons recently posted a side-by-side comparison of Marges grocery store mishap in its original style and in todays cold, inexpressive animation, and its like seeing the Mona Lisa get repainted in Corporate Memphis: The Simpsons opening sequence has actually undergone two major overhauls since its introduction almost 35 years ago. The first change occurred at the beginning of Season Two, when Simpsons artists reanimated and recolored the sequence to give the series a cleaner, freshly renewed feel. The animators also changed around the background characters to better reflect the supporting cast like how Moe Szyslak, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Chief Wiggum and other favorites replaced the unnamed, sloppily drawn, rule-breaking crowd of bus-riding nobodies in the Bart-to-Maggie-and-Marge transition. Advertisement Then, in Season 20, even more noticeable alterations came to the opening sequence. The 2008 Simpsons artists drastically changed Springfield as its seen in the intro to better reflect the two decades of progress made in the Simpsons universe, adding nods to classic episodes with bits such as Jimbo and Kearney sawing off the head of the statue of Jebediah Springfield in a reference to The Telltale Head. At the grocery store, Marges checkout belt includes Tomacco juice, Mr. Sparkle detergent and Krusty-Os cereal along with Maggie, of course. However, starting in Season 22, The Simpsons began to cut scenes from the intro, sometimes skipping directly from the title card into a semi-cold open. Since Season 30, if the intro is even included at all, its a dramatically abbreviated version that barely has time for the chalkboard and couch gags. In fact, Season 33 didnt feature a single episode with a chalkboard gag at the beginning, possibly because modern Simpsons writers found it to be too much work to write a single funny line each week, or maybe because they couldnt find a way to shoehorn their Twitter-level political commentary into the even-more-restrictive character limit. Advertisement In the replies of @CriminalSimpsons thread, animation fans with technical knowledge broke down exactly why the current intro on the rare occasion that it actually plays before an episode is an uninteresting, lazier and less lively alternative to the work of the 1990s animators. The obvious shape-tweening parts too... God forbid you animate a head moving as a whole or a fist shaking without a shape tween nowadays, one fan wrote of the new fist-shake bit between Maggie and Baby Gerald. Advertisement Advertisement The Simpsons used to have top quality animation smears, another fan pointed out. I get that computer graphics and 3D models have really smoothed out the creators work flow, but theyve also taken out so much of the heart and soul of hand-drawn animation. The difficulty and the messiness defines the art. While the majority reaction to the comparison was a demand that The Simpsons return the intro to its roots, some fans think that a simple throwback intro isnt enough to fix the many years of animation mistakes and missteps. In their opinions, the artists need to go even further. Said one such extremist, Bring back Marges rabbit ears. In what is being lauded as a historic feat, the Biden administration, on Thursday, concluded a prisoner swap with the Kremlin, as part of an exchange deal that involved five other countries. The deal allowed the White House to bring home 16 US citizens from Russia, including three journalists, in exchange for Russian citizens detained in the US on cybercriminal charges. The two convicted Russians Roman Seleznev and Vladislav Klyushin are both notorious for running extensive cybercrime operations on US soil and had to be released as part of the prisoner-swap deal. Lara Salameh was supposed to be flying out of Beirut Thursday en route to Montreal with her husband and two daughters, but the night before, their flight was cancelled. She said Air France told her service out of the Lebanese capital was suspended because of the unstable security situation one that Ottawa has been warning Canadians about as fears of war between Israel and Hezbollah grow. Salameh is one of the 21,399 Canadians registered as being in Lebanon, a country the Canadian government is urging its citizens to leave. It says they cant rely on government evacuation flights if war engulfs Lebanon. Canada has been planning since October for a possible evacuation of its citizens and sent military personnel to Lebanon and Cyprus in preparation. Salameh hopes that her rescheduled flight on Aug. 10 will take off as planned, but she has no regrets. Travelling to her native country is more than a vacation, she said in an interview Thursday from Beirut. It is a chance for her children to spend time with their elderly grandparents, some of whom are ill. We expected that we might get stuck here, but we came anyways for family, the Laval-Que. resident said, adding that the turmoil in the Middle East did make her hesitate before booking the trip this year. You can't leave your parents. They're getting old and we need to see them. The fear that her young daughters might witness violence does cause some concern, she said, but so far she has not personally seen any sign of conflict. If the situation does sour, she said, she can take refuge with family who live in the northern part of the country. Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly has urged Canadians in the country to fly back to Canada immediately. If you are in Lebanon, come back home. If tensions escalate, the situation on the ground may not allow us to help you, and you wont be able to leave, Joly posted on X on Wednesday. The Canadian government noted that some airlines have already suspended service to Beirut. "Additional travel disruptions are likely, including airspace closures and flight cancellations and diversions," it said on X. Hezbollahs leader warned Thursday that the conflict with Israel has entered a new phase, as he addressed mourners at the funeral of a commander from the group who was killed by an Israeli airstrike this week in Beirut. Israel alleges the commander was behind a weekend rocket attack that killed 12 young people in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, but Hezbollah has denied the charge. Not all Canadians in Lebanon are scrambling to get back, however. Stephani Moukhaiber was born in Lebanon and returned there from Montreal last year after being laid off from her job. She said Thursday she has no intention of fleeing Lebanon, even as tensions rise. Moukhaiber is a Canadian citizen, and she has been receiving regular messages from the Canadian government warning her to leave while flights are still available. I'm not going to lie. I did have a moment of insecurity where I was like, 'Yeah, maybe I should go back,'" she said in a phone interview. But she said the atmosphere where she lives in the mountains outside Beirut is calm, in part because locals have lived through many conflicts in recent decades, including a 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah. And Moukhaiber, who traces some of her roots to the Palestinian territories, cannot forgive Canada for its stance in the Israel-Hamas war. She said she does not want to return to Canada because she feels the country is not doing enough to stop Gazans from being killed. I'd rather be here in a state of war than be in a country that doesn't believe in my existence or (my) right to exist, she said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 2, 2024. With files from The Associated Press One January some years ago I received a real jaw-dropper of an email from my dear friend and former colleague, the late journalist and author Graham Lord, who divided his year between properties he owned in the Caribbean and the south of France. In it, he urged me apparently in all seriousness to write a column campaigning for expats like him who had been cruelly denied their winter fuel payments because they failed to meet the UK governments residence requirement. At first, I thought he was winding me up, as he basked on his sun-baked beach in paradise. So I emailed back to him: Youre joking, right? I have a degree of sympathy with the new Chancellor, Rachel Reeves words I never imagined I would write Confiscating winter fuel payments without notice will leave many with the agonising choice between heating and eating He replied angrily that, No, he most certainly wasnt. He had paid UK taxes throughout his working life, he said. Meanwhile, pensioners who lived in Britain were given the allowance, whether or not they had to pay the heating bills and quite a few of them didnt, for one reason or another. Why the hell should they get the tax-free payment and not him? Well, I could see that there was some logical force behind his argument. But I was damned if I was going to make myself ridiculous by demanding readers sympathy for my friend under that palm tree by the sea, as they shivered in the icy British winter. Werent there worthier causes to champion than his right to keep his glass topped up with pina colada at the British taxpayers expense? But then I became a pensioner myself, five years ago, and those winter fuel payments started popping automatically into my bank account. I got to thinking: if it was ridiculous that expats in my friends position should think they had a right to these payments, surely it wasnt much less absurd that people in my position should receive them. True, I live in England, as Ive always done, and I have to endure the worst the weather may throw at us during the winter months. But like so many other pensioners, I cant honestly claim that I need the extra money to see me through. The fact is that the Mail pays me handsomely for my weekly ramblings, while over the past 50 years or so, Ive also built up a pretty substantial pension pot. While Ive kept working, however, I havent needed to draw on it and Im very reluctant to do so, because Im determined to leave my much poorer widow enough to keep her in modest comfort when Im gone. Add to these assets the value of our suburban semi bought in 1988 for around 150,000, if I remember rightly, but now worth only a little short of 1million and I suppose I must count myself among the one-in-four over-65s whose total household wealth is said to run into seven figures. Mind you, like so many pensioners in my circumstances, I dont live or feel a bit like a millionaire. But I suppose that, strictly speaking, thats what I am. I may not be able to feed or clothe my family with bricks and mortar alone. But I do have the option of converting the house into money (though if others are anything like me, they will be loath to uproot themselves or to join an equity release scheme). What is certain, however, is that while the Mail still employs me, I will have comfortably enough cash coming in to cover my fuel bills, all year round. I therefore have a degree of sympathy with the new Chancellor, Rachel Reeves words I never imagined I would write when she says she wants to save 1.5billion a year by scrapping winter fuel payments to ten million pensioners like me. Instead, she wants to give them only to those who actually need them, by which she means those poor enough to receive other benefits. Please dont tell me, by the way, that there was never anything stopping me from sending the money back to the Treasury, if I felt it was wrong for me to receive it. For one thing, Im not a ruddy saint, and for another, the Government would only have wasted it on bonuses for diversity officers, or some other such idiocy. Far wiser, Ive always reckoned, to spend the money on cigarettes, booze or Mrs Us favourite charity, by which I mean our four struggling sons and their young families. But I have two very serious reservations about Ms Reevess policy. One is her truly shocking failure to mention it during the election campaign, when she must have had it in mind, or she wouldnt have come up with it so soon after taking office. This strikes me as nothing less than an outrage against democracy. Say what you like about David Camerons first administration and Ive said plenty, by no means all of it flattering but at least he made no secret of his plans for austerity during the 2010 election campaign. Sir Keir Starmers lot, by contrast, seem to have gone through the 2024 campaign telling themselves: It doesnt matter a jot what we promise the suckers now, as long as it encourages them to vote for us. We can reveal our true plans when were safely in power. And my other objection? Though I dont need the winter fuel payment myself, we all know there are a great many who need it desperately. Indeed, the charity Age UK calculates that the policy will leave some two million struggling to keep warm when winter closes in. They include an estimated 880,000 who are eligible for pension credit, but dont receive it either because they are too proudly self-reliant to accept what many of my parents generation regarded as charity from the state, or because the process of applying is too complicated. Then there are about one million others whose modest incomes are marginally too high to claim, and an unknown number, thought by Age UK to be at least 200,000, living in energy-inefficient homes, who for health reasons need the heating turned up high to stay well. To some of us, the maximum 300-a-year payment to the over-80s may not sound like life-changing money. But to those over-80s who have to get by on no more than the full basic state pension, it represents three per cent of their annual income, which of course makes it more valuable than the 2.5 per cent guaranteed by the triple lock. Confiscating it without notice, as Ms Reeves proposes, will leave many with the agonising choice between heating and eating when the weather turns bitter. Inevitably, some will die because of it. Now, I cant claim to have the secret of how best and most efficiently to distinguish between those who need the payment and those who dont. But the former pensions minister, Ros Altmann, offers what seems to me to be a sensible and humane way to proceed. In a letter to The Times yesterday, she suggested that, rather than scrapping the payment, it would be much fairer to amalgamate it with the rest of the state pension, thereby making it taxable and recouping some of the cost to the Treasury. The Government should then conduct a review of pensioner support to consider the next step. This would surely be a good start. What is clear is that, as it stands, Ms Reevess blunderbuss of a policy is both ill thought-through and decidedly inhumane. Its a much more grievous injustice, dare I say it, than past governments failure to send tax-free payments every winter to my mates, sprawled in their deckchairs by the Caribbean. An adorable rescue puppy from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home could soon be saving lives by sniffing out diseases like cancer and Parkinson's after being selected for a special training programme. Chilli was one of a litter of eight Labrador Retriever puppies born at the famous site in London after their mother was taken into its care due to a change in her owner's circumstances. He quickly stood out for his intelligence and 'strong drive to sniff and smell', leading to the pup being talent spotted for an elite 29,000 two-year training regime with the charity Medical Detection Dogs (MDD). Chilli joined MDD in Milton Keynes at eight weeks old and is already being lauded by his trainers as a quick learner who is rapidly 'growing in confidence'. Chris Allen, head of canine supply, training and welfare at Medical Detection Dogs, says: 'When the team at Battersea called to say they had a mum and her puppies in their care, and that they were still very young, I was immediately interested. Chilli, a Labrador Retriever, undergoes training with the charity Medical Detection Dogs After he was born at Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, the puppy stood out for his intelligence and 'strong drive to sniff and smell' 'Ideally our recruits join us at around that age and we love to include rescue dogs when we can. The incredible personal story behind MDD Medical Detection Dogs was founded in 2008 by Dr Claire Guest and Dr John Church. Claire was walking her dogs when Daisy, a fox red Labrador, nudged her breast insistently and stared up into her face. Sensing something was wrong, Claire visited her GP and soon found out she had a very deep and difficult to diagnose form of breast cancer. Daisy had saved her life, simply by smelling her cancer. Advertisement 'It was love at first sight for the whole team when we met Chilli. To think that he found himself homeless through no fault of his own and will now go on to do something so amazing is just brilliant.' Chilli's training is being supported by generous donations like the 2.3million MDD has received so far from People's Postcode Lottery, which has handed a further 7.5million to Battersea Dogs and Cats Home. There are two possible options for Chilli after he has finished the training course. One is becoming a Medical Alert Assistance Dog, which support people with complex health conditions like Type 1 diabetes by being able to smell when they may be about to have a medical episode. Alternatively, Bio Detection Dogs help scientists develop faster and cheaper ways to detect diseases by picking up the scent of conditions like cancer, Parkinson's and bacterial infections from human samples. Lucy Carter, Animal Partnerships Officer for Dogs at Battersea, said Chilli was given his unique name by staff after they decided to name his litter after different types of spices. She said they knew 'straight away' that the puppy had the skills and temperament needed to become a super sniffer. Chilli is already being lauded by his trainers as a quick learner who is rapidly 'growing in confidence' Videos of the energetic youngster during training suggest he's enjoying the process! Like the star he is, Chilli will receive VIP treatment throughout the programme - living in the homes of staff and volunteers rather than kennels Chilli's trainers will now hone his sense of smell by giving him lots of different odour samples to sniff. MMD's Chris Allen explains that the training will differ slightly depending on what kind of detection dog he becomes. How the super sniffers save lives Diseases spark chemical changes in the body which can affect how it smells - with dogs sometimes able to detect these very subtle differences. Medical Alert Assistance Dogs support people with complex health conditions like type 1 diabetes, allergies and postural tachycardia syndrome (PoTS), which can cause sufferers to faint when their heart rate rapidly increases. With type 1 diabetes, patients can be at risk of having a 'hypo' (when their blood sugar drops dangerously low), which can cause them to collapse or have seizures without warning. However, dogs can smell when their owners' levels are dropping and warn them, so they can take action to prevent it or get somewhere safe. By contrast, Bio Detection Dogs are trained to detect diseases in human samples in a training centre, rather than on people themselves. Experts believe these dogs will be able to help scientists and medics develop faster and cheaper ways to detect diseases, such as cancers, neurological diseases and bacterial infections, much earlier than is currently possible. Advertisement 'Bio Detection Dogs work on anonymous human samples in our training room, and learn to distinguish between disease negative and disease positive ones,' she says. 'These dogs will ultimately help lead to faster, more accurate and non-invasive diagnoses and inform the scientific community, including bio-electronic nose developers and AI. 'Meanwhile, our Medical Alert Assistance Dogs are trained on samples collected from their individual client when they are experiencing an episode. 'They can then identify the unique odours of these conditions so they can take the necessary action and avoid injury and hospitalisation.' Like the star he is, Chilli will receive VIP treatment throughout the programme - living in the homes of staff and volunteers rather than kennels. He will then go through a matchmaking process to find a suitable owner. 'We create a profile of the client and the dog - then it's a bit like dating: we look through all the profiles and match ones that we think work best,' explains Chris. 'After that we get the client in to meet the dog. A lot of the time this goes very well but sometimes what works on paper doesn't work in real life and that's absolutely fine. 'We take into consideration how the client feels the meeting went and also how the dog behaves during the meet. 'After this the dog will stay for the client for a week to really get to know each other. If everything goes well then we start scent training.' MDD has trained up more than 200 super sniffers over the years, including Ashes - a Cocker Spaniel trained to detect Covid. Many of these dogs have come from Battersea, which cares for thousands of animals every year with no government funding. In addition to Chilli, MDD has trained up more than 200 super sniffers over the years Chris Allen, head of canine supply, training and welfare at Medical Detection Dogs, says it was 'love at first sight' when the team met Chilli Lucy Carter, Animal Partnerships Officer at the centre, said: 'We are incredibly grateful for the ongoing support of players of People's Postcode Lottery, who have been helping to fund the vital work that Battersea does for over a decade. 'From supporting our dedicated staff and volunteers across our three centres who provide expert care for animals like Chilli, to sharing our knowledge and resources with owners and other rescues across the world, this funding allows us to go all in for dogs and cats everywhere.' People's Postcode Lottery is a monthly subscription lottery that donates 33% of the price of each ticket to charity. Prizes are split between the players in each winning postcode. Chris, from MDD, adds: 'In the future we plan to use the funds raised by players to expand our reach helping more people across the UK as we know many more people could benefit from a Medical Alert Assistance Dog if we had the resources to match them.' Philip Evans KC did his best to defend Huw Edwards in court this week. It is his job, of course, to defend the indefensible. He once defended multiple murderer Levi Bellfield, which takes the dextrous art of advocacy to its extreme legal boundary. And you cant say he didnt make a big effort on behalf of his new client. It is obvious to the court, Im sure, that Mr Edwards is not just of good character, he said, but of exceptional character. But was it really? Why? Can someone please explain to me what makes Huw Edwards so exceptional, instead of being just another dirty old man with an immoral and unlawful sexual interest in children? Can someone please explain to me what makes Huw Edwards so exceptional, instead of being just another dirty old man? We were being asked to view Huw Edwards in an exceptional, not to say kindly, light After all, here is someone who viewed images of boys, one as young as seven, being raped and abused. Someone who had 41 illegal images on his phone, someone who is probably now facing jail after admitting receiving sex abuse images of minors from a paedophile. That is truly exceptional, Im sure. Just not in the way Mr Evans wants us to think. And remarkably, it wasnt only in court that we were being asked to view Huw Edwards in an exceptional, not to say kindly, light. In fact, the way some of his cheerleaders behaved when the story broke, you might have thought the 62-year-old broadcaster had merely forgotten to return a library book or missed his wifes birthday. A purely personal tragedy for everyone involved, sniffed bumptious BBC lifer John Simpson, who was wrong on all counts. However, he wasnt the only one who believed that The Sun newspaper was wicked to have first exposed Edwardss predatory interest in children although the day when a BBC star paying 35,000 to a teen for sexually explicit photographs stops being news is the day when we can give up on a civilised society. Jon complicated private life Sopel; Emily a bit distasteful Maitlis; Andrew we all have our frailties Marr what a bunch of morally bankrupt frauds they all are, how craven and partisan of them to defend one of their own in such a manner. Yet from the start of this sorry story, an odious cabal of supporters has attempted to cushion Edwards and his criminal activity from public scrutiny. One gets the feeling, even now, that his friends in high places, along with the police, the CPS and the BBC itself would still love to cover up this whole nasty business, if only there were half a chance theyd get away with it. Operation hush hush, keep mum, Huw is strictly taboo it is such a nonsense. Ask yourself why Huw Edwardss welfare and reputation is worth more than those of his victims. Answer it isnt. Yet the way this has played out is another indication that increasingly these days the moral view is conflated into what some see as the far-Right view. And that a BBC darling, a Left-wing trophy hire like Huw, should be left alone, no matter what he has done. How the BBC covered the Huw news on Wednesday night was revealing in itself. Did they make the wrong call? mused media editor Katie Razzall, of her bosses. Hard to justify in hindsight, she mildly surmised. Can you imagine if Edwards had been a Conservative MP? Or a divisive figure such as the Lefts pet bogeyman, Nigel Farage? Katie would have erupted, a Krakatoa of outrage. Emily Maitlis would have been baying for his blood, not sniffing about allegations and shaking her head at errant newspapers. Yet the cover-up went deeper and higher. The CPS kept Edwardss arrest in November a secret an utter disgrace from an organisation which is supposed to practise open justice. And perhaps worst of all, the BBC carried on paying him his huge taxpayer-funded salary, even when it knew about the sexual nature of the allegations he faced and the fact that they carried a potential jail sentence. Is it any wonder the public is losing trust in both the BBC and the police? What an utter insult to us all. That is not to say that Huw Edwardss disgrace is not without its tragic elements for has any fall from grace ever been so catastrophic or more profound? Here he is, this church-going father of five; a man who gained the trust of the nation but was also the voice of the nation. In times of great mourning and great joy, Edwards was part of our shared history, but now he has tainted that legacy by making history himself. How did he manage to lead that double life? He must have compartmentalised ferociously, guarded his dark secrets without quarter. Yet it wasnt just a mistake or a one-off. He encouraged relationships with these young men and he fostered these friendships. He must have realised how perilous it was, yet still he carried on, risking everything. Did he announce the Queens death and then slip home to his images and grisly WhatsApp messages? It is sordid and it is sad, but it is also a betrayal of his wife and children, of his own talents and, not least of all, of the position of trust he held in British society. And now his lawyer Philip Evans KC has asked the judge to take note of the serious issues relating to Mr Edwardss health, both mental and physical, at the time of the offending and now. Indeed. Becoming publicly unmasked as a paedophile must be psychologically devastating, even if you are not a famous newsreader. But that still doesnt excuse what he did, not now and not ever. Even the Naked Chef could not help Jen! Jennifer Aniston with her then husband Brad Pitt on the red carpet for the Troy movie in 2004 Jamie Oliver has revealed that he was Jennifer Anistons big surprise for Brad Pitts 40th birthday. Darling Jen hired the chef to cook a special dinner for her then husband, who was a big fan of The Naked Chef television show, which was popular at the time. What a lovely thing to do for the special man in your life! And yet he still left her for Angelina. Sometimes life, like lemons, is very bitter. Why is security-obsessed Harry heading on a jaunt to Colombia? A former staffer who worked for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex said that while Meghan supports Harry 100 per cent she wishes he could let go of these lawsuits, be happy and live in the moment. I bet she does. Living with an obsessive is never easy and Harry cannot let go of anything. He is fixated with the past, fearful of the future, forever restless, never content. This must be a nightmare. Concerned for the safety of his family, he has been battling with the Royal and VIP Executive Committee (Ravec) since he stopped being a full-time working royal. He wont give up until he wins, but he is not going to win. Ravec has ruled that he wont get the same degree of publicly funded protection when in the UK despite his demands. I can see Harrys point of view he didnt ask to be born royal. However, he did make a decision to leave the Royal Family and move to another country and he cant have it all ways. As the late Queen once said, you are either in or you are out. And if Harry is so worried about safety, why have he and Meghan accepted an invitation to visit Colombia to engage with leaders, youth and women and experience the rich heritage of the country? Part of that heritage is one of the highest crime rates in the world. But it will make the pair of them look royal and important, so of course they are going. It's time Katie paid the Price Katie Price pictured out in Turkey where the star is set to go under the knife for possible facial surgery Katie Price is truly despicable. She was supposed to attend a bankruptcy hearing this week over her debts of 760,000, mostly due to HM Revenue & Customs. Instead, she was in Turkey getting a facelift and having her teeth fixed. A warrant has now been issued for her arrest. Katie thinks the law doesnt apply to her and that she doesnt have to pay her taxes, like mere mortals. However, if she carries on like this, she will end up in jail. And it wont be a day too soon. Punch in the gut for women in sport Imane Khelif of Team Algeria and Angela Carini of Team Italy exchange punches during the Women's 66kg preliminary round match on day six of the Olympic Games Imane Khelif may be biologically male, but in the woke Olympics in Paris the Algerian boxer is allowed to compete as a woman. Guess what happened next? Right first time. In the opening round of the womens welterweight competition, she punched Italys Angela Carini twice in the first 46 seconds. Punches that were so hard Carini in the blue then withdrew, sobbing. This is unjust! she said. That is the understatement of the century. Khelifs participation might be allowed under modern Olympic rules, but is such a travesty really in the Olympic spirit? And shouldnt it be stopped before someone a woman, of course gets seriously hurt. Aussies are being called out as 'fake nice' with residents accused of hiding an 'extremely clique-y' culture behind friendly facades. Commenting on the reality of loneliness Down Under, hundreds weighed in after a 20-year-old opened up about the depression he's suffering in Western Australia. The young Aussie man captured the attention of thousands this week when he described the country as lonely and expensive with 'poor water quality' and a brutal work culture. And Daily Mail Australia readers agree, with many saying they too are struggling - especially when it comes to maintaining and forming friendships as an adult. 'I'm nearly 40 and have barely any new friends outside of old school friends and some work colleagues,' one woman admitted. Another, in their 70s, warned that isolation only gets worse with age until couples find themselves alone with only their partner for company. Younger people agreed, and believe the problem is 'pretty standard' in Australia and likely due to the nation's 'obsession with work'. 'It's a sad state of affairs, it used to be such a socially fun and connected place to live - now we just work, work, work,' a woman said. Aussies and expats have said that big cities such as Sydney and Perth can be notoriously difficult places to make new friends But there were some cities that were named and shamed as having the 'worst' offenders. 'Since the 90s Sydney has always been clique-y and impossible to make new friends in. Most people are either so up themselves or jealous, so they won't give you the time of day,' one observed. 'Getting into the northern beaches community is next to impossible, even if you are Anglo-Aussie. You must be born there and your parents lived there for decades,' a resident agreed. Others claimed that Australians of different backgrounds had it the toughest when it came to breaking into new friendship circles. 'Multicultural Australia is very fractured, ethnic groups including Aussies are unlikely to accept you if you are an outsider,' a man said. A woman agreed and said these were 'utterly unattractive and unappealing qualities'. She thought that culture Down Under was so 'regressive' it is 'absurd'. 'Explains so much, I'm packing my bags imminently, this confirmed what I already knew, you guys can have it [Australia],' a man ranted. One woman said it was impossible to break into the community on Sydney's norther beaches - even if you were an Anglo Australian Others defended the country, with many suggesting those who aren't happy just up and leave. 'Australia is not compulsory,' he wrote. The man who posted the original Reddit thread was overwhelmed by the traction his rant had. While he is from an African family he has lived in Western Australia since he was a baby. He loves the education, safety and healthcare Down Under but he has found himself incredibly lonely despite being a naturally 'bubbly' person. 'Making and keeping friends here is very hard as many people tend to keep their school/work/uni friends around which can be very cliquey,' he wrote on Reddit. '"Hey would should totally catch up" is said on a regular basis, when usually its just a courtesy to not straight up decline an invitation to hang out.' He has tried visiting beaches, parks, and workshops but nothing changes - with everyone in their 'little groups' still reluctant to engage with strangers. The young man, who thinks 'adulting sucks', also pointed to the harsh cost of living and the fact that Aussies definitely live to work, and don't work to live. 'I just need to know if anyone else feels the way I do about living here?' he asked. Those experiencing depression and loneliness can reach out to various support services such as Beyond Blue Australia. Approximately 100 million cups of tea are made every day in the UK, however, Yorkshire Tea has revealed many may be brewing the British staple the wrong way. The experts at Yorkshire Tea shared a step-by-step guide for how to make the perfect brew and the one common mistake people make that could leave their cuppa tasting bitter. Before filling the kettle, the tea lovers said to run the tap for a few seconds, so the water becomes aerated. The water in the kettle should only ever be boiled once to keep the oxygen levels which enhances the flavour of the tea. Brits online have long debated whether the tea bag goes in the mug before or after the boiling water. Approximately 100 million cups of tea are made every day in the UK, however, Yorkshire Tea has revealed many may be brewing the British staple the wrong way While many believe tea bag first and water second is the only correct way, other hit back saying they prefer the opposite. However, as reported by the Mirror, Yorkshire Tea put the argument to rest confirming its better to put the tea bag in first and giving it a brief stir. They said to add the tea bag first, pour hot water over the top and stir briefly. If youre making a brew for a group and using a teapot, the Yorkshire tea specialists recommend swishing boiling water inside the pot to warm it up. Discard the water before filling the teapot then add one to two tea bags depending on the size of the pot then give it a stir. Tea drinkers will have to be patient and let the bag sit in the water for four to five minutes to unlock the flavour. When taking the tea bag out of the water, its recommended to only give it one small squeeze on the side of the mug. Yorkshire Tea gurus claim mashing the bag too vigorously will leave your tea tasting bitter. The experts at Yorkshire Tea shared a step-by-step guide for how to make the perfect brew and the one common mistake people make that could leave their cuppa tasting bitter When it comes to personalising your brew, the tea masters said to customise your cuppa however you wish. They prefer a splash of semi-skimmed or whole milk but said to use as much or as little milk, sugar, honey, lemon, or nothing at all to suit your tastes. Another divisive row, Yorkshire Tea put to rest was when milk should be added to the mug. Miffy is the nickname given to those who opt for milk first while people who add a splash last are called Tiffys. Yorkshire Tea experts have sided with the Tiffys exampling tea brews best in very hot water so adding milk first will lower the temperature and it wont infuse effectively. If brewing in a teapot, the order of the milk doesnt matter, its all about personal preference. However the tea debate doesn't stop there as last year Britons were divided over the colour of a perfect cup of tea - with thousands of commenters weighing in with their views online, and claiming others should be 'medically examined' if they disagree. The debate was sparked after the account VeryBritishProblems on X - formerly known as Twitter - which boasts 3.9 million followers, shared a photo showing a gradient of brews with different tea-to-milk ratios The debate was sparked after the account VeryBritishProblems on X - formerly known as Twitter - which boasts 3.9 million followers, shared a photo showing a gradient of brews with different tea-to-milk ratios. 'The correct choice is E3', the caption read. 'I trust therell be no further discussion on the matter'. The post has racked up nearly 10 million views, as more than 1,900 made their feelings clear in the comments. 'E3? Why not just have a cup of sump oil? B2 is the answer,' one slammed. 'It's tea. It's supposed to be bland'. 'Anything besides F6 isn't coffee', another added. 'In the UK you can never tell if it's tea or coffee,' a third chimed in. 'I'm very sorry to admit that E3, or even E4 looks reasonable to me,' one brave commenter from overseas wrote. 'But who am I to blend into this British discussion as a continental coffee lover.' Others were disgusted with some of the teas on offer, remarking that: 'A1 is just a cup of milk', and another even saying they were 'pretty sure my toddler drinks A1'. More cultural differences were illustrated when one Twitter user revealed: 'I remember the first time up here in New York when I was working an outdoor job and someone said do you want a regular coffee? And I said yeah. 'I didn't know what a regular coffee was. It was so light and had so much sugar. I couldn't drink it'. This prompted a reply asserting: 'Tea with sugar is basically sugary water. Save the teabags'. Another joked: 'Anyone that says A1 should be be medically examined and then publicly shamed'. With good weather famously fleeting in the British summertime, were all keen to dig out our strappy dresses and bikini tops while the sunshine lasts. But for many, the excitement about getting a long-awaited tan might be stymied by self-consciousness over breasts that arent quite as pert as they once were. Last week, Susan Sarandons daughter Eva Amurri revealed she had been reduced to tears after cruel trolls maliciously proclaimed that her breasts had looked droopy in her wedding photos. The 39-year-old mother of three said she had been left taken aback by the onslaught. Its only natural that our breasts change over the years, affected by everything from breastfeeding to ageing to weight fluctuation; its inevitable that you wont have the same bosom at 60 that you had at 25. But if youre worried about sagging, is there anything that you can do about it - and without having to resort to surgery? Eva Amurri revealed she had been reduced to tears after cruel trolls said her breasts looked droopy in her wedding photos Joanna Wakefield-Scurr, professor of biomechanics and head of the research group into breast health at Portsmouth University, explains that the condition is called ptosis in the medical world and is measurable by degrees. A so-called normal breast will have the nipple pointing forwards, in line with the breast crease where the breast and chest meet. Grades one and two (mild ptosis) describe the natural slide as the breast tissue drops and the nipple starts to point diagonally downwards. When your nipple sits at the bottom of your breast, pointing towards the floor, thats grade three (significant ptosis). This infuriating downward slide is hardly surprising when you consider that the average 34D breast weighs nearly 500g, and a G-cup as much as 2kg. All this weight, meanwhile, is held in place by nothing more than a flimsy network of ligaments (called Coopers ligaments) and skin. Professor Wakefield-Scurr, the UKs only bra professor, says nipple position is highly individual, and breasts can start to droop at any time regardless of bra size or life stage. She explains your ability to keep your breasts in position high on your chest will depend on many factors. Some women simply have good genetics, with plentiful collagen fibres on their face and chest, which helps maintain skin elasticity. However, controllable factors can also lead to your boobs losing their perk. Sun exposure and smoking can damage the skin over the years, eventually degrading its supple quality and ability to support the breasts. Going without a bra, too, can put too much pressure on the skin and ligaments and cause them to irreversibly stretch. And of course, gaining and losing weight causes the breast to expand and shrink, so the supportive tissues become damaged. Act quickly and you might just be in time to prevent or slow the sagging process, but if its already too late and youve become self-conscious, these expert tips might provide a little much-needed lift... Personal trainer Lucy Askew recommends incorporating chest strengthening exercises into your workout routine twice a week Build your pecs Although the pectoral muscles that run across the chest and sit behind the breast tissue cannot actually lift sagging breasts, they can improve the overall shape (particularly if you have lost volume at the top of the breast) and so help to disguise the downwards slide. Lucy Askew, a personal trainer based in the Cotswolds who specialises in training women in their 40s and 50s, recommends incorporating chest strengthening exercises into a twice-weekly exercise regime. The chest muscles help ensure optimal movement through the shoulders and torso, she says, but an aesthetic bonus of well-formed pectorals is a softly rounded shape to the top of the breast, which can help fill out any lost volume and give the impression of a lift. She suggests adding postural exercises into the mix too (stand with your back against a wall, send your arms into the air and bring your elbows down so your arms are in a cactus position aiming to keep your elbows against the wall). Laser treatments and microneedling can be costly but effective for targeting mild sagging Microneedling and laser beams Mild sagging on smaller breasts can benefit from laser treatment (such as Laser Erbium YAG at drjoneydesouza.com) which heats the breast tissue to stimulate collagen production and encourage skin tightening. Alternatively, a combination of microneedling and radio frequency rays (such as Morpheus 8 at drdavidjack.com, BreastTite at drtatiana.co.uk or Skintight at drducuclinics.com) can be used to stimulate collagen production in a similar way. A non-surgical breast lift like this can be achieved with amazing results and no downtime, says surgeon, Dr Ducu Botoaca. However patients with heavy or pendulous breasts will not be suitable candidates. Be warned that repeated treatments can also be costly; Skintight costs from 700 to 1,000 per session, with patients normally requiring one to three sessions every eight weeks. Professor Wakefield-Scurr warns results from creams are more likely to be superficial than actually offering measurably enhanced lifting power Anoint with creams Professor Wakefield-Scurr says she believes our skin plays the single most important role in supporting the chest and much of the droop that happens over time can be blamed on a natural loss of structure and elasticity in that skin. Not surprisingly, there is a big market in gels and creams that claim to nourish and tighten the skin that covers the chest, and so lift the bust. From the inexpensive (Palmers Cocoa Butter Formula Bust Cream, 5.99) to potentially more sophisticated (Revision Skincares BodiFirm at 158) these creams claim to visibly firm, lift and tone the skin of the decolletage, improving the look of crepey skin and improving the appearance of sun damage. However, Professor Wakefield-Scurr warns results are more likely to be superficial (rejuvenating the skin) than actually offering measurably enhanced lifting power. Physiotherapist Sammy Margo warns that slouching makes your breasts seem more saggy than they really are Sit up straight It is very common for bigger busted women to curve their upper back in a bid to hide their chest, and the weight of heavy breasts can make slouching seem more comfortable. But, says physiotherapist Sammy Margo, by allowing your shoulders to drop forwards like this, your breasts will inevitably drop down towards your waist and will seem much more saggy than they really are. By sitting and standing up straight, engaging the muscles of the upper back to pull your shoulders back, you will naturally lift your chest, she says. The more often you do this, correcting your poor posture and pulling your tummy in tight at the same time, the more you will strengthen the postural muscles which hold you in correct alignment. The end result is not just a lifted bust, but a dramatically reduced risk of neck and back problems as you go through life. Thread treatments, which are often used to lift jowls, can sometimes enhance the appearance of smaller breasts Thread lift Some clinics offer a thread lift procedure whereby dissolvable threads are inserted beneath the skin and gently pulled causing the tissues to lift and tighten. The procedure, which is often used to lift jowls, may help to enhance the appearance of smaller breasts. The threads create a supportive structure, stimulating collagen production as they dissolve, improving the texture and elasticity of the skin in that area. Treatments cost from 890 per session (with up to five sessions recommended for benefits to extend beyond two years) www.cosmeticskinclinic.com. Many women report breast shrinkage when they lose weight, which means there is less potential for drooping Lose weight Bigger breasts put greater strain on the supportive tissues and are more likely to sag. Many women report breast shrinkage when they lose weight, meaning there is less potential for drooping - but extreme weight loss can leave loose, unsupported skin. However, Professor Wakefield-Scurr says this doesnt happen to every woman. Breast tissue is made up of individually varying percentages of fat and glandular tissue, she explains. If your breasts are 80 percent fat they will get smaller as you shed body fat, but high density breasts can comprise as much as 80 percent glandular tissue which is unaffected by weight loss. Professor Wakefield-Scurr recommends setting aside a few hours for a bra fitting and being prepared to try on up to 30 different sizes and styles Get a proper bra fitting Invest in a professionally fitted supportive set of new bras to provide an instant and effective breast lift under clothes. Marks and Spencer offers a free bra fitting service in lots of its stores. Professor Wakefield-Scurr recommends setting aside a few hours and being prepared to try on up to 30 different sizes and styles. She recommends an underwired or balconette shaped bra for maximum lift, and a full cup for support. The bra should fit snugly around your rib cage and enclose your breasts fully within the cups/fabric with no bulging or gaping at the top or the sides. Take a tight T-shirt into the changing room and check your profile in the mirror there should be no sagging in sight. Regularly tightening up the straps on bras can be enough to give your bust an instant lift Hoick up those straps Elasticated bra straps inevitably stretch over time, particularly if you machine-wash or dry your lingerie, which means regularly tightening up the straps can be enough to give your bust an instant lift. Watch out if this adjustment causes the bra to rise up your back, warns Professor Wakefield-Scurr, explaining that the chest band of your bra or bikini top must be snug to the chest to offer maximum support. 80 percent of a bras support comes from that back band but if the elastic has stretched the weight of your breasts might pull it down at the front allowing the back to ride up meaning your bust will appear to be lower, she says. Her studies show that 25 washes is enough to reduce the support any bra can offer, which means if you wash your bra twice a week, it wont be working optimally to lift your chest after just three months of wear. A dentist has shared her number one hack for how to reverse tooth decay in its early stages - and it means you can 'eat all the sweets you want'. Dr Shaadi Manouchehri, from London, said the simple routine can be done once a day after brushing your teeth. 'Get a little bit of fluoride toothpaste and get your interdental cleaning brush and coat it with the toothpaste,' she advised. The doctor then took the coated brush, pushing it into the spaces between the teeth. Dr Manouchehri explained that this would deliver 'much-needed' fluoride between the teeth, which is the 'number one spot where cavities begin'. The dentist of ten years said it was important not to eat for 30 - 60 minutes after applying the toothpaste, so that it can better work its magic. The hack promises cleaner and healthier teeth and can even undo some existing damage. 'It can actually reverse decay in it's early stages,' she said. Dr Michael Cai, a Sydney dentist, spoke to FEMAIL about the controversial attitude around fluoride based toothpaste, insisting it is safe to use and the best option for anyone with signs of tooth decay Many agreed they 'need to try this' - and dentists backed her advice as well. 'Wow, I've been telling my patients this for years! I do it all the time - love my interproximal brushes,' one dentist said. 'I have been doing this for years, works 100 per cent!' another chimed in. Others said they follow a similar dental routine, but simply use floss coated with fluoride toothpaste instead of an interdental cleaning brush. Some, however, were outraged at the recommendation to use fluoride toothpaste. The controversial ingredient is still seen as 'unsafe' by some despite dentists and health experts in Australia encouraging its use in small amounts. 'As soon as you said fluoride, I'm out!' one woman said. 'It's shocking the way she's advertising it!' another woman agreed. Sydney dentist Dr Michael Cai from Pitt Street Dental spoke to FEMAIL and said it's perfectly safe to use. 'Studies have shown that fluoride reduces the risk of cavities, when it was introduced into water supplies there was a reduction in dental decay all over the world,' Dr Cai said. He explained that fluoride is like anything else in life, excessive amounts can cause harm to health, but it is not toxic in small amounts. 'Natural toothpaste is not as effective as fluoride toothpaste,' he said. 'In patients where there is a history of dental decay we see a dramatic increase in cavities when using natural toothpaste as compared to people using fluoride toothpaste.' Dr Cai did say it's fine for people with healthy teeth and no cavities to opt for fluoride free toothpaste, but those with tooth decay should steer clear of natural brands. A British university student treated extreme sunburn abroad, 'died for 25' minutes after medics discovered he had a rare heart condition. Charlie Vincent, from Irthlingborough, Northamptonshire, flew to the US state New Hampshire in June to work at a summer camp teaching kids how to canoe. But his first day on the water left him badly sunburnt, resulting in second-degree burns on his legs. However, this was only the start of what would become a serious medical emergency for the 20-year-old. Taken by camp leaders to a nearby hospital, medics found Mr Vincent had pneumonia, a serious lung infection, and he was sent into surgery to remove damaged tissue. But while on the operating table, the De Montfort University film student suffered a cardiac arrest and mini stroke, with his heart stopping for 25 minutes, his family claim meaning he was medically dead. Charlie Vincent (pictured), from Irthlingborough, Northamptonshire, flew to US state New Hampshire in June to work at a summer camp teaching kids how to canoe But on just his first day on the water he was badly sunburnt, resulting in second-degree burns on his legs. However, this was only the start of what would become a serious medical emergency for the 20-year-old Taken by camp leaders to a nearby hospital, medics found Mr Vincent had pneumonia, a serious lung infection, and he was sent into surgery to remove damaged tissue. Pictured, Mr Vincent with his dog The source of the problem turned out to be Mr Vincent's enlarged heart, a medical issue that, up until that moment, the young man was unaware he had. Medically called cardiomegaly, an enlarged heart means the organ has to work harder than normal. Medics believe Mr Vincent has likely had a condition that triggers cardiomegaly since birth. Recalling the traumatic ordeal, his sister Emily, said: 'At one point, I just couldn't see a way that Charlie was going to make it, it was absolutely heart-breaking, it was hell.' DANGERS OF AN ENLARGED HEART An enlarged heart (cardiomegaly) isn't a disease, but rather a sign of another condition. The term 'cardiomegaly' refers to an enlarged heart seen on any imaging test, including a chest X-ray. Other tests are then needed to diagnose the condition causing your enlarged heart. You may develop an enlarged heart temporarily because of a stress on your body, such as pregnancy, or because of a medical condition, such as the weakening of the heart muscle, coronary artery disease, heart valve problems or abnormal heart rhythms. Certain conditions may cause the heart muscle to thicken or one of the chambers of the heart become larger. Depending on the condition, an enlarged heart may be temporary or permanent. Treatment for an enlarged heart can include medications, medical procedures or surgery. Mayo Clinic Advertisement The 24 year-old, who remained in the UK while her parents kept her updated from the US, added: 'It's definitely a miracle that he's still here. 'I think the hospital he has been in has given him the most amazing care and without that, I don't think he would have made it. 'On the first day he got sunburnt really badly and he had second-degree burns all over his legs. 'Over the next few days he got worse, he must have had heatstroke and started to feel really poorly.' Ms Vincent said doctors were unsure how Charlie had contracted pneumonia. But it was suspected his undetected heart condition was made worse by the respiratory infection, triggering his mid-surgery heart attack and stroke. 'When they tried to operate, that's when he died and it took them 25 minutes to bring him back to life,' she said. After being revived he was eventually transferred to the Tufts Medical Centre in Boston, Massachusetts, where he was put in an induced coma for around a week. Ms Vincent added: 'Once he had gone to the second hospital where they started to do more investigations, they told us he had an enlarged heart and the size of his heart continued to grow. 'They think this issue was something he would have had since he was a child but it took something like an infection to bring it out like that but we were none the wiser. 'He's always been a healthy boy, he's never showed any issues with his heart before, so it was just crazy to us for him to deteriorate so quickly.' Cardiomegaly isn't a heart disease in itself but rather an indicator of another condition. An enlarged heart, which affects an estimated 18million Americans and hundreds of thousands of Brits, occurs when the heart has trouble pumping blood efficiently. For this reason, a person with cardiomegaly has an increased risk of heart failure or stroke compared to normal. People with cardiomegaly may not have any symptoms until their condition becomes more severe. These can include shortness of breath, chest pain, heart palpitations, dizziness and even fainting. While on the operating table, the De Montfort University film student suffered a cardiac arrest and mini stroke, with his heart stopping for 25 minutes, his family claim meaning he was medically dead. Pictured, Charlie with his sister Emily, 24 The source of the problem turned out to be Mr Vincent's enlarged heart, a medical issue that, up until that moment, the young man was unaware he had. Medically called cardiomegaly, an enlarged heart means the organ has to work harder than normal. Pictured, Charlie with his parents Joe and Sue Vincent and their dogs A GoFundMe page set up by his family to help cover the cost of his treatment and travel costs for his parents, has raised more than 13,000 since July Remarkably, given his ordeal, Mr Vincent has escaped with no brain damage. But doctors have said he may need a triple organ transplant for his heart and both kidneys in the future if his organs fail to recover from the trauma they experienced. Ms Vincent added: 'We were told he was in a critical condition, even the doctors were so scared for him, and having no one out there must have been terrifying for him. 'He is my rock and he always has been, so it was very difficult to think of a life without Charlie. She said: 'It has been a miracle in terms of how quickly he's made a turnaround and the care the hospital has given has been incredible. A GoFundMe page set up by his family to help cover the cost of his treatment and travel costs for his parents, has raised more than 13,000 since July. They do not know if his insurance, worth up to $500,000 dollars (390,000), will cover his medical bill given how 'advanced' his treatment has been. Many people believe that life is easier for pretty people. But studies suggest that beautiful women have it harder in the workplace than average-looking women or men, Wendy Patrick, a criminal attorney and lecturer in the Fowler School of Business at San Diego Statue University, said. Good-looking women are seen as less trustworthy, more manipulative and 'dangerous'. On top of that, pretty women are more likely to be objectified, putting them in positions where their career is compromised, Dr Patrick explained. Studies suggest that pretty women are seen as less competent in masculine roles and are seen as less trustworthy leaders, Dr Patrick said This stems from primal feelings of jealousy and competition Dr Patrick, wrote in a column for Psychology Today. 'Highly attractive women can be considered as dangerous,' Stefanie Johnson , an associate professor of Organizational Leadership and Information Analytics at University of Colorado who has studied the topic, told the San Diego Union Tribune. It's not all bad news for pretty people. A 2022 Harvard study suggested that attractive people are more likely to perform better in job interviews and earn more money than average looking people. Also, people who were rated as attractive even as a teenager were found to be more likely to earn more than their parents 20 years later than those not rated attractive, in a 2023 study from the Polish Academy of Sciences. However, these benefits were much more pronounced for men than for women. Even if attractive women have an advantage in landing a new position, it can be harder for them to prove that they earned their position and deserve to keep it. Two influential studies have cemented this idea, Dr Patrick said. The first, published in 2012 by Professor Susanne Braun, who specializes in psychology and leadership at Durham University Business School in the UK found that attractive women were seen as less competent when applying to 'masculine jobs' like construction. The second study of this kind was published in 2018 by Professor Johnson and Leah Sheppard, an assistant professor at Washington State University, and made waves across headlines. It asked study participants to review the performance of both attractive and unattractive men and women announcing hypothetical layoffs. They also were asked whether that person should be fired. The authors found that participants ranked attractive women as more deserving of being fired, less trustworthy and less truthful than their male counterparts and unattractive female counterparts. This, the study authors suggested, is due to ancient evolutionary instincts - wherein women are taught to see attractive counterparts as competition and men are taught to see attractive women as desirable, but potentially untrustworthy. 'We suspect its the trope of the evil seductress: a subconscious anxiety among people of both sexes that beautiful women will use their looks to manipulate people, mostly men,' Professor Sheppard told the Harvard Business Review. In addition, there's the obvious factor that attractive women are more likely to be objectified sexually than non attractive women - which can lead to dangerous and unprofessional situations in the work environment, Dr Patrick said. It's not impossible to overcome these biases, Dr Patrick said. It might just take pretty people longer to win their colleagues over than average looking people. 'Physical attractiveness is only one aspect of the workplace experience. Kind, compassionate, gracious behavior can outweigh appearance biases,' Dr Patrick said. The head of the UK armed forces is sitting on an extraordinary pension pot worth an estimated 4.5million. Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, the Chief of the Defence Staff, is in line for an annual income of around 200,000 and a 470,000 lump sum when he retires. On top of his salary of 295,000-300,000 - up some 20,000 from 2022-23 - Sir Tony's perks also cost the taxpayer 114,500 in 2023-24. That was an increase from 94,900 previously. They are thought to include a grace-and-favour residence, although the MoD did not give details. The huge package, revealed in the latest departmental accounts, comes amid fears about funding for the UK's military and criticism of squalid accommodation. Keir Starmer has committed to hiking defence funding to 2.5 per cent of GDP with alarm raised about the growing threat from Russia and China, but not given any timescale. Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, the Chief of the Defence Staff, is in line for an annual income of around 200,000 and a 470,000 lump sum when he retires The huge package, revealed in the latest departmental accounts, comes amid fears about funding for the UK's military and criticism of squalid conditions for troops The latest MoD accounts show the CETV - the future cost to the taxpayer of servicing Sir Tony's gold-plated retirement - has swelled to 4.54million Sir Tony's total remuneration package in 2022-23 was worth an eye-watering 1.1million, largely due to a massive 740,000 upgrade to the valuation of the 58-year-old's pension pot. The latest accounts show the CETV - the estimated total cost to the taxpayer of servicing his gold-plated retirement - has swelled to 4.54million. He is due an income, in today's prices, of 195,000-200,000 when he retires, putting him well into the top rate of tax. Sir Tony will also be able to take a lump sum of 465,000-470,000. A Ministry of Defence spokeswoman said: 'There has been no significant increase in pensions payments to the Chief of Defence Staff role.' 'The pension benefits disclosed represent the accrued pension value in line with an individuals' defined pension scheme rights.' Sources suggested Sir Tony's benefits in kind were in line with the previous year, despite the accounts showing a sharp rise. Significant salary rises from when he was promoted to the top job in November 2021 are largely responsible for the expansion of Sir Tony's pension pot. Under the Armed Forces Pension terms from the time Sir Tony joined, personnel can accrue a pension of up to four-sevenths of their highest annual salary in the final three years of service. There are no contributions and pensions can be taken from age 55, or deferred and actuarily increased. Sir Tony's total package in 2022-23 was worth an eye-watering 1.1million, largely due to a massive 740,000 upgrade to the valuation of the 58-year-old's pension pot They are also entitled to a tax-free lump sum worth three times that annual pension. The scheme was revised and made less generous in 2015. Sir Tony will not receive any immediate extra payment as a result of the higher CETV estimate. But there have been mounting concerns about the sustainability of public sector pensions in the long term. Bill Gates was like a 'kid in a candy store' with young pretty Microsoft interns, so much so that they were banned from being alone with him, an upcoming book claims. Intimate details of the billionaire's relationships with women are set to be exposed by New York Times journalist Anupreeta Das, who writes that Gates' infidelity left his wife Melinda 'seething for a long time.' Bills calendar would allegedly include blocks of time which were for unexplained reasons, and his security staff were once overhauled by Melinda because she felt they were enabling him. In upcoming book Billionaire, Nerd, Savior, King: Bill Gates and His Quest to Shape Our World, it is claimed that the Gates' marriage finally hit breaking point in 2019 when his connection to pedophile Jeffrey Epstein came to light. An upcoming book has opened the lid on billionaire Bill Gates' relationships with women, including the alleged reasons for his divorce from wife Melinda, pictured together in 2018 Gates' ex-girlfriend Ann Winblad allegedly hoped to seduce the magnate into marriage, but on a romantic getaway he was reportedly more interested in reading biographies The look inside Gates' private life began with how he blew his chance of marrying a tech entrepreneur before he married Melinda by spending a romantic weekend at her cottage reading a biography of Henry Ford. The book claims that the Microsoft founder bungled his chances with Ann Winblad, an early female tech entrepreneur, even though she tried to court him. Winblad was hoping to plant the marriage seed in Gates mind so invited him to her holiday home in North Carolinas Outer Banks with two friends and their two-year-old daughter. But Gates spent the entire weekend reading the biography of Henry Ford and only took breaks to ride a gun buggy, according to Das' book. Despite this, Gates persuaded his wife Melinda French Gates to let him visit Winblad alone for one weekend a year at that same cottage. The bizarre arrangement was one of many occasions when Gates had questionable or inappropriate contact with women, writes Das. According to the book, Melinda Gates became motivated to divorce her husband after his relationship with pedophile Jeffrey Epstein was exposed She says that Bill cheated on Melinda many times and was like a kid in a candy store with young women at Microsoft, so much so that young interns were banned from being alone with him. After Bill's connections to Epstein came to light in 2019 - which he claims were purely for philanthropic reasons - Melinda reportedly began consulting lawyers about splitting up their $150 billion. She formally filed for divorce in 2021 and called her marriage of 27 years and three children irretrievably broken. The document revealed that the Gates did not sign a prenup but did sign a separation agreement covering the distribution of their assets which left Melinda with more than $6 billion. Melinda and Bill met at Microsoft in 1987 when she was a product manager and Bill was technically her boss. It wasnt until 1993 that they got engaged, followed by a marriage ceremony in Hawaii the following year. But before then, Winblad was a potential Mrs. Gates who wanted to settle down and start a family, according to the book. They met in 1984 and dated for three years and Winblad was seen as Bills mental equal with conversations about bioengineering and physics while they were on vacation together. Following his divorce, Gates began a relationship with philanthropist Paula Hurd, the widow of former Oracle CEO Mark Hurd Long before broadband internet, they would watch movies together while in different places by synching up their viewing then calling on the phone about it afterwards. Winblad, an early investor in Microsoft and one of Silicon Valleys first female tech entrepreneurs, hoped it would lead to a lifelong partnership. Das writes: Hoping to plant the marriage seed in Gates mind and introduce him to the joys of family life, she invited Mitch Kapor, the Lotus founder, his then wife and their two-year-old baby for a visit to her cottage to the Outer Banks in North Carolina. Gates spent the entire weekend immersed in a biography of Henry Ford, although he did take a break or two - to ride a dune buggy. Winblad and Bill did remain so close however that he continued spending one weekend with her - alone - each year, an arrangement which continued after his wedding. He sought Melindas blessing which she appears to have given, one early concession towards Bills relations with women which Das writes would leave her steadily more unhappy over the years. Das claimed that by the time Melinda filed for divorce, she had been seething for a long time about the unequal nature of their marriage. She had been seething about his numerous infidelities too and upset about how she wasnt treated with respect at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the charitable enterprise that bears both their names Melinda Gates met Bill in 1987 while she was a young worker at Microsoft, where he was technically her boss According to the upcoming book, Bill was allowed to spend one weekend a year at his ex-girlfriend's home, as their marriage was described in 'contractual' terms During meetings Bill could cut Melinda off, leaving her quietly fuming. When Melinda tried to stop Bill from droning on during meetings, he found it difficult to take her advice, leading to tense moments that were awkward for everyone in the room. People who worked with Bill in the early days of Microsoft said it was well understood that he had not factored children into his life. Bill was consumed by Microsoft and some of his peers wondered what kind of husband and father he would make. Coworkers were tired of his monomaniacal focus on work, joked that married life would slow him down, Das writes. Bills early days at Microsoft were marked by parties at strip clubs after work - the all male teams that he worked on were oblivious to how bad it seemed. Das writes that before his marriage, Bill was often besieged by women who wanted to date him and staff at Microsoft who hoped to catch his eye by wearing Marry Me Bill t-shirts. A former senior Microsoft employee said he was like a kid in a candy store at the office. Das writes: Well into his marriage it was not unusual for Gates to flirt with women and pursue them, making unwanted advances such as asking a Microsoft employee out to dinner while he was still the companys chairman. ...Gates flirted with some of the interns at the Gates Foundation, putting them in the uncomfortable position of having to think about their career prospects while not wanting to be hit on by the boss. 'In one instance a colleague chastised one person for sending a 22-year-old intern to Gates office by herself, saying: Shes too young and too pretty. Gates approaches to women were clumsy rather than predatory according to people who saw them firsthand. He did not prey on women and ask them for sex in exchange for prompting their new career, but instead was charming, respectful and just fun, according to a former Microsoft executive. Hes not Harvey Weinstein. I know of no real situation in which anyone got anything for sleeping with Bill, the executive said. Following her relationship with Gates, Ann Winblad went on to found the venture capital firm Hummer Winblad Venture Partners Instead Bill displayed a certain naivete in his interactions with women, mistaking engaged conversation for mutual interest'. But Melinda became increasingly unhappy about putting up with it. According to Das, Bills calendar would include blocks of time that were ostensibly personal meetings into which few people had visibility. She writes: More than a decade ago, there was a sweep of Gatess personal security team because they were enabling him to be places where (Melinda) didnt know he was at. Such was Melindas paranoia about Bills affairs that she ordered their housekeepers not to give out his direct number when other women called the house. This led to an awkward moment when a female acquaintance of Bills called and asked to speak to him - the housekeeper eventually told her the reason she couldnt give it out. Das says that the Gates went through marital counseling in the early to mid 2000s after the birth of their youngest child, Phoebe, led them to go through an especially rough patch But Gates assumed his behavior would have no consequences and did not appear to have changed his ways. According to Das, the end of their marriage was due to different notions about the meaning of a marital contract. Melinda felt that she genuinely believed being married would make a difference because of her deep belief in its sanctity. Bills friends however said that, as Bill saw it, love and marriage can often mean two different things Das writes: One former associate of Gates pointed out the difference between marrying someone and committing to exclusivity in that marriage, comparing it to an arrangement (Warren) Buffet had with his first wife, Susan Buffett, who left him but arranged for a companion for her husband. Buffett remained married until Susans death in 2004. When the Gates' marriage hit rough patches, a former associate reportedly pointed to the marriage of Warren Buffet, whose wife left him but arranged a companion for her husband Das writes: It was hardly a sparkless or joyless marriage (for Gates). There were plenty of moments of mirth and affection that he was unfaithful to her multiple times over the years. The book says that while Bill did love Melinda, he didnt think he would ever lose her.' One source said that the divorce had been coming a long time, adding that Melinda does nothing that isnt intentional. Among the other previous allegations against Bill is one from a female Microsoft engineer alleged in a letter to the companys board that she had a sexual relationship over years with him that began in 2000. The Microsoft board hired an outside law firm to investigate and eventually Bill stepped down from the board of directors. Speaking to CBS after the divorce, Melinda said that she made it very clear to her former husband that he should part ways with Epstein after she met him in 2013. He ignored her and it became an intolerable stress when Epstein was arrested in 2019, putting intense focus on his connections to wealthy and powerful men, including Bill. Melinda said: I wanted to see who this man was and I regretted it from the second I stepped in the door. He was abhorrent, he was evil personified, I had nightmares about it afterwards. My heart breaks for these young women because thats how I felt and Im an older woman. My god I feel terrible for those women, its awful. He was awful. In response to the allegations in the book, Gates' representatives told DailyMail.com in a statement that the book relies 'almost exclusively on second- and third-hand hearsay and anonymous sources.' 'The book includes highly sensationalized allegations and outright falsehoods that ignore the actual documented facts our office provided to the author on numerous occasions,' the statement read. 'Mr. Gates has previously stated his deep regret for ever meeting with Epstein, who he met with for discussions regarding philanthropy only.' An Australian couple accused of murdering their teenage lodger so they could steal her baby is currently facing trial after they were arrested 20 years on from the alleged crime. Robert and Anne Geeves, both 64, pleaded not guilty to the murder of 19-year-old Amber Haigh, who vanished from the Geeves household in New South Wales in 2002. Haigh, who was mentally impaired, was lodging with the couple along with her then-five-month-old son - fathered by Robert, and was last seen in public on June 2, 2002. The Geeves claim that on June 5 they drove her to a train station close to Sydney so she could visit her father, who was terminally ill in hospital. The teenage mother never arrived at the hospital and was never seen again. Her case remained cold for years until Australian police arrested Mr and Mrs Geeves in May 2022, almost exactly two decades later after Haigh's disappearance. Now grisly details of the case have emerged, with prosecutors alleging the couple used Haigh as a 'surrogate mother', before killing her and disposing of her body. Investigators also discovered the Geeveses had bought a chainsaw around the time of Haigh's disappearance, having found the butt of a cheque they used to pay for it. Amber Haigh (pictured) vanished without a trace in 2002. Her body has never been found Amber Haigh (left) and Robert Geeves (right) who fathered the baby Amber's son was just six-months-old when his mother vanished without a trace Haigh was reported missing on June 19, 2002 after failing to return to her home in Kingsvale, close to Harden in New South Wales, where she and her five-month-old son had been living with the Geeves family. Police were told the pair dropped the young mother at Campbelltown train station on June 5 that she intended to travel from there to Mt Druitt in western Sydney to visit her sick father in hospital. A coroners inquest in 2011 found Haigh died as a result of homicide or other misadventure in June 2002, and police, suspecting the Geeves' involvement in the crime, installed listening devices in their home. But they were never able to gather enough evidence to charge the couple. In 2020 a formal review of the case was conducted under the Homicide Squad's Unsolved Homicide framework, and a fresh investigation was launched, culminating in the arrest of Robert and Anne Geeves in May 2022. During the trial, now in its seventh week, the Australian court heard how Haigh 'adored' her young son and was said to 'never let him out of her sight' - a characterisation that raised doubts she would leave the baby with the Geeves while she left alone to visit her father. Prosecutors told the court the couple had one son - who had previously dated Haigh - but desperately wanted another child, having given birth to a stillborn baby after enduring three miscarriages. Haigh's son was fathered by Robert with whom she had a sexual relationship - but a family counsellor that met with Haigh months before her disappearance told the court she was 'a very vulnerable young woman' who 'would have difficulty in understanding the difference between love and exploitation'. In her client notes turned over to the court, counsellor Emma Badlock revealed that Haigh deeply loved her son, and was fearful that the Geeves would try to gain sole custody of him. 'Amber states that if Anne and Robert try to get (her child) because they want a baby - she will tell them to ''back off'',' the notes read. The Guardian reported that Haigh and Robert Geeves are said to have signed a handwritten agreement which stipulated that Geeveses would not attempt to take custody of the child, unless Haigh were to bring the boy into contact with members of her own family. Haigh had a 'dysfunctional' relationship with her extended family, the court heard, and is said to have been subjected to violence and sexual abuse. Anne Margaret Geeves (pictured during her arrest) and her husband pleaded not guilty to the murder of their teen flatmate Another key part of the prosecution's argument is evidence that Mr Geeves called a slew of rural properties nearby their house around the time of Haigh's disappearance, asking whether he could access their land to borrow farm equipment or collect wood. 'The crown case theory is that it was always the intention of the Geeves to assume the custody and care of (the child) from Amber,' crown prosecutor Paul Kerr told the court in his opening. 'But they knew that to do that, Amber had to be removed from the equation so the crown asserts they killed her.' The Geeveses pleaded not guilty to their murder charges and have consistently denied any involvement in Haigh's disappearance. Lawyers for the couple meanwhile argue the prosecutors' case against their clients is riddled with flaws, that they have no clear evidence the Geeveses murdered Haigh and put the speculation over their involvement in her disappearance down to 'distaste' over Robert's sexual relationship with 'a much younger woman with intellectual disabilities'. 'Many witnesses harboured grievances or suspicions particularly against Mr Geeves... who denies being in any way involved in (Haigh's) disappearance or murder,' lawyer Paul Coady told the court. Another member of the Geeves' legal team added that Anne Geeves had 'no motive to kill Amber or wish her dead' and dismissed the case against them as being fuelled by 'mistrust and suspicion'. Haigh was reported missing on June 19, 2002 after failing to return to her home in Kingsvale, close to Harden in New South Wales, where she and her five-month-old son had been living with the Geeves Amber Haigh is seen in 2002, the year she disappeared Lawyers also derided testimony from one witness, a former legal secretary, that claimed Haigh feared for her life and wanted to make out a will while she was pregnant to prevent Robert from ever getting custody of the child. Legal secretary Rebecca Pisaturo-McMillan testified that Haigh came to legal offices in August 2001, claiming she needed the document 'for the safeguard of her child'. '[Ms Haigh] was very straightforward and adamant that once her child was born her life would be taken,' Pisaturo-McMillan told the court. But defence lawyer Coady retorted that none of the secretary's physical notes from her meeting with Haigh made any mention of her fearing for her life, and suggested this was because Haigh never actually made any comments about it. He went on to claim the legal secretary had 'mixed up' evidence following years of negative press and rumours about the Geeves. Last month, the Geeves' son Robbie was called as a witness by the prosecution. He did not accuse his parents of killing Haigh, but said that his relationship with them had been irrevocably damaged after his father impregnated the teenager, whom Robbie had previously dated. 'I don't know how to say it in a nice way: she was my ex-girlfriend, you can't have a baby brother to your ex-girlfriend it's not right,' he declared. The Geeves are facing a judge-only trial at the request of their legal team, who say the media storm over their alleged involvement would have affected the jury given the length and notoriety of the case. The trial, presided over by justice Julia Lonergan, is still ongoing. Peter Hitchens has slammed the 'dangerous' discussion of Islam as 'some kind of nameless threat' amid the violent riots that have exploded in the wake of the Southport stabbings. The columnist joined Andrew Pierce on the Mail's talk show, The Reaction, to discuss the storm that erupted over false claims that the 17-year-old boy accused of murdering three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed party was a Muslim. Fake claims that the suspect, now named as Axel Rudakubanu, was an asylum seeker who arrived in the UK on a boat have fuelled riots in Southport, London, Manchester and Hartlepool this week. Rudakubana, charged with three counts of murder and 10 counts of attempted murder, was born in Cardiff to Rwandan parents in 2006 before his family relocated in 2013 to the quiet Lancashire village of Banks - a 15 minute drive from Southport. The Reaction host Andrew said: 'It occurred to me that while people were raging that potentially this boy might be Muslim, actually when you look at the religious breakdown of Rwanda, 92 per cent of Rwanda is regarded as Christian.' Peter replied: 'It's a really strange thing that are people using the word Muslim in this way. Peter Hitchens (pictured) has slammed the 'dangerous' discussion of Islam as 'some kind of nameless threat' amid the violent riots that have exploded in the wake of the Southport stabbings There were riots outside a mosque in Southport after the stabbing frenzy which claimed the lives of three young girls Southport stabbing suspect Axel Rudakubana, now 17, pictured as a child, is charged with murdering three little girls and harming 10 others 'I am a practicing, communicative Christian member of the Church of England. I differ on large and important theological matters with Muslims, and in fact, rather enjoy discussing it with them. 'And I've had many, many conversations, including in that strange programme I took part in last year, in which I was in a pretend prison. 'One of my cellmates was a very serious Muslim, and we discussed it a lot, and at one point we ended up praying alongside each other. 'I take Islam very seriously as a faith... I don't welcome some of its precepts, particularly its attitude towards women. But the way in which so many people now speak of it as if it was some kind of nameless threat seems to be dangerous and also possibly coded for something else. 'And I think that we have to recognise that we now have brothers and sisters living in our society who have a different religion from the one that we may have grown up with.' Responding to Andrew suggesting that the 'M word is a term of pejorative abuse' for some people, Peter said: 'There is that. And then there is the suggestion that someone, because they are Muslim, is perhaps more given to taking part in terrorist acts than other people. 'And of course there have been Islamist terrorists, and there will be Islamist terrorists again. 'But I think that to jump from that to this sort of wider suspicion and attitude seems to me to be a mistake, a very large mistake.' Andrew said that the anger on the streets of Southport was 'stirred up by deliberate misinformation on the internet', adding: 'They even invented names for the alleged assailant. The Reaction host continued: 'People in some of these communities where there is a very large ethnic population feel the integration hasn't happened, and they feel they're strangers in their own towns and cities. And that is a big problem, and that's going to get worse.' Peter agreed, saying that this has 'political causes' including the 'encouragement of multiculturalism by the British state' particularly in areas such as education. He said that this has sometimes led to former communities 'living in separate solitudes with their backs turned upon one another'. 'And that is undoubtedly a grave political and social mistake which needs to be put right and which we we have to face,' he added. 'But it doesn't in any way excuse the sort of behaviour which we saw in Southport.' Rudakubana appeared in Liverpool Crown Court today charged with the three murders of Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine. The teenager is also accused of attempting to kill eight children, along with dance teacher Leanne Lucas, 35, and businessman John Hayes. Conservative hardliner and powerful Freedom Caucus Chairman Bob Good shockingly lost his seat in Congress following a recount of his contentious primary against Trump-backed John McGuire. The Virginia lawmaker's burn-it-all-down tactics in the House has made enemies out of colleagues including former President Donald Trump and former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy - who he ousted last year. The initial race on June 18 had been so close that it took weeks for the results to come out and Good funded the recount himself. But ultimately it did not make up for the nearly 400-vote gap of 62,000 votes cast and the Associated Press called the race for McGuire on Thursday night. With 99 percent of votes tallied, McGuire took the win by just 393 votes and now the Freedom Caucus will be forced to elect a new chair. In a concession message, Good boasted that he'd been the 'strongest and most consistent voice in the House for protection of life from contraception.' Conservative hardliner and powerful Freedom Caucus Chairman Bob Good shockingly lost his seat in Congress following a recount of his contentious primary against Trump-backed John McGuire The right-wing Freedom Caucus chair lost the support of the president when he initially endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over him. He also turned off a number of House colleagues when he voted to oust Kevin McCarthy from the speakership. He earned the ire of Trump after endorsing Ron DeSantis in the contentious GOP presidential primary. Trump never forgot that and worked to actively rally voters against Good calling him 'bad for Virginia and bad for the USA.' 'He turned his back on our incredible movement, and was constantly attacking and fighting me until recently, when he gave a warm and 'loving' Endorsement - But really, it was too late,' Trump wrote onTruth Social before election day. Despite the heat from the former president, Good was one of a handful of right wing lawmakers who traveled to Manhattan on May 16 to support Trump in his criminal trial. McGuire went to New York to court Trump's support that same day. Trump conducted a tele-townhall for McGuire on the eve of the primary to further stick the knife into Good. In June, a fellow Freedom Caucus member, Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, even endorsed Good's opponent. The caucus typically likes to put on a united front. Davidson was later ousted from the caucus after wading into the race. Trump tore into Rep. Bob Good and endorsed his primary challenger John McGuire on Tuesday morning, days after the Freedom Caucus leader went to New York to support him at trial Incumbents who Good endorsed against like Rep. William Timmons, R-S.C., showed up to door-knock for McGuire in the days before the primary. 'Bob Good has done more to undermine and divide Republicans than any Democrat. I congratulate John McGuire on a huge win for the GOP. Goodbye Bob Good,' Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., posted on X after the initial primary. The race attracted more spending by outside groups - $10.7 million - than any other Virginia races. By comparison, the candidates themselves only spent $1.7 million. Such groups spent some $5.9 million either opposing Good or supporting McGuire. McGuire, a former Navy SEAL, state senator and election denier who attended the 'Stop the Steal' rally on January 6, 2021, had the backing of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., who traveled to his district to tell voters Good is a 'traitor' to Trump. On the other side, Steve Bannon backed Good, and told voters in his district 'this isn't about Trump' and the primary challenge was spurred by Good's McCarthy opposition. Good leads the roughly 50-member hard right Freedom Caucus, which is comprised of some of Speaker Mike Johnson's biggest Republican antagonists. Reps. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., and Chip Roy, R-Texas, had come out in support of Good, Greene has supported his challenger. Rep. Derrick Van Orden traveled to the district to support McGuire - as did Armed Services Chair Mike Rogers. Trump's former chief of staff Mark Meadows supports Good. 'Bob Good didn't come here to govern. He came here to be famous,' Van Orden, a Wisconsin Republican, told CNN. 'Bob Good's wearing our jersey, and he's not on the team.' Good was one of a handful of right wing lawmakers who traveled to Manhattan on May 16 to support Trump in his criminal trial. McGuire went to New York to court Trump's support that same day Good, meanwhile, had local backing in the district's GOP committee. Rick Buchanan, the chairman of the district's GOP committee, told Cardinal News in May that a Trump endorsement 'wouldn't move the needle that much.' 'If you listen to McGuire's campaign, then yes, [Trump] is the issue, because McGuire has nothing else,' Buchanan said. 'I'm not seeing where he takes a stance on any real issue, except Bob Good's no good, and Bob Good is not a Trump supporter, which is a lie. That's why he's got the name McLiar.' Buchanan said Good is trying to run to the right of Good, but 'there is no position to the right of Bob.' 'McGuire has no place to run, he has no issues that he can stand on that Bob hasn't already taken a stand on.' A controversial new play that features scenes so graphic that some audience members have been left queasy has had the seal of approval from most fans. London's Almeida Theatre was forced to halt its showing of The Years for ten minutes earlier this week while queasy guests were given medical treatment. Another male audience member shouted 'disgrace' during Monday night's showing after claiming there were no prior warnings about its gruesome content. But when MailOnline visited we found the audience were largely supportive - despite scenes which they admitted were 'visceral' and 'absolutely brutal'. Despite the fainting episode, most of the largely female audience were unfazed by the gory sight of stage and screen star Romola Garai acting out an attempted do-it-yourself termination with a knitting needle. London's Almeida Theatre was forced to halt its showing of The Years for ten minutes earlier this week while queasy guests were given medical treatment Despite the fainting episode, some audience members were unfazed by the abortion scene Hannah Saxby, 22, described the production as 'visceral', adding: 'It was explicit but I thought it was powerful. I'd read the trigger warnings' The play has been called 'daring' and 'beautiful' after its controversial abortion scene Eline Arbo's play traces the evolution of women's rights during Normandy-born Ms Ernaux's lifetime, covering issues like the pill, abortion and divorce. Monday's fainting episode came during a special preview when a man in the front of the stalls indicated that he was feeling faint during Ms Garai's abortion scene. Other audience members called staff and he was taken outside to the bar, where he was joined by others left feeling ill. Witnesses also claimed that another ticket-holder shouted from the circle that the scene 'was a disgrace' and claimed 'there was no warning'. But last night ticket-holders at the theatre in trendy Islington were equally unperturbed by the actor's fake blood-smeared thighs at the end of the scene. And the mostly-female audience giggled at the scenes of sex and masturbation during the two-hour portrait of French writer Annie Ernaux's life. Afterwards, they heaped praise on the production which opened this week and also features Bafta-winning Our Friends in the North star Gina McKee. Hannah Saxby, 22, described the production as 'visceral', adding: 'It was explicit but I thought it was powerful. I'd read the trigger warnings. 'It's interesting in that it's rare to see women on stage being sexual with each other, especially of a certain age. I thought that was quite provocative in a good way.' She said the story - which charts the Nobel Literature prize-winner's life from the 1940s to the Millennium - left her feeling 'engaged'. Five different female actors play Ernaux - who is 83 and suffered a turbulent love life - at different ages from childhood to late middle-age. Hannah added: 'It made me think about my mum and my grandma and myself in a way that I don't tend to reflect on in everyday life. It was sad, kind of.' Her friend Joe explicit Flynn, 24, added: 'In moments it was beautiful. Ticket-holders at the theatre in trendy Islington were equally unperturbed by the actor's fake blood-smeared thighs at the end of the scene Nathan Lwanga, 26, said: 'At the beginning, I didn't really understand what was happening' 'I liked how it was different actresses playing the same character, so I loved how they each got a go tell part of the story. In moments it was beautiful. 'I thought it was really well done, it was really well made, I love the ending. I'm not too sure I got it all - but I don't think that's because I'm a man.' Nathan Lwanga, 26, said: 'At the beginning, I didn't really understand what was happening. 'Once I got into it I thought it was really well directed, well acted, quite life-affirming. 'We saw this person go through life's adversities, and all the craziness that was happening in the past, yet she still turned out pretty ok. I found that comforting as a concept.' Asked if he would recommend it, he said: 'Not to everybody, because it was quite graphic - but like to my peers, yeah.' Bridgerton actor Florence Dobson and her director friend Helen Iley were in the audience to see another of their friends, Harmony Rose Bremner, perform in the play. Harmony, daughter of Transporting star Ewen Bremner, completed the cast with fellow newcomer Anjli Mohindra and veteran Deborah Findlay. Florence, 26, told MainOnline: 'It's experimental and daring and challenging. The mostly-female audience giggled at the scenes of sex and masturbation during the two-hour portrait of French writer Annie Ernaux's life Witnesses also claimed that another ticket-holder shouted from the circle that the scene 'was a disgrace' and claimed 'there was no warning' 'You know some people are going to be alarmed or taken aback by it but I think that is personal to the truth of what is being shared. 'I didn't know what I was letting myself in for. Harmony is a dear friend and so she's been very, very sort of NDA almost about it. 'They've not been told not to say anything about it, but the magic of it needed to be held and nurtured in that space. 'It feels like a time capsule and every decade that was experienced was necessary. It was very powerful to see and clever. There were moments of joy.' Helen, 27 added: 'It was so epic in a space that felt so intimate as well. 'It meant you can find those relatable moments within the bigger scale of what was going on. It made it feel so profound yet so relatable. 'Where it was more visceral was in the language rather than the visuals. I felt it was so well done. I found it so wonderfully raw and honest.' Martin Burrows, 75, said: 'I didn't think the abortion scene was any more horrific than anything else I'd seen in the theatre. 'I didn't think it was happy or sad, but to somebody of my age, it was true to life and the feelings one have. 'She doesn't seem to like men. All the men in the play were just sexual beings. They didn't seem to have any personality or character or function.' But another audience member, who did not want to be named, said: 'Yes, I enjoyed it, but yes, it was absolutely brutal.' A theatre statement said: 'The performance on Monday of The Years was stopped for 10 minutes so that our front of house team could provide care for an audience member who required assistance. 'During the stoppage, care was also provided for three other audience members. All audience members were quick to recover after brief assistance.' The statement added that warnings were in place on the Almeida website's booking page, in pre-visit emails, and on the front of house signage.' Lawyers representing Liberal senator Linda Reynolds have told a court it was unfortunate she called former staffer Brittany Higgins a 'lying cow', but say it was defensible as she had a 'right of reply' when being defamed. A blockbuster defamation trial between Senator Reynolds and her former staffer has kicked off in Perth, with the senator making a last minute request to amend her claim to include WhatsApp messages sent by Ms Higgins. After multiple failed mediation hearings, the pair will ask the Supreme Court of WA to decide whether a series of social media posts shared by Ms Higgins and her husband, David Sharaz, were defamatory of the West Australian senator. The couple shared posts in 2022 and 2023 which were critical of Senator Reynolds' handling of Ms Higgins' allegation she was raped in Parliament House in 2019 by her then-colleague Bruce Lehrmann, and of the Senator's public reponse to Ms Higgins' Commonwealth compensation payment. Mr Lehrmann was charged and faced trial in 2022, but the trial was aborted over juror misconduct and the charge was dropped shortly after. Mr Lehrmann had pleaded not guilty and has maintained his innocence. The five-week blockbuster trial will be heard before Justice Paul Tottle. Linda Reynolds told reporters outside court that she was 'confident' about the case 'Lying cow' Representing Senator Reynolds, Martin Bennett likened Ms Higgins' The Project interview to a charade, telling the court it was aired to 500,000 viewers and was 'tearful'. He claimed Ms Higgins told Lisa Wilkinson that she had revealed the alleged rape in the first meeting with Senator Reynold's chief of staff, Fiona Brown. But Mr Bennett told the court this couldn't be true as it conflicted with information that was reported in a story on news.com.au. 'It is just nonsense, you add two and two and get ten,' Mr Bennett said. 'Nonsense, an exaggerated fiction.' He told the court it was nonsense that Ms Higgins said the senator avoided her while they were in Perth. Ms Higgins had been invited to Senator Reynolds' home and to other events, Mr Bennett told the court. 'When Senator Reynolds watched The Project she was horrified for her and Ms Brown,' Mr Bennett said. Senator Reynolds called Ms Higgins a 'lying cow' in front of staff in her office after Ms Higgins went public with the rape allegation, but the senator quickly retracted the comment and apologised. Mr Bennett told the court while it wasn't an appropriate response, Ms Reynolds was angry about being accused of something so contrary to her value systems. 'When you are attacked publicly and defamed you have a right of reply,' he told the court. WA Liberal senator Linda Reynolds is suing Brittany Higgins for defamation. She arrived at court flanked by husband Robert Reid (left), lawyer Martin Bennett (red tie) and entourage In addition to apologising to Ms Higgins, the senator also paid $10,000 to a rape crisis centre. 'She did that because people might have thought she downplayed the veracity of her rape allegation,' Mr Bennett said. After the senator apologised, she also entered into an agreement with a non-disclosure clause, which Mr Bennet said Ms Higgins forgot about. 'She stood back to allow the criminal prosecution to proceed,' Mr Bennett said. 'Social media as press releases' Mr Bennett ended his closing address by saying he believes Ms Higgins' defence lawyers will say Senator Reynolds' reputation was already damaged and her tweets 'didn't have much of an effect'. 'They will trivialise that they were harmless posts and up for less than 24 hours,' Mr Bennett said. 'Higgins and Sharaz used their social media tweets as press releases. The media that erupted meant that everyone of their carefully curated press releases were widely picked up by mainstream media. 'Mishandling is a weasel term, I could mishandle a cup and break it, how is mishandling a matter that imputes damage to Senator Reynolds' character, so people think less of her. 'The debate is between the imputation, between the truth, not her truth.' He said it was 'quite significant' Mr Sharaz is not giving evidence in the proceedings. Conspiracy and a cover-up Representing Senator Reynolds, Martin Bennett told the court there was a degree of 'sophistication and planning' by Ms Higgins to damage his client's reputation. The court heard Justice Lee had made public a five-hour interview between Ms Higgins, Mr Sharaz, The Project's Lisa Wilkinson and a producer of the show. The interview showed that a detailed plan had been made, Mr Bennett claimed. 'Is this Linda's time? Please let it be Linda's time,' one message between the group read. Mr Bennett said Ms Higgins and Mr Sharaz also prepared a 'dossier' which was sent to politicians and told the court they sent messages to Labor senators to ask his client during Question Time. He claims Ms Higgins had researched scandals in politics needed to find someone to be the villain. 'That person was Linda Reynolds, and the behaviour was the coverup,' Mr Bennett said. Drafts from a book Ms Higgins was writing told how she had 'war gamed' a meeting with the Prime Minister. 'Here I am in the mud, throwing mud in the news cycle, I am fighting for control of the daily news cycle,' Mr Bennett quoted from the book. He said Ms Higgins showed a 'degree in sophistication and planning' before defaming his client. The former defence minister is suing Ms Higgins over a series of social media posts she says damaged her reputation Linda Reynolds' blistering message on arrival Ms Reynolds arrived at the WA Supreme Court just before 10am on Friday. She was surrounded by her legal team, with husband Robert Reid holding her hand. She did not stop to talk to reporters outside the court, but briefly answered questions as she walked, saying she was feeling 'confident the truth was about to be told - it's well and truly time for the truth.' Brittany Higgins' defence team arrived at court shortly afterwards. Her lawyer Rachel Young did not respond to questions, and did not confirm if Ms Higgins would be in attendance. The former Liberal staffer is reported to be returning to Australia from France at some point to give evidence. Senator Reynold's claim Ms Reynolds has alleged in her statement of claim that Ms Higgins and Mr Sharaz's posts suggested the senator had engaged in a 'campaign' of harassing Ms Higgins and failed to support Ms Higgins after her rape allegation. The document claimed that they asserted that Ms Reynolds wants to 'silence victims of sexual assault' and engaged in questionable conduct during Mr Lehrmann's trial. Ms Reynolds further alleges the 'intense questioning' she faced in the Senate in the wake of Ms Higgins' rape allegation being aired on The Project exacerbated a previously undiagnosed cardiac condition. The senator said she was hospitalised in March 2021 as a result of 'the stress caused by the Project broadcast and the aggressive questioning of her in the Senate which was a direct consequence of the conduct of the defendant'. Court told of 'poolside' Higgins To squash claims made by Ms Higgins that she felt alone and isolated while working for the senator in Western Australia, Mr Bennett provided photographs, text messages and social media posts to the court arguing they proved otherwise. Ms Higgins could be seen in photos campaigning with fellow Liberal staffers and socialising with colleagues while she was working for the senator in Perth. Several text messages made by Ms Higgins were also provided to the court, which Mr Bennett said indicated Ms Higgins had enjoyed her time in Perth. 'My day has been awesome, mostly spent poolside,' one message read. He also showed Ms Higgins at Liberal Party events with former Prime Minister Scott Morrison. She could also be seen in photos at a birthday dinner for Senator Reynolds at the Pan Pacific Hotel the night before the election. 'We had a solid chat,' Ms Higgins said in a text message, referring to a conversation she had with her boss. 'She even shouted everyone dinner, this is awesome.' The next day, Ms Higgins can be seen in photographs handing out election material at polling stations. 'There she is two people away from the senator smiling and clapping,' Mr Bennett said showing a photograph after the election results were called. 'Event, after event, after event, all of which could have been provided to the Commonwealth, Mr Bennett said. 'This is not a woman in a hotel room seven days a week ostracised, this is a young woman going out and enjoying it.' Brittany Higgins was caught on CCTV after she passed through security on the way to senator Reynolds' office with Bruce Lehrmann The security breach The senator's legal team have told the court that when Ms Higgins was called into Senator Reynolds' office for a meeting after the alleged rape, the senator had no idea the incident had allegedly occurred in her office. Mr Bennett said the only information the senator had at the time was that Ms Higgins had told chief-of-staff Fiona Brown 'he (Mr Lehrmann) was on top of me.' Mr Bennett told the court the senator also knew facts that were given to her in a report about a security breach, after Mr Lehrmann and Ms Higgins' entered the ministerial office on the night of the alleged rape. The report stated her staff members had accessed a secured area without authorisation, were inebriated and Ms Higgins was found naked. Mr Bennett told the court an alleged sexual assault became apparent days later when Ms Higgins spoke to police. 'That is significant,' Mr Bennett said. 'What the senator is not told is that it occurred on the couch.' Mr Bennett said it was not fair to allege the senator made Ms Higgins attend a meeting where the alleged rape took place because Senator Reynolds did not know the location of the incident at the time. He told the court Ms Higgins' perception of how real it might be is not basis for facts. 'The sexual assault had never been disclosed before, she knew it happened in her suite of offices, but not in her office,' he argued. WhatsApp request Senator Reynolds made a last minute request to amend her claim to include WhatsApp messages sent by Brittany Higgins to a journalist and to her husband. Ms Reynolds' legal team, led by Martin Bennett, said they had an application to amend the statement of claim relating to two recent publications from Ms Higgins. The senator's legal team wants to see messages Ms Higgins sent to her husband David Sharaz and to a journalist at news.com.au, but they have been deleted from Ms Higgins' electronic devices. Ms Higgins has claimed that her WhatsApp messages are automatically deleted once they are sent and she is unable to provide the publications in question. Ms Reynolds' legal team wants Mr Sharaz to provide the messages, but he refuses to hand them over, the court heard. Mr Bennett said they had received an unsworn affidavit from Ms Higgins' defence lawyer Carmel Galati, that was the subject of the application. 'While Ms Higgins is enjoying life in France, she doesn't have time to swear an affidavit,' Mr Bennett said. Ms Higgins was awarded $2.4m for her personal injury claim, relating to her rape allegation against Bruce L:ehrmann (pictured) and the alleged handling of it by the government The compensation payment Mr Bennett argued that any person who read an article published on news.com.au on the day Ms Higgins signed a compensation deal with Commonwealth would automatically have thought the allegations made by Ms Higgins were true. He told the court the article referred to a confidential mediation session that was held with the Commonwealth, in which Ms Higgins was awarded $2.4m in response to her personal injury claim, related to her rape allegation and the alleged handling of it by the government. Within the claim were allegations about her treatment while she had been working for Ms Reynolds. Mr Bennett said allegations made against the Senator were damning, but Ms Reynolds was never given the opportunity to defend herself or her staff. 'The Commonwealth denied (Ms Reynolds) mediation,' Mr Bennett said. 'That is why this is so important, because the claims made by Brittany Higgins were false.' Villain in the story Every fairytale needs a villain, and that's how Senator Reynolds had been cast by Brittany Higgins and her husband David Sharaz, Mr Bennett told the court in his opening statement. 'Their fictional story involved allegations of cruel treatment, ostracization, bullying, harassment and threatening conduct, he said. 'She was cast in this critical light and none of it was true.' Reynolds 'protective' of Higgins When Senator Reynolds found out Mr Lehrmann and Ms Higgins had accessed her ministerial suite she was angry with Mr Lehrmann. The court heard Mr Lehrmann had only worked for the senator for a short time after he had transferred from Senator Bridget McKenzie's office Mr Bennett told the court Senator Reynolds had thought Mr Lehrmann was 'shifty'. When she knew more about what happened on the night of the alleged rape, Mr Bennett said Senator Reynolds had been 'protective' of Ms Higgins. He said the senator was protecting Ms Higgins when she told Ms Brown to contact the Australian Federal Police. 'Ms Higgins couldn't remember, she was obviously upset about something and there was likely to be something of a sexual nature that had occurred,' he said. 'She was furious at Lehrmann to take advantage of an intoxicated young staffer. 'She told Ms Brown to go to the AFP, and Ms Brown to her credit said 'it's Brittany's choice, her agency'.' Higgins' defence In documents released by the Supreme Court, Ms Higgins revealed she will argue the social media posts were substantially true, and that she was sharing her opinion on 'a matter of public interest'. Ms Higgins (pictured with husband David Sharaz) is expected to return from France during the trial to give evidence Ms Higgins claims in the documents that Ms Reynolds had shared 'confidential correspondence' with media which included an internal government departmental email marked 'sensitive: personal' relating to the multi million-dollar payout Ms Higgins received in compensation following the alleged rape. Ms Higgins further claims the senator engaged in a 'campaign of harassment' against her by providing the 'confidential information to the media' regarding mediation and complaints to the Commonwealth, as well as 'directly or indirectly' questioning her personal injury claim against the Commonwealth. The trial is set down for five weeks. Ms Higgins is expected to return to Australia from France to give evidence, and other high profile witnesses, including former Prime Minister Scott Morrison, are also expected to appear. Britain is in 'a state of grey warfare with Russia', the former head of MI6 has warned, after a Russia-linked social media account spread lies about the alleged Southport attacker. Sir Richard Dearlove said people don't 'understand the danger that we are in' as he called for greater awareness of how online misinformation is 'a fundamental tactic' in Russia's conflict with the West. His comments came after a Mail investigation revealed that a Russia-linked social media account amplified incorrect information about the identity of the Southport suspect. The false claims were viewed an estimated 27 million times and social media firms were last night under mounting pressure to explain why they were allowed to spread so widely. The Mail can reveal that Channel3 Now, which claims to be based in the US but has paid for high-end privacy protections, started life 11 years ago as a Russian YouTube channel that posted videos of rally-driving in the snow in Izhevsk, a Russian city about 750 miles east of Moscow Sir Richard Dearlove said people don't 'understand the danger that we are in' as he called for greater awareness of how online misinformation is 'a fundamental tactic' in Russia's conflict with the West The allegations were leapt on by Russian state media and hard-Right activist Tommy Robinson (pictured: Russian President Vladimir Putin) Sir Keir Starmer warned large social media giants 'violent disorder clearly whipped up online is also a crime and it is happening on your premises'. The rumours swirling online led to violent disorder in Southport and cities across the country, days after three little girls were stabbed and dozens more injured at a Taylor Swift dance class. Seventeen-year-old Axel Rudakubana appeared in court yesterday charged with three counts of murder and 10 counts of attempted murder. False information about the defendant was spread online by Channel3 Now, which purports to be a US media site that shares its articles across various social media platforms including X (formerly Twitter), TikTok, and Facebook. But Channel3 Now originally started 11 years ago as a Russian YouTube channel posting videos of rally racing in a city known as the 'Armory of Russia'. The drivers named in the posts appear to have connections to the country's defence and IT industry, including a former KGB operative who has since served in Russia's State Duma. Speaking to LBC radio, Sir Richard said the website appears to be 'one of the sources of this sort of activity out of Russia'. A police van was set on fire near a mosque in Southport on Tuesday evening as riots broke out A group of protesters, many with Union Jack and England flags, clash with police outside Downing Street on Wednesday 'We are in a state of grey warfare with Russia. We may not feel that we are, they certainly feel they are, and the information space to the Russians - the exploitation of that space - is a fundamental tactic in their conflict with the West,' he said. 'So if these bots have been used to stir up, through social media, a violent response, I'm not the slightest bit surprised. 'People don't seem to understand the extent of the Russia attitude to conflict and the way that every aspect of their relationship with us will be seen as a basis for attacking us.' Sir Richard said the people responsible for spreading the lies have an 'open instruction to exploit opportunities as they identify them'. 'They're not going to get political clearance from Putin to do this,' he said. 'It's just part of the nature of the way that they're set up, and what they're told to do, and they have their instructions. They carry them out, and they're not going to act particularly with restraint.' Adam Hadley, Executive Director of Tech Against Terrorism, said there was lots of 'suspicious activity' online in the hours leading up to the Southport riots, including accounts calling for people to congregate in the city only hours after being set up. 'We think of bullets and bombs, but we need to be thinking about tweets. We need to think about how online content plays into information warfare,' he said. Leading members of the Cabinet have had housing targets slashed in their own constituencies, despite a Government push to build hundreds of thousands of new homes in the rest of the country. Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner told MPs this week that 'we must all play our part' in tackling the housing crisis, as she published new mandatory targets which will see housebuilding rise sevenfold in some areas. Critics have warned that the targets, produced by a controversial computer algorithm, will lead to a public backlash in communities forced to take many more homes than they can cope with. But analysis of the new figures reveals that many leading members of the Cabinet will have housing targets cut in their own constituencies. Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner told MPs this week that 'we must all play our part' in tackling the housing crisis, as she published new mandatory targets which will see housebuilding rise sevenfold in some areas Leading members of the Cabinet have had housing targets slashed in their own constituencies, despite a Government push to build hundreds of thousands of new homes in the rest of the country Your browser does not support iframes. BRISTOL: Where Treasury chief secretary Darren Jones is an MP, the target has been trimmed from 3,378 to 3,057 In Camden, where Sir Keir Starmer is an MP, the annual target for new homes has been trimmed from 2,842 to 2,715. In Redbridge, where health secretary Wes Streeting is an MP, the required number of homes has been slashed by more than a third from 3,682 a year to just 2,270. Foreign secretary David Lammy will also see a sharp fall, with the annual target for new homes cut by a fifth from 3,431 to 2,716. Outside London, work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall will see the target cut for Leicester slashed from 2.435 per year to just 1,690. In Sheffield, where transport secretary Louise Haigh is an MP, the annual requirement has been cut from 3,036 to 2,667. In Bristol, where Treasury chief secretary Darren Jones is an MP, the target has been trimmed from 3,378 to 3,057. Housing minister Matthew Pennycook will see one of the biggest reductions in the country, with the target for new homes in Greenwich falling from 4,077 to 2,396 - a reduction of more than 40 per cent. CAMDEN: Where Sir Keir Starmer is an MP, the annual target for new homes has been trimmed from 2,842 to 2,715 In Redbridge, where health secretary Wes Streeting is an MP, the required number of homes has been slashed by more than a third from 3,682 a year to just 2,270 Your browser does not support iframes. Foreign secretary David Lammy will also see a sharp fall, with the annual target for new homes cut by a fifth from 3,431 to 2,716 While some Cabinet ministers, such as Chancellor Rachel Reeves and education secretary Bridget Philipson, will see housing targets rise, the overall outcome for the Cabinet differs sharply from that of the shadow cabinet, where senior Tories face having to absorb huge numbers of additional new homes in their constituencies. In North Yorkshire, where Rishi Sunak is an MP, the previous target to build 1,361 homes a year has been trebled to 4,232. In shadow home secretary James Cleverly's constituency in Braintree, Essex, the annual target has jumped by a quarter from 813 homes a year to 1,098. In Waverley, in Surrey, where Jeremy Hunt is MP, the annual requirement has almost doubled from 710 to 1,374. Shadow education secretary Damian Hinds see a similar rise in his East Hampshire constituency, where the annual target jumps from 575 to 1,074. Ms Rayner admitted the changes were 'not without controversy' and acknowledged the algorithm meant that some areas would 'get a surprising target'. But she said 'no method is perfect'. Overall, targets for Tory-run councils increased by an average of 43.3 per cent, while those for Labour authorities went up by an average 7.2 per cent. Government sources denied that the new housing allocations were deliberately targeted at Tory areas, saying the algorithm was based on factors like demographics and affordability. WAVERLEY: In Waverley, in Surrey, where Jeremy Hunt is MP, the annual requirement has almost doubled from 710 to 1,374 Your browser does not support iframes. Chancellor Rachel Reeves and education secretary Bridget Philipson, will see housing targets rise In shadow home secretary James Cleverly's constituency in Braintree, Essex, the annual target has jumped by a quarter from 813 homes a year to 1,098 But critics said much of the distortion was due to a decision by ministers to scrap an 'urban uplift' imposed by the last government in a bid to ensure more homes were built on brownfield land and in big cities where demand is highest. In London, where many senior Labour ministers are based, this has led to a reprieve for Labour mayor Sadiq Khan, who never came close to hitting the previous target to build almost 100,000 new homes a year in the capital. This has now been slashed by 20 per cent to 80,000, although this is still double the current building rate of 38,000 a year. Ms Rayner's department last night acknowledged that housing delivery under Mr Khan had 'fallen well short of what is needed' but said the new target had to be 'credible'. Mr Cleverly accused Ms Rayner of a politically motivated cop out, saying: 'We need to build more homes in urban areas like London, massively increasing densification. Labour would rather concrete over the greenbelt than make Sadiq Khan do his job.' Sam Richards, chief executive of pro-growth campaign group Britain Remade, said it was 'a mistake' to slash London's housing target. 'London has Britain's most acute housing shortage, and cities across the world show that 100,000 homes per year can be done,' he said. But Ms Rayner described the previous London housing target as 'arbitrary' and 'complete nonsense'. She told MPs: 'The target we're now setting for London - roughly 80,000 - is still a huge ask but I know it's one that the mayor is determined to rise to.' Tucked away in an unassuming corner of Tahoe, California, sits a culinary gem that was once happy to remain a little-known secret while quietly making waves in the foodie community. But Smoke Door, an unassuming Japanese restaurant, has quickly captured the hearts (and palates) of America's elite, earning it a coveted spot among the nation's top eateries. Chef Tyler Burges, 36, a San Diego native with deep roots in Japanese culinary traditions, is the driving force behind Smoke Door. After honing his skills in Michelin-starred San Francisco kitchens, Burges went to study in Japan where he immersed himself in traditional cooking techniques. His innovative approach to cooking, combining classic and contemporary methods, involves harnessing the power of embers to infuse dishes with a unique smoky flavor profile. This ancient technique, combined with the fresh, highest-quality ingredients, elevates the simplest meals. Smoke Door's commitment to sustainability is also evident, with a strong emphasis on local and seasonal ingredients. Tucked away in an unassuming corner of Tahoe, California , sits a culinary gem that was once happy to remain a little-known secret while quietly making waves in the foodie community. Smoke Door, an unassuming Japanese restaurant, has quickly captured the hearts (and palates) of America's elite, earning it a coveted spot among the nation's top eateries Burges told SFGATE he always wanted to open a destination restaurant where visitors would go out of their way to eat at. While cities like San Francisco, Portland and Seattle have had a demand for fine-dining experiences, Burges 'wanted to make something different there, that was out of the ordinary, kind of special...the spot you go to on your vacation, like, the one spot.' Having had an affinity for Tahoe, Burges did not hesitate when he and his business partner Ryu Amemiya were presented with an opportunity to open their second US location in the long vacated Crystal Bay, an area Burges described as a 'diamond in the rough.' Rather than utilizing in-your-face marketing tactics to make it known that Smoke Door had opened a new location, Burges allowed the food to speak for itself. In fact, the restaurant wanted to purposefully remain hidden at first, maitre d' Ria Kimper told the Tahoe Daily Tribune, six months after Smoke door first opened. Simply put: 'If you do quality food, if you do good things, then good things will come. I don't think you need a big sign in front of the door,' Burges told SFGATE. Chef Tyler Burges, 36, a San Diego native with deep roots in Japanese culinary traditions, is the driving force behind Smoke Door. After honing his skills in Michelin-starred San Francisco kitchens, Burges went to study in Japan where he immersed himself in traditional cooking techniques (Pictured: first dish of 10 course meal - the gold osetra caviar) The restaurant's minimalist aesthetic mirrors the chef's philosophy a focus on the dish. The restaurant's minimalist aesthetic mirrors the chef's philosophy a focus on the dish. An intimate dining room, which seats 30 guests, and attentive service creates a sense of exclusivity that is both inviting and sophisticated. The tasting menu is a carefully curated progression of flavors, showcasing the chef's mastery of technique and his deep respect for seasonal ingredients. Tahoe Editor Julie Brown Davis from SFGATE and her husband decided to try the 10 course tasting menu. The inaugural course was golden osetra caviar, paired with creamy tofu, a refreshing leek gelee, and complex seaweed oil. The second course, avocado toast, an otherwise unassuming and basic menu item, was elevated by the intentional assortment of herbs and its crisp base - an unexpected highlight. Burges's innovative approach to cooking, combining classic and contemporary methods, involves harnessing the power of embers to infuse dishes with a unique smoky flavor profile (Pictured: Porkbelly) Pictured: Toyosu Fish, paired with a watermelon radish and light plum broth - making a simple dish provide a symphony of flavors by harnessing the right ingredients The third round, simply named Toyosu Fish, was paired with a watermelon radish and light plum broth - once again making a simple dish provide a symphony of flavors by harnessing the right ingredients. And that's not even the halfway point - you'll have to find out the rest for yourself. While Smoke Door has garnered critical acclaim, it remains a hidden gem, accessible only to those in the know. Reservations are highly sought after, and the restaurant's low profile adds to its mystique. Disgraced former BBC newsreader Huw Edwards groomed a cash-strapped young man and paid him 2,000 for sexual photos - before raging when he only received a topless selfie. The 62-year-old paedophile initially tried to impress the young man with photos from the News at Ten Studio before then sending him selfies from outside Windsor Castle as he fronted the BBC's coverage of Harry and Meghan's wedding in 2018. Edwards pestered the starstruck fan, then 21, for nude selfies and lashed out at him when he didn't get what he wanted. After seeing Edwards plead guilty to making indecent images of children, the man told The Sun: 'It's disgusting. 'It was clear he was always trying to groom me and trying to use his position and money for his own perverse gratification. 'But to now know I was being targeted by a paedophile who got off on pictures of children makes me feel sick.' PayPal receipts show that the broadcaster paid 5000 a photo to the fan. After receiving one topless picture, Edwards said: 'F***. That's one of your best. You look so good.' Disgraced former BBC newsreader Huw Edwards (pictured) groomed a cash-strapped young man and paid him 2,000 for sexual photos Edwards leaves Westminster Magistrates' Court on Wednesday after pleading guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children But not settling for this, he demanded a photo of the fan 'totally naked head to toe'. When the 21-year-old asked 'What's in it for me?', Edwards paid him another 2,000. When the male only sent a topless selfie, Edwards ranted on WhatsApp: 'F*** that. F*** that. 'Really not impressed by you. I believed you were serious. But you're not. You chase me for cash. But you then 'forget' to deliver. F*** that.' Edwards first followed the man on social media before messaging him for WhatsApp details in 2017. He sent him a selfie from the BBC studio, before writing: 'Your turn. Pic.' The pair spoke for a number of weeks before Edwards asked for sexual photos, saying: 'I will reward you.' He also messaged asking if the fan was 'likely to be down before Xmas', in what appeared to be an attempt to meet up with him. Edwards is pictured in a court sketch after pleading guilty to having 41 child images on WhatsApp The Sun newspaper has also revealed how Edwards tried to lure a colleague to his BBC-funded hotel room on the day of Prince Phillip's funeral, which took place during Covid when the Queen was forced to grieve alone. Meanwhile, a schoolboy revealed how he had a 'lucky escape' after Edwards messaged him 'out of the blue' on Instagram and sent heart emojis and kisses. It comes after BBC boss Tim Davie on Thursday admitted that he knew Edwards had been arrested over the most serious category of child porn images - yet continued to pay the paedophile presenter more than 200,000 until he resigned. In a bombshell interview with BBC News, the director general said: 'We knew it was serious, we knew no specifics, apart from the category of the potential offences.' BBC bosses, who were told about Edwards' arrest in November but kept paying him for another five months, say they were not aware of the ages of the children in the images. Edwards received seven category 'A' images of the very worst kind on his phone after being sent them on WhatsApp by paedophile Alex Williams Alex Williams (pictured) was snared by Welsh police - who later discovered he had sent Edwards a series of indecent images of children Britain's most famous newsreader pleaded guilty at Westminster Magistrates' Court to receiving 41 indecent images of children, two of which showed a child aged between about seven and nine. The 62-year-old received the pictures on WhatsApp from convicted paedophile, Alex Williams, between December 2020 and August 2021. Seven of them were category A images - the most serious classification - while 12 were category B and 22 were category C. Category A images show serious abuse including penetrative sexual activity, while Category B images involve non-penetrative sexual activity. Category C images do not depict any sexual activity. Mr Davie tonight confirmed the BBC did know the severity of the alleged offences, but claimed the police had not told them the full details. When the ex-anchorman's charges were made public this week, Mr Davie said: 'We were very shocked. No one knew about the specifics of what we heard over the last few days, which have been deeply disturbing.' Edwards resigned from the BBC in April 'on the basis of medical advice from his doctors' after unrelated allegations that he paid a young person for sexually explicit photos. Police found no evidence of criminal behaviour in relation to this matter. Edwards will next appear in court on September 16. MailOnline has contacted Edwards' representatives for comment. A Jewish man who was denied service at Officeworks by a 'pro-Palestine' employee has slammed her as 'blatantly antisemitic' and wants to see her sacked. The customer, who was wearing a yarmulke at the time of the incident, took an article from the Australian Jewish News newspaper to an Officeworks store at Elsternwick, in Melbourne's east, on March 4. The piece was titled, 'The indomitable spirit of our people', and featured a photo of a group holding Australian and Israeli flags. After seeing the newspaper, the Officeworks manager refused to serve the Jewish man, stating: 'I'm pro-Palestine.' The confrontation ended with the employee threatening to call police if the Jewish man did not leave the store. The Jewish man wrote a letter to Officeworks shortly after the confrontation. He was offered a $100 gift card and promised the company would investigate the issue. He has since lodged a complaint against Officeworks with the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal and is suing under the Equal Opportunities Act for racial and religious discrimination. An Officeworks manager refused to serve a Jewish man in March because he wanted to laminate an article mentioning Israel and she was 'pro-Palestine' The man described feeling 'vilified' by the manager, and said he was a 'target for antisemitism'. Furthering his hurt is Officeworks' perceived lack of action over the incident. Officeworks has since apologised but did not fire the manager. Instead, she received 'education and training', including a visit to the Melbourne Holocaust Museum. 'The anti-Semitic employee is still currently employed, which would make it seem that Officeworks condones her behaviour,' he told Sky News on Thursday. 'It seems as though you can be blatantly antisemitic and still keep your job. 'I cannot understand how that would not meet the criteria for an immediate dismissal from her role.' Officeworks Managing Director Sarah Hunter justified the company's decision to not fire the worker. 'At the time, we concluded the incident was linked to ignorance, not malice,' she said in a statement. 'Disciplinary measures were implemented with the team member including a final warning, additional training and relocation to a different store. Ms Hunter said the worker had learnt from her mistake, describing the effect of the incident as 'profound' and 'their remorse deep and genuine'. 'Again, I express my disappointment and deep regret that the incident occurred, as it does not reflect our ways of working and our values,' she said. 'We apologised to the customer at the time, and I take this opportunity to repeat our apology to him, and extend it to the broader community for the hurt and upset it has caused. 'We will continue to work closely with our team to promote awareness, tolerance and compassion while reiterating our expectation that the highest standards of conduct must be maintained.' Police have released images of seven people they want to identify after protesters threw objects and shouted racist abuse at a demonstration outside a hotel housing migrants in Aldershot. Hampshire Police said a minority of the 200 people who gathered outside the Potters International Hotel became involved in the disruption on Wednesday evening. It comes as violent protests have erupted across the country in locations such as Hartlepool and London in relation to the Southport stabbing rampage that saw three little girls killed on Monday. Appealing for witnesses, a spokesman said: 'Investigations are under way today to take action against those who sparked disruption in Aldershot last night. 'A protest took place outside the Potters International Hotel and as with previous protests at this site, the majority of attendees gathered in a peaceful manner. 'Unfortunately, at around 6.45pm, a minority of the 200 people present got involved in criminal activity, throwing objects and subjecting people to racial abuse. 'Our officers were swiftly on scene and were able to disperse the group quickly. One of the men who Hampshire police are searching for Another of the men who police are searching for after chaos erupted at the demonstration One of the men that Hampshire police are searching for Hampshire Police said a minority of the 200 people who gathered outside the Potters International Hotel (pictured) became involved in the disruption on Wednesday evening 'Sadly, one of our officers suffered a minor injury as a result of the disruption. 'We have immediately instigated a thorough investigation to identify those responsible, which includes reviewing evidence from our officers' body-worn cameras, footage captured by our colleagues at National Police Air Service and CCTV cameras in the local area. 'This is taking place alongside our inquiries with witnesses at the scene and engagement within the local community.' Assistant Chief Constable Paul Bartolomeo said: 'The swift and decisive actions of our officers last night saw this incident brought under control, preventing further harm to the community in Aldershot. 'Our role is to protect people's lawful right to protest, while also preventing serious disorder and disruption to the local community and this is what happened last night. 'It is totally unacceptable to turn that lawful right into criminal acts including incidents of criminal damage, racial abuse and intimidation. This will not be tolerated in Hampshire and Isle of Wight. 'Our specialist teams are working hard to identify anyone who has committed a criminal offence and we will take swift and robust action against those people. 'As ever, we continue to speak to our communities across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight to ensure we have our teams where they need to be and we are constantly reviewing our patrol plans to reassure residents. One of the men who police are looking for after the demonstration erupted into chaos Hampshire Police said a minority of the 200 people who gathered outside the Potters International Hotel became involved in the disruption on Wednesday evening. Pictured is one of the people who police are looking for Appealing for witnesses, a spokesman said: 'Investigations are under way today to take action against those who sparked disruption in Aldershot last night.' Pictured is one of those who police are looking for Pictured is one of the people who police are looking for 'Everyone has the right to free speech and peaceful protest. However, officers will take a robust stance against those whose behaviour falls below the standard we expect and who choose to act outside of the law.' Alex Baker, Labour MP for Aldershot, said the situation had been 'exacerbated' by people from outside the community. In a statement posted on X, she wrote: 'I have been liaising with Hampshire Police this evening regarding a significant incident at Potter's International Hotel in Aldershot, where a peaceful protest descended into intimidating behaviour. 'I have visited the scene myself this evening and have been in close touch with the Chief Inspector. 'This incident was exacerbated by people from outside our community who came here determined to cause unrest. 'I would like to pay tribute to the brave police officers who worked hard to restore order. 'There is no justification for disorderly behaviour and these scenes do not represent Aldershot and Farnborough. 'We all support our shared right to peacefully protest, but we will not stand for people coming to our towns determined to stir up trouble and divide our community.' It comes as families in Hartlepool revealed how they were too terrified to leave their homes as rioters wreaked terror on the streets following the Southport knife attack. Anyone with information is urged to contact police on 101, quoting 44240326041. Israel is braced for an Iranian assault on five fronts at any moment in revenge for the assassination of a Hamas boss on its soil. Tehran is shaken after it emerged the terror chief was killed by a bomb smuggled into the regimes official guest house in the capital months ago. Supreme leader Ali Khamenei has instructed the Islamic republics Supreme National Security Council to launch a direct attack on Israel. Yesterday the bosses of Iranian terror proxies in Yemen, Lebanon, Gaza, Iraq and Syria were summoned to Tehran to co-ordinate a joint response. An Israeli official said last night: We are preparing for an attack on five fronts at any moment. The top political leader of Hamas was assassinated Tuesday in a stunning strike in Iran Hours from death: Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei meets with Ismail Haniyeh (L) before Israel's lethal strike on the Hamas leader in Tehran, Iran July 30, 2024 Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has instructed the Islamic republics Supreme National Security Council to launch a direct attack on Israel Major general Mohammad Bagheri, chief of staff of Irans armed forces, yesterday warned the response of the resistance axis is under review. He said: This will definitely be executed. We will take various measures, and the Zionists will undoubtedly come to regret their actions. It is feared the response could eclipse Irans blistering attack in April where hundreds of ballistic missiles, drones and cruise missiles came terrifyingly close to overwhelming Israels defences. That assault saw RAF fighter jets in Cyprus defending Israeli skies, but defence sources said last night that British bases are not on a higher readiness and no extra planes have been deployed. Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh was killed in his sleep at 2am on Wednesday after visiting Tehran for the presidential inauguration. Iranians gather for the funeral ceremony of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and his bodyguard who were killed in an assassination blamed on Israel, Wednesday, at Enqelab-e-Eslami Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Ismail Haniyeh, the Doha-based political bureau chief of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, speaks to the press after a meeting with the Iranian foreign minister in Tehran on March 26, 2024 Palestinian group Hamas' top leader Ismail Haniyeh attends Iran's new President, Masoud Pezeshkian's swearing-in ceremony at the parliament in Tehran Israel's Defense Forces seized the chance to hit Haniyeh and conducted a daring missile strike on his residence in Tehran just hours after the event, killing the Hamas leader and a security guard He was staying in a regime guest house and was protected by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards in part of the Neshat compound in the north of the city. A bomb had been smuggled inside two months earlier, top Middle East officials told the New York Times. It was detonated remotely once it was confirmed he was inside his room. The huge blast also killed his bodyguard. While Israel has not claimed responsibility it is the fourth high-profile Hamas leader assassinated since October 7 and it is said to be ticking off a kill list. Just 12 hours before Haniyehs death, Israel killed Fuad Shukr, the military leader of Hezbollah, another Iranian proxy in Lebanon. Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah secretary general, last night vowed revenge, saying Israel had crossed a red line. The assassination on Haniyeh in Tehran came hours after Israel also targeted a senior Hezbollah official in Beirut A man watches the news on a tv after Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh was killed in an Israeli airstrike targeting his residence in the Iranian capital Tehran, Iran on July 31, 2024 He said: There is no discussion on this point. The only things lying between us and you are the days, the nights and the battlefield. Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was prepared for any aggression. It came as huge crowds waving Palestinian flags filled the streets of Tehran yesterday for the funeral of Haniyeh. Meanwhile, 70,000 Israelis dashed to Tel Aviv airport to try to get out as tensions build in the country. I sraels National Security Council is warning travellers to exercise extra caution abroad over fears Jewish institutions may be targeted by Iran-allied militants. Only one-in-three Australians visits the dentist regularly as costs keep them away, while the dental association calls on the federal government to expand subsidies. Two-in-three Australians are only visiting the dentist when they have a problem as cost of living pressures continue to bite, amid calls for dental subsidies to be expanded. In an oral health survey of 25,000 people, 61 per cent delayed oral treatment in the past 12 months, with affordability accounting for 63 per cent of the reason. It marks a 17 per cent increase in people delaying regular check ups in the past 13 years, while the issue of costs increased by 12 per cent compared with 2022. One-in-three people has suffered tooth and gum pain, face swelling or infection in the past year, with those issues more prevalent in older groups. The Australian Dental Association is calling for government subsidies to be expanded to senior Australians. People would be less likely to face complex and expensive dental treatments down the track if they saw their dentist regularly, association president Scott Davis said. 'Government-funded schemes for our most vulnerable populations would go a long way to making this a reality for millions of Aussies for whom at the moment a dental visit isn't a financial reality,' he said. Only one-in-three Australians visits the dentist regularly as costs keep them away, while the dental association calls on the federal government to expand subsidies (stock image) The survey figures show only seven per cent of people have visited the dentist in the past six months, while 10 per cent visited in the past six-to-12 months. Almost half had their problems treated, but about one in four did not due to cost barriers around treatments. 'The current system of government assistance for them is ailing - eligible people wait years on public dental waiting lists just to have their first appointment, often enduring years of pain,' Dr Davis said. 'There are hundreds of thousands of Aussies suffering this way.' The dental association wants the health minister to introduce a seniors scheme in Medicare which, according to the Parliamentary Budget Office, would cost $15.7billion over a decade. 'This is cheap compared to trying to deliver dentistry to every Australian at a cost of around five times that at $77billion a decade, according to Treasury costings.' Children are already offered subsidised dental treatments under the Dental Benefits Act with the structures in place to extend this to seniors, Indigenous people, those on low incomes and people with a disability. A landlord was hit with a fake lawsuit filed by a man filmed feigning injury from a fall on a stretch of sidewalk outside his building. The unnamed building owner on Thursday produced surveillance footage of the suspected slip-and-fall in the Bronx, which appeared to be not so serious. It shows two men pull up on a scooter and destroy the part of the sidewalk in question, before another man strolls by and undergoes a spectacle of a spill. He drags his back foot and falls at the same exact spot the two men destroyed, and is now suing the building owner claiming he injured his back and knees. He also said he suffered psychological injuries from the fall and that he couldn't work as a result. The supposed victim was not identified. Scroll down for video: A landlord says he was hit with a fake lawsuit from a man supposedly injured from a fall on a stretch of sidewalk outside his building. The fall in question, seen here outside an unspecified building in the Bronx 'It's 100 percent fraud,' Attorney Marc Sloane told ABC 7 Thursday, as the New York station's On Your Side honed in on this and other potentially fake accident claims. 'You know outright this doesn't make any sense,' another building owner, this one in Brooklyn, said as the station's investigation team looked into another suspected scam. 'I feel this is, like, some kind of setup that goes on beyond our control,' he said, as footage of that fall showed another man crumpling to the floor in a questionable display. As he suggested, New York is a hive for similar slip-and-fall claims, with these two serving as some of the most recent, dubious examples. In fiscal year 2023, the five boroughs spent some $53.5 million to battle them back, local comptroller statistics show - with the one in Brooklyn in particular recently coming to question. 'It's not legitimate,' Sloane sniped while sitting down with the local outlet. 'It's fraud.' 'What are the coincidences that a person - two people whatever - just pulls up, gets off a bike, and just starts breaking up a sidewalk, and then 'X' amount of hours later somebody just happens to trip and fall over a defect that didn't exist prior?' To that, he called BS. Another building owner, this one in Brooklyn, said this man also faked a slip and fall outside his property. Footage suggests the fall was not serious and likely fake Shortly after, investigators with On Your Side reached out to the law firm representing the suspected fraudster, but did not receive an answer. However, hard on the heels of this, the firm filed a notice with the Bronx Supreme Court that revealed they were in the process of withdrawing from the suit themselves. The reason? Because they, too, suspected the man was full of it, ABC 7 found. The station proceeded to review court documents surrounding the case that cast more doubt, finding that the two men caught on camera seemingly creating the crack were part of the legal team of the man who fell. They discovered this by analyzing footage of the pair taking measurements and pictures of the crack after tearing up the sidewalk. They did so by discerning that the photos submitted to the court from the man's legal team were identical to the ones the two men would have shot, the station said. Meanwhile, the landlord in Brooklyn, whom Sloane is representing, said he is still getting bills from his property insurance charging him a $10,000 deductible to investigate the obviously phony claim. New York is a hive for similar slip-and-fall claims, with these two serving as some of the most recent, dubious examples. Another questionable case is seen here 'Doesn't have anything to do if the claim is legit or if it's not,' he explained as he too looks to disprove the claim with surveillance footage showing the man falling out of nowhere. 'The deductible you have to pay regardless.' Meanwhile, New York remains the top city in the US for questionable slip and fall claims, causing premiums to rise for building owners who then pass the buck to tenants in the form of higher rent. 'It's going down to the tenant, the homeowner,' Mark Browne, Chair of the Faculty at the Greenberg School of Risk Management and Insurance at St. John's University told ABC of how the scams are slowly affecting consumers and their cost of living. 'It's robbing from other people. It's fraudulent, it's criminal, it's wrong.' As criticism of the BBC's handling of the Huw Edwards paedophile scandal rages on, you might think that executives would seek to combat widespread allegations of a cover-up by adopting a new spirit of openness. There were no signs of this yesterday. A BBC spokesman stuck to the line that they will continue to protect the disgraced news anchor's 'right to privacy' even though he resigned from the corporation in April and even though he has now pleaded guilty to receiving 41 indecent images of children, including two sexual videos of a boy under nine. On the day Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was 'shocked and appalled' by Edwards's offences, BBC sources said they would never reveal the findings and recommendations of an internal investigation into Edwards while he was the News At Ten anchor on 475,000 a year. They won't even confirm that the probe is complete, or say whether Edwards cooperated to the extent of giving an interview. Huw Edwards and wife in December 2018. The BBC won't even confirm that the probe is complete, or say whether Edwards cooperated to the extent of giving an interview A BBC spokesman stuck to the line that they will continue to protect the disgraced news anchor's (pictured) 'right to privacy' The broadcaster, 62, announced that the Queen had died in September 2022 Nor will they disclose the allegations made against him, which involved the flirtatious pursuit of younger male colleagues. One of these until recently a junior BBC producer yesterday spoke out about the BBC's apparent cover-up of Edwards's activity. The man said Edwards had sent him a message starting 'Hello beauty' and invited him to share his hotel room in Windsor before the funeral of the Duke of Edinburgh. More messages followed as a persistent Edwards pressured the much younger man to meet in private. Former Sky anchor Adam Boulton, once a friend of Edwards, said the BBC should now release details of its investigation into him. 'It behoves the BBC to make it clear what they found out about what went on here,' he said, adding: 'It's in the BBC's interests to allay concerns among junior staff that they might be overruled in relation to stars. It does seem there was an institutional urge not to make a fuss about it. 'One can understand from the point of view of [the story's] prominence, but I don't think any commercial organisation would have felt reputationally it could afford to try to brush it under the carpet.' Despite the clamour for transparency, a BBC spokesman said of the investigation: 'We won't comment on individuals or internal matters for reasons of privacy.' Huw Edwards is yet another BBC star to be disgraced after he admitted three counts of making indecent pictures of children between 2020 and 2022 (pictured outside Westminster Magistrates' Court on Wednesday) Huw Edwards was last seen on the screen on July 5 last year when he covered King Charles' visit to Scotland (pictured). Nine months on he has left the BBC on health grounds The Welsh newsreader, 62, was allegedly spoken to about his behaviour by BBC bosses on two separate occasions in 2021 and 2022. Pictured: BBC Broadcasting House, in central London This echoes what BBC acting chair Dame Elan Closs Stephens told the Mail last September: 'The investigation is ongoing. I am not sure what we will publish when, or when we will publish. As you know Huw has a right to privacy which we take seriously and there has to be due process. 'We need to speak to him and that has to take its turn. It will happen when he is ready and with regard to any mental health issues which he may or may not have. So it is not yet done.' BBC director general Tim Davie confirmed on the BBC's 6pm News last night that he would not be lifting the veil of secrecy over the investigation. He said the corporation was not 'sitting on anything that I think we need to share with the police, or is of a serious nature that would make me feel that we hadn't followed up properly'. He added: 'I can categorically say when it comes to the offences we've seen, which are truly horrendous, any evidence that is out there is not in the hands of the BBC. If I saw evidence of that, that is not a complicated decision [to hand it over].' There is widespread anger among former colleagues over this stance. They see the 'behind closed doors investigation' as a betrayal of the rank and file of the BBC newsroom by a handful of highly paid bosses who were friends with Edwards. Edwards on Wednesday pleaded guilty to receiving 41 indecent images of children, which included two sexual videos of a boy under nine Huw Edwards (pictured) messaged 'lads in the newsroom for drinks' for years, a BBC insider has claimed They are also appalled at how Edwards betrayed the BBC by playing 'the mental health card' while instructing lawyers at Harbottle to send aggressive legal letters to media outlets citing his privacy rights. The effect was to cover up his wrongdoing. Last April, this newspaper asked Edwards's lawyers if he had been arrested and was told that he had not. In a Kafkaesque twist, they claimed Edwards had a right to privacy which would make it impossible to report on his arrest even if it had happened. 'Huw gamed the system and he's still doing it,' a source said. 'He has been using the huge money given to him by the BBC to build a legal wall around himself.' Yesterday, a former colleague alleged that Edwards, married with five children and apparently the soul of respectability, used a 'burner' phone, one with prepaid minutes which the user can dispose of at will as they are free of any contract. One said: 'I am told that his phone and [computer] devices did not belong to the BBC, they were his.' All these devices had been wiped clean by the time Scotland Yard examined them last November. They were able to bring a case against Edwards only because the phone belonging to Alex Williams, given a suspended sentence earlier this year for possessing and distributing indecent images, showed that he had sent the TV presenter 377 images, 41 of which were indecent. As Edwards's barrister Philip Evans KC said in court: 'It is important to remember for context that, as you would expect, the devices were seized and searched and there's nothing on those devices. He didn't keep any images.' Senior figures who used to work at the BBC, including former royal correspondents Jennie Bond and Nicholas Witchell, waded in following his bombshell admissions in court on Wednesday. A young BBC worker claims that Huw Edwards invited him to stay in his hotel suite on the eve of presenting coverage of Prince Philip's funeral in April 2021 (pictured) Senior figures who used to work at the BBC, including former royal correspondents Jennie Bond (above) and Nicholas Witchell, waded in following his bombshell admissions in court on Wednesday B BC sources say in further evidence of a cosy closed club for top talent and bosses new BBC chairman Samir Shah knew Edwards well and has been friends for many years with Vicky Flind, Edwards's TV producer wife. She worked on a current affairs show, This Week, for Shah's production company, Juniper. Ms Flind is believed to be divorcing Edwards. This was common knowledge among friends of the pair in Dulwich as long ago as May but it was only made public when court papers revealed that Edwards had given a different London address to that of his former marital home. Ms Flind, a former governor of the private James Allen's Girls' school, is well-respected locally and people hope she stays in the area. Neither the BBC's lawyers nor Edwards's will comment, but corporation sources say there has been scant contact between Edwards and the BBC over the 11 months since the crisis began when The Sun reported that a BBC presenter had paid a young male 35,000 for sexually explicit material. Other BBC presenters were wrongly identified and eventually Ms Flind came forward to say that the person in question was her husband, saying he was receiving 'in-patient hospital care... for the foreseeable future.' She hired crisis comms expert and former News Of The World editor Andy Coulson. A mocked up version of a reported Instagram message exchange between the BBC star and a teenager Edwards, pictured with his mother, has been off air since last July after he was accused of paying a young person for sexually explicit images It's not known if Coulson is still working with her he did not respond to messages this week.Last summer, Edwards told friends he was 'keen to clear his name' and 'wanted his job back.' Then he went silent. We now know he was arrested over the abusive images entirely separate to The Sun's story in November. He then quit, with the BBC saying he had resigned on advice from his doctors. Yesterday, the BBC confirmed it was told of his arrest by the police, not by Edwards or his lawyers. The corporation says it did not know the seriousness of the allegations and in a statement on Wednesday signed by director general Tim Davie and head of news Deborah Turness, expressed profound shock. But in his eventual media appearance Tim Davie did not answer the most basic question: did the BBC even ask if he was guilty and did he respond? The question of who knew what when and who took the decision to keep paying him has also attracted criticism. (The anchor was paid almost 200,000 between November and April.) Former executive Roger Bolton said: 'We now know the BBC executives were told in confidence that Huw Edwards had been arrested. The big question is, why did they continue to pay him so much?' Jennie Bond told broadcaster Jeremy Vine on Thursday: 'Frankly, if Huw has any dignity left then he would hand some of the money back, certainly the 200 grand he has made since his arrest. I think it would be gracious of him to do that.' She added: 'We need to remember the BBC as a whole is being tarnished and reputationally this is very very damaging of course. But the news division is quite rightly and thankfully quite separate from the corporation itself. 'It's quite a hard division for people to make but we in the news have, without fear or favour, questioned the bosses at the BBC and that is entirely right. In the newsroom themselves they were kept in the dark right until this week, which is extraordinary.' Clips featuring Huw Edwards continue to be available on BBC iPlayer, including his announcement of the death of HM the Queen. They serve as a salutory reminder of how far and how fast the once much-loved household name has fallen. Four police officers were rushed to hospital after their cars collided during a search for a stolen vehicle. The Queensland Police officers were searching a stolen car carrying three people in Goodna, west Brisbane, when a marked police car performed a U-turn at about 9.25pm on Thursday. The second police vehicle, an unmarked Kia Sorento, then collided with the driver's side of the Toyota, causing extensive damage. The collision caused extensive damage to the unmarked car, and both vehicles had to be towed from the scene. All four officers were taken to the Mater Private Hospital and treated for minor injuries. The whereabouts of the stolen vehicle remain unknown. A Louisiana mayor who abruptly resigned from her elected seat has now been charged with the rape of a juvenile while in office. Misty Roberts Clanton, the former mayor of DeRidder, announced her resignation last week and was arrested on Thursday on allegations she had sex with a minor. Louisiana State Police said that Clanton, 42, allegedly had 'sexual intercourse with one juvenile victim while employed as Mayor'. The police department's Special Victim's Unit said investigators spoke with two juveniles who confirmed Clanton allegedly had sex with one of them, cops said. On Thursday, Clanton turned herself in and was booked at the Beauregard Parish Detention Center on charges of third-degree rape. Misty Roberts Clanton, former Mayor of DeRidder, announced her resignation last week and was arrested on Thursday on accusations of sex with a minor Louisiana State Police said in a news release on Thursday that Clanton, 42, had 'sexual intercourse with one juvenile victim while employed as Mayor' About an hour later, she was released on a $75,000 bond, with her attorney Adam Johnson proclaiming her innocence. He said: 'It is my honor to represent Misty Roberts. My client learned late last night of a warrant, despite not being contacted to be interviewed prior to investigators obtaining the warrant. 'My client maintains her innocence and, as it stands, she is in fact innocent. She has not been charged with a crime and/or convicted of any crime. 'And we trust the public will respect her constitutional presumption of innocence which is fundamental to our system of justice. 'Misty and her family are very grateful for the support they have received from their friends and neighbors and we look forward to putting this unfortunate situation behind them.' Just last week, Clanton said she would be away from the office for two weeks and appointed an interim mayor on Friday, before resigning the next day. Just last week, Clanton said she would be away from the office for two weeks and appointed a mayor on Friday, before resigning the next day Clanton was in the middle of he second term as the municipality's mayor, winning reelection with sixty percent of the vote in 2022 In her resignation letter, she said: 'For nearly 15 years, my love and passion for DeRidder has been my foundation while serving as Mayor. 'I will forever be proud of what we have been able to accomplish - together. This role has rewarded me with many great relationships. 'I am humbled to have witnessed the hard work that took a community to come together and overcome through unprecedented times. However, I must adjust my focus and priorities. 'Please accept this letter as my formal resignation, effective today. 'To the residents of this city: Thank you for your trust, love and support in me to lead our city into our future of greatness. My love for DeRidder will never waiver.' Clanton was in the middle of he second term as the municipality's mayor, winning reelection with sixty percent of the vote in 2022. Her marital status is unclear. Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) - A Public health official who led the health ministry's battle against the coronavirus pandemic has been confirmed to the post five years afterwards An RAAF pilot is being quizzed by detectives after his wife was reportedly killed in a 'suspicious' late-night lawn mower accident - as it is revealed police were previously called to the home. Frances Crawford, 49, was found dead on her rural property in Upper Lockyer, south-east Queensland, at 3.40am on Tuesday. Queensland Police on Friday revealed her husband Robert Crawford, an Airforce Squadron Leader, called emergency services to report his wife had been injured by a lawnmower, with paramedics arriving to find her already dead. Detective Superintendent George Marchesini said Sqn Ldr Crawford, who was the only other person at the property at the time, has been questioned by officers. 'He is assisting police with inquiries to determine what actually happened on that morning,' he said on Friday. 'Since that time, we've not been able to determine a cause in regards to what was discovered at the scene. We have been talking to him since [she] was discovered.' Detective Superintendent Marchesini revealed that police had previously attended the property in July last year and there was 'some action that was taken'. But he said there were no current domestic violence orders in place between the couple. Sqn Ldr Crawford has not been charged with any offence over the tragedy. Robert Crawford (pictured) is assisting with police inquiries after his wife was found dead in suspicious circumstances Ms Crawford was found dead on her Upper Lockyer property during the early hours of Tuesday He said Ms Crawford was last seen alive on Monday afternoon and had attended work earlier that day. Det Supt Marchesini said police are not 'looking for any other person' in regards to the investigation, but urged anyone who may have information to come forward as the investigation continues. 'There are a number of things that we need to better understand,' he said. 'If anyone has knowledge of the woman, or knowledge of the family and they have heard this information that is coming out this week, then we would want to hear from them in terms of what they know. 'This is a tragic incident.. Our hearts go out to the family, particularly the woman's three children, the community, her workplace, and also first responders that go to these types of jobs.' Daily Mail Australia understands Crawford returned to Australia from an overseas deployment in late July and had been staying at the property for around a week before his wife's death. Det Supt Marchesini said the circumstances leading up to Ms Crawford's death - such as her husband's work schedule - would form part of their investigation. The update comes after police declared the death was being treated as suspicious on Thursday after spending the day scouring the home for evidence. Throughout the day, 10 police cars - including several forensic units - were seen arriving at the remote property. Ms Crawford, who grew up in the Toowoomba region, was a respected local psychologist, with the community left reeling in the wake of her death. Speaking to Daily Mail Australia on Thursday, her parents Joke and Ben Pilon said her husband was 'broken' by their daughter's death and the couple lived together 'happily'. A lawn mower is pictured being towed away from the Crawford property on Tuesday A police car is seen leaving the home on Thursday Her devastated loved ones have paid tribute to the mother-of-three, with her brother, David Pilon, saying she had 'a loving heart'. 'She loved Jesus and it is a great comfort to her family and friends that she is now at peace in heaven,' he told the Toowoomba Chronicle. Ms Crawford's family said that her gentle grace and compassionate nature will be missed by everyone. 'She cared deeply about the people around her and put their needs before her own,' the family 'While Frances was taken from her family far too soon, she touched the lives of so many people during her 49 years.' Sqn Ldr Crawford is an RAAF cargo plane pilot and squadron leader - a senior role and the equivalent of a Major in the Army - who operates out of the Royal Australian Air Force base at Amberley, about 8km southwest of Ipswich. Over the past two decades, the couple have lived around Australia - including in Sydney, Adelaide and in Queensland - as Sqn Ldr Crawford worked numerous roles within Australian Defence Force. The investigation continues. The 17-year-old boy accused of murdering three girls at a dance class in Southport is a 'quiet' choirboy who was 'unwilling to leave the house and communicate with family', a court has heard. Axel Rudakubana has appeared in court accused of murdering the children at a Taylor-Swift themed event on Monday. The teenager, who refused to speak at his court appearance in Liverpool, had been diagnosed with autism and was 'unwilling to leave the house' and talk to his family 'for a period of time', the court heard. Neighbours claimed they could often hear the teen, from Cardiff, singing inside his family home in the village of Banks, according to the Mirror. One local told the Liverpool Echo how they would often 'hear singing' from the 'quiet choirboy' at the terraced home where he lived with his parents and 20-year-old brother. 'It's a massive, massive shock,' the neighbour said. Prosecutor Deanna Heer KC described his medical condition, saying: 'He has a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. We understand he has been unwilling to leave the house and communicate with his family for a period of time.' Rudakubana (pictured as a child) is charged with murdering three little girls and harming 10 others at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport with a 'curved kitchen knife' Southport stabbing suspect Axel Rudakubana, now 17, pictured as a child, is charged with murdering three little girls and harming 10 others Court artist drawing of Rudakubana covering his face as he appeared in the dock at Liverpool Crown Court Judge Andrew Menary condemned the 'idiotic rioting' which has broken out since the attack and said he named Rudakubana Judge Andrew Menary condemned the 'idiotic rioting' which has broken out since the attack and said he named Rudakubana to fill the information vacuum exploited by 'others who are up to mischief'. He said: 'The idiotic rioting going on at the moment is, in part, fed by the nonsense online that feeds on the vacuum.' Judge Menary explained what he described as an 'exceptional' decision against imposing reporting restrictions sought by both prosecution and defence, which would have granted the defendant anonymity until he turns 18 next Wednesday. He said he had to balance a risk to the defendant's family and initial risk to him while settling into custody with the public interest in accurately reporting his identity. Granting the Daily Mail's request not to impose restrictions, he said: 'By continuing to prevent full reporting at this stage has the disadvantage of allowing others who are up to mischief to continue to spread misinformation in a vacuum and runs the risk that when the information becomes publicly available in six days' time, that will provide an additional excuse for a fresh round of public disorder. 'Allowing full reporting will undoubtedly remove some of the misreporting as to the identity of the defendant.' The judge added: 'The defendant Axel Rudakubana appears before me having been sent to this court earlier this morning by the Youth Court in respect of multiple charges of murder and attempted murder. 'The alleged offending in his case is shocking and could hardly be more serious, involving as it does the killing and serious wounding of multiple victims, most of whom were young children, in an incident in Southport on Monday 29 July 2024.' Bebe King, aged six, was also killed in the attack. A teenager is set to appear in court charged with three counts of murder Elsie Dot Stancombe, aged seven, was also fatally wounded in the attack which shocked the nation on Monday Alice Dasilva Aguiar, aged nine, was one of three children killed by a knifeman at a Taylor-Swift themed dance class in Southport He said delaying reporting of Rudakubana's name until next week could even 'provide an additional excuse for a fresh round of public disorder'. The judge added: 'It seems to be in those circumstances that an order made today would have little practical effect in terms of protecting the welfare of AR, and the balance comes down clearly in favour of the public interest in allowing full reporting of these proceedings. 'I understand that revealing the defendant's identity will cause concern and distress to his family, but their identity is generally already known within the local community and much about them has already been widely published online, in the print media and on television reports. 'Though not central to my consideration , it may be that allowing full reporting will remove some of the mystique and misreporting that has taken place typically online as to the identity and other details concerning the defendant. 'This may be a case where others have taken advantage of the perceived vacuum in information over the past few days.' Rudakubana was born to Rwandan parents in Cardiff in 2006 before moving to the village of Banks in Lancashire in 2013. He is accused of carrying out the attack that killed Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine. Rudakubana is also accused of the attempted murders of eight more children, along with dance teacher Leanne Lucas, 35, and businessman John Hayes. Rudakubana (pictured as a child) is also accused of the attempted murders of eight more children, along with dance teacher Leanne Lucas, 35, and businessman John Hayes Rudakubana covers his face in the dock at Liverpool Crown Court after being charged with three counts of murder and 10 counts of attempted murder Up until now, the teenager's identity could not be revealed because suspects under 18 receive automatic anonymity in all UK court cases, except for in exceptional circumstances. But after a successful application to the judge by the Mail, Rudakubana's name can now be reported. Judge Andrew Menary KC said he had to balance the risk to the suspect's family and the risk to him in custody with the public interest accurately reporting his identity. Far-right mobs took to the streets of Southport and and other major UK cities this week after a fake news website spread misinformation about the identity of the suspect. Russian state media were among those falsely claiming that the suspect had arrived by boat to the UK last year, sharing claims that he was on an M16 watch list. It led to violent riots, seeing dozens of police officers injured, wheelie bins set alight and emergency vehicles set on fire. In a bid to quell tensions - after more riots broke out in London, Manchester Hartlepool, and Aldershot - Judge Menary revealed Rudakubana's identity. As the suspected murderer arrived at the court he was met by dozens of people shouting, with one man having to be held back by police officers as the van holding him past. The revelation comes as two children hurt in the attack were discharged from Alder Hey Children's Hospital, with five others in a 'stable condition'. Rudakubana (pictured in a video) could not previously be named because suspects under 18 receive automatic anonymity in all UK court cases, except for in exceptional circumstances Another young picture of Rudakubana A man is held back by police as a prison van escorted by multiple police cars leaves Liverpool Crown Court The white van carrying Axel Rudakubana, 17, who is accused of killing three young girls arrives as Liverpool Magistrates Court Rudakubana seen arriving at court in a police convoy A prison van (centre) escorted by multiple police vehicles leaves Liverpool Crown Court A man is held back by police as a prison van escorted by multiple police vehicles leaves Liverpool Crown Court Honorary Recorder of Liverpool Judge Andrew Menary KC said he had to balance the risk to the defendant's family and the initial risk while in custody against the public interest in accurately reporting his identity. Why did the judge name Rudakubana? Usually a defendant under the age of 18 is granted anonymity during court proceedings. This means media are not allowed to name or picture them unless there are exceptional circumstances. However, Judge Andrew Menary KC decided to name Axel Rudbakubana. The judge at Liverpool Crown Court listened to 20 minutes of legal submissions before declining to make an order to protect the teen's identity. He said: 'Whilst I accept it is exceptional giving his age, principally because he is 18 in six days' time, I do not make an order under section 45. 'Continuing to prevent the full reporting has the disadvantage of allowing others to spread misinformation, in a vacuum.' He noted that any order would have been lifted on Rudbakubana when he turned 18 anyways. The judge's decision comes after misinformation spread by fake news websites and Russian state media wrongly identified the suspect. The false claim said the suspect had arrived to the UK by boat last year sharing claims he was an M16 watchlist. It led to violent riots in Southport and beyond which saw dozens of police officers injured, wheelie bins set alight and emergency vehicles set on fire. Advertisement He said: 'By continuing to prevent full reporting at this stage has the disadvantage of allowing others who are up to mischief to continue to spread misinformation in a vacuum and runs the risk that when the information becomes publicly available in six days' time, that will provide an additional excuse for a fresh round of public disorder. 'Allowing full reporting will undoubtedly remove some of the misreporting as to the identity of the defendant.' A provisional trial date at Liverpool Crown Court, set to last six weeks, was scheduled for January 20 next year. Rudakubana spent the entire 55 minutes of the hearing covering his whole face, with his grey sweatshirt pulled up to his hairline and at times rocking back and forth, side to side. He will next appear at Liverpool Crown Court on October 25 for a plea and trial preparation hearing. Until then he will be remanded in youth accommodation detention. Judge Menary told the defendant, who did not acknowledge the judge and continued to keep his head down: 'You are remanded to youth detention accommodation until these proceedings have been completed. 'That position might change when you achieve your majority in a short while.' Earlier, the suspect attended a hearing at Liverpool City Magistrates' Court which lasted just five minutes. During proceedings, prosecutor Deanna Heer alleged a 'kitchen knife with a curved blade' had been used during the rampage. During that time Rudakubana, who is also charged with possessing an offensive weapon, wore a baggy grey tracksuit and black slippers and pulled his sweatshirt over his face above his nose, keeping his head low. At one point in the hearing, the teenager, who did not speak once, looked back at the group of around 20 reporters that were sat behind the dock. The suspect arrived at the court around 9.30am in a white prison van flanked by a large escort of at least eight police vehicles. The large police presence comes amid fears angry protesters will turn up outside the courthouse, after a series of riots have swept the country in recent days. More than 100 people were arrested in London last night following a far-right protest in Whitehall, with further unrest in Hartlepool, Manchester and Aldershot. On Tuesday night, an angry mob took to the streets of Southport after a vigil to remember victims of the mass stabbing at the workshop attended by 25 children. Axel Muganwa Rudakubana, 17, leaves Liverpool Magistrates' Court after being charged with three counts of murder The convoy of police vans escorted the prison van away from Liverpool Crown Court The suspect was surrounded by a convoy of eight police cars and vans, with officers fearing they could be met with angry protesters following Monday night's riots Floral and written tributes are left alongside balloons and teddy bears at the scene of the stabbings on Hart Street, Southport Forensic officers are pictured at the scene as emergency crews battled to save children Forensic officers on Hart Street in Southport, Merseyside, where a horrifying knife rampage took place Emergency crews swoop on the area after a group of children were attacked at Taylor Swift-themed dance class The defendant, born in Cardiff to Rwandan parents, is accused of entering a dance studio in Hart Street and attacking children and adults who were inside on Monday afternoon. Eight other children suffered knife wounds - with five left in a critical condition in hospital - while two adults who tried to save the young ones in the summer holiday club were also seriously wounded. The adults harmed were dance teacher Leanne Lucas, 35, and businessman John Hayes who tried to help. In a statement Merseyside Police said yesterday: 'We can confirm that a 17-year-old boy from Banks has been charged with the murders of Bebe, Elsie Dot and Alice; 10 counts of attempted murder; and Possession of a bladed article, following the tragic incident in Southport on Monday, 29 July. 'He has been remanded in custody to appear tomorrow, Thursday 1 August at Liverpool Magistrates Court, Derby Square.' Chief Constable Serena Kennedy said: 'Whilst these charges are a significant milestone within this investigation, this remains very much a live investigation and we continue to work with our partners from Lancashire Police and Counter Terrorism Policing North West (CTPNW). Leanne Lucas, who organised the Taylor Swift-themed holiday club, has had life-saving surgery and is now awake, her family said on Wednesday Yesterday floral tributes, balloons and soft toys covered the street near the police cordon Friendship bracelets reading 'Beautiful Swifties' are seen next to electric tea lights amid floral tributes for the victims of a deadly knife attack at the Atkinson in Southport 'I would like to thank all of the forces who have offered and supplied support to Merseyside Police during the last three days and I can confirm that we are being supported with investigative resources from across the North West.' The boy, who was born in Cardiff to Rwandan parents, is from the village of Banks, just outside Southport. Sarah Hammond, Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS Mersey-Cheshire, said: 'We remind all concerned that criminal proceedings against the defendant are active and that he has the right to a fair trial. 'It is extremely important that there should be no reporting, commentary, or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings.' False claims online that the suspect was an asylum seeker who had arrived in the UK by boat had sparked riots across Southport on Tuesday night, despite pleas from one of the victim's mother's for calm. Thousands of people turned out to pay their respects to the victims at a vigil in Southport, but violence later erupted outside a mosque in the town with 53 police officers and three police dogs injured. Five men have been arrested following that incident. After rioting broke out, Elsie's mother, Jenni Stancombe, wrote on Facebook: 'This is the only thing that I will write, but please please stop the violence in Southport tonight. 'The police have been nothing but heroic these last 24 hours and they and we don't need this.' Sir Keir Starmer said rioters had 'hijacked' a vigil for victims and will 'feel the full force of the law', while Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described the rioting as 'violent attacks from thugs on the streets', which she branded 'appalling'. The Prime Minister is set to face questions this afternoon after crisis talks with police over the outbreak of rioting following the Southport knife attack. On Wednesday, a clean up operation took place outside the mosque, with residents coming together to clear roads where fires had been set and rebuild walls which had been knocked down. Police called in support from neighbouring forces in case of further disorder, but the seaside town appeared to remain quiet on Wednesday evening, however unrest developed in other areas of the country. More than 100 people were arrested in London after crowds gathered in Whitehall turned on police, throwing bottles and cans at officers in riot gear. The Southport mass stabbings have led to riots on the streets. Pictured: A police van is torched in Southport on Tuesday night Southport burns: A street near a mosque goes up in flames as violent thugs took to the streets on Tuesday night Police chiefs arrive to meet Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer to discuss clashes following the Southport stabbing The riots came barely an hour after thousands of mourners gathered for a vigil at the Atkinson in Southport Mourners leave floral tributes near the scene in Hart Street, where three children died and eight were injured in a 'ferocious' knife attack Some were heard shouting the name of English Defence League founder Tommy Robinson, while others shouted 'Rule Britannia', 'save our kids' and 'stop the boats' and chanting 'you're not English any more'. A Met Police spokesman said: 'Over 100 people have been arrested for offences including violent disorder, assault on an emergency worker, and breach of protest conditions. Some officers suffered minor injuries.' Responding to last nights riots, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: 'The scenes of disorder and violence yesterday evening were completely unacceptable. 'There is no place for criminality on our streets and I fully support the Met Police taking action against those intent on violence, causing disorder and spreading division in our city.' In Hartlepool, County Durham four people were arrested after violent protests broke out, with people detained for various offences after missiles, glass bottles and eggs were thrown at officers. A police car was also set on fire before protesters posed for selfies with it. Chief Superintendent David Sutherland said: 'At this stage we believe the protest is in connection with the incident in Southport earlier this week. 'Our officers are facing missiles, glass bottles and eggs being thrown at them and have made arrests as they remain in the area to protect the safety of those living in the community.' Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram said he was 'concerned' that there could be a repeat of the violence that followed the Southport stabbings. Mr Rotheram told ITV's Good Morning Britain: 'We're always concerned, aren't we, that there could be a repeat of violence somewhere in the Liverpool City Region.' He added: 'I hope that there aren't further incidents - we're very much aware of them. 'I'm speaking to Serena Kennedy, who is the chief police officer in the Liverpool City Region, in Merseyside, on a regular basis. 'We've got the contingencies - we know exactly what we'd need to do to ensure that these things are nipped in the bud.' Mr Rotheram added it was important 'that we do something about social media' because it had 'whipped up the lies' about the alleged perpetrator of the stabbings that 'fuelled some of the disorder that we saw on the streets'. Security-conscious Harry and Meghan are to undertake another quasi 'royal tour' this time to crime-ridden Colombia. The prince continues his fight through the British courts for official police protection, claiming it is unsafe to bring his family to his country of birth. But following a trip to Nigeria this year, the Sussexes will travel to South America this month. Colombia's vice-president, Francia Marquez, yesterday revealed the couple would visit Bogota, as well as the regions of Cartagena and Cali, to 'engage with leaders, youths and women who embody the aspirations and voices of Colombians committed to progress'. The visit is tied in with a conference in November on ending violence against children and both the duke and duchess, as well as their Archewell Foundation, will 'engage in several activities related to this important topic'. Following a trip to Nigeria this year, the Sussexes (Pictured in Nigeria in May) will travel to South America this month The visit is tied in with a conference in November on ending violence against children and both the duke and duchess will 'engage in several activities related to this important topic' However, many may see no small degree of irony in the couple visiting Colombia so soon after their trip to equally troubled Lagos in light of Harry's court case over the withdrawal of his Metropolitan Police protection. Both countries are deemed to have a 'high threat' of terrorist attack and kidnap for ransom, particularly affecting 'UK interests and British nationals', according to the Foreign Office. The couple also plan to appear on US television this weekend, just days after 'friends' publicly complained that Harry's calls to King Charles go 'unanswered'. While the Royal Family had hoped to head off for some peaceful summer downtime in Scotland, particularly after the cancer diagnoses of the King and Princess of Wales, the Sussexes seem to be deliberately ramping up their public profile. They will star on prime-time breakfast show Sunday Morning on CBS this weekend, talking about the issue of online harm. In a clip to promote the interview, the couple are shown talking about their own children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, with Meghan saying: 'Our kids are young, they are three and five. They're amazing. 'But all you want to do as parents is protect them and so as we can see what's happening in the online space, we know there's a lot of work to be done there and we are just happy to be able to part of change for good.' Harry added: 'At this point, we have got to the stage where almost every parent needs to be a first responder. And even the best first responders in the world wouldn't be able to tell the signs of possible suicide. That is the terrifying piece of this.' It is their first joint television interview since their controversial Netflix documentary of 2022 in which they again aired a slew of vitriolic accusations against the prince's family. And it comes after 'friends', 'multiple well-placed insiders' and 'former employees' briefed Sussex-friendly People magazine this week about Harry's relationship with his father and ongoing court battles in the UK. Colombia's vice-president, Francia Marquez, yesterday revealed the couple would visit Bogota, as well as the regions of Cartagena and Cali The prince continues his fight through the British courts for official police protection, claiming it is unsafe to bring his family to his country of birth Colombia is deemed to have a 'high threat' of terrorist attack and kidnap for ransom, particularly affecting 'UK interests and British nationals', according to the Foreign Office The couple also plan to appear on US television this weekend, just days after 'friends' publicly complained that Harry's calls to King Charles go 'unanswered' The magazine claimed that Harry firmly believes his father has the power to overturn the decision by Ravec the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures to strip him of his round-the-clock Met Police security when he quit royal duties and the UK to live in California in 2020 as he and Meghan pursued lucrative commercial opportunities abroad. Buckingham Palace declines to comment on security matters but it is understood this belief is 'wholly and incontrovertibly' wrong and the monarch has 'no such power' to influence Ravec, which operates on behalf of the Government. The magazine's sources claim the issue has created an 'impenetrable wall' between father and son at least as far as the prince is concerned. People wrote: 'Those close to Harry say the monarch no longer takes his son's calls or answers his letters. 'He gets 'unavailable right now,' says the friend. 'His calls go unanswered.' And in what will surely be seen as a thinly veiled and highly inflammatory threat from Team Sussex, the magazine goes on: 'However, if the matter of security is resolved, 'it's 'swords down',' says Harry's friend, as nothing 'would give [Harry] more happiness than being able to rekindle his bond with his father.' The Palace declined to comment yesterday but the Mail revealed more than a year ago that the King's patience with his younger son had worn thin and he was in no mood to humour him, particularly in his demands that the family owe him and Meghan an apology. Harry now refuses to bring his wife and children to the UK until the security matter is resolved to his satisfaction, adding to fears that the King may never see his grandchildren again. But the Mail understands that the Palace is in no mood to dance to Harry's tune. One source with knowledge of the Palace's thinking on the issue said archly: 'The King has no power to affect the decision [by Ravec]. 'But putting that to one side, it's worth noting once again that it was Harry's choice to leave Britain and it is his decision to pursue what many might consider to be this frankly hopeless case against the Home Office. 'It has also not gone unnoticed he is waging it from a country with high levels of gun crime and where even those individuals who are given armed protection are not immune to threat.' The Sussexes' press team was contacted for comment. In February, Harry unanimously lost a High Court challenge against the Government over his security when in the UK. Former 'Today' show host Katie Couric has declared that Democrats have 'kind of lost' the working class vote - due to being too out-of-touch. The decorated Democrat aired the warning to former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Alyssa Mastromonaco on her 'Hysteria' podcast Thursday, in hopes it does not prove prophetic. As for her reasoning, Couric harked back to the days of Hillary Clinton and the first Trump campaign, when the former first lady slammed her rival's supporters as a 'basket of deplorables.' The remark was met with outrage, and is often credited as one of the inciting moments to secure the political newcomer a historic upset. Couric, a devout liberal, reminded onlookers that this very well could be the case again if Democrats don't get back down to earth come November. Former 'Today' show host Katie Couric on Thursday declared that Democrats have 'kind of lost' the working class vote - due to being too out-of-touch. The retired anchor is seen here talking about the election back in May on Fox 11 Los Angeles As for her reasoning, Couric harked back to the days of the first Trump campaign, when his then-rival Hillary Clinton slammed his supporters as a 'basket of deplorables' 'I think that there needs to be a greater connection between the working class and the Democratic Party because, let's face itthe Democrats have kind of lost the working class,' Couric told the ex Obama staffer. 'It was never that way during all my years of covering politics,' she went on. 'You had the head of the Teamsters at the RNC, you have people buying into this notion that Republicans care about dinner table issues much more than Democrats. 'And these narratives, I think, have become too deeply entrenched about liberal college-educated elites who are condescending.' The longtime NBC News talker had been referring to International Brotherhood of Teamsters boss Sean O'Brien, who became the first boss in the union's 121-year history to speak at the RNC two days after the attempt on Donald Trump's life. In his speech, O'Brien blasted big businesses like Walmart and Amazon, while chiding the Chamber of Commerce and federal government for not looking out for workers. 'The American people aren't stupid, they know the system is broken,' he said. 'We all know how Washington is run. Working people have no chance of winning this fight. 'That's why I'm here today, because I refuse to keep doing the same things my predecessors did.' Explaining her reasoning, the former CBS News journalist said, 'You had the head of the Teamsters at the RNC,'referring to International Brotherhood of Teamsters boss Sean O'Brien speaking at the event last month While stopping short of a full-fledged endorsement, he made it clear he does not support current VP Kamala Harris. he chided her and her running mate's administration for not looking out for American workers While he stopped short of a full-fledged endorsement, O'Brien said that 'Trump is a candidate who is not afraid of hearing from new, loud and often critical voices, 'And I think we all can agree, whether people like him or they don't like him, in light of what happened to him on Saturday, he has proven to be one tough S.O.B.' As he uttered the acronym, a round of applause was heard as cheers rained down from the auditorium - a sign that the tides may have already turned, according to Couric. Nonetheless, the retired journalist told Mastromonaco, 'They can't just give up on that voting bloc.' Instead, she said her party should tell blue collar workers, 'Hey, we care about you, we care about your issues, we know a lot of things have really been hardbut this is how we're going to help. 'I just want to see her with a welding hat on, working with regular Joes,' Couric said of Harris, instructing her to start appealing to 'regular Joes.' She added how Democrats need to do more work as well, stating their current connection to the working class will not be enough for a win. 'I just want to see her with a welding hat on, working with regular Joes,' Couric said of Harris Earlier on in the sit down, Mastromonaco referred to the most recent anti-GOP mantra being used by Harris and Democrats against the Trump-J.D. Vance ticket - the singular word 'weird.' The simple descriptor has surfaced the new line of criticism against Republicans, despite it being party's latest pandering buzzword meant to win over younger voters, after others - and several trends on TikTok - failed to stick. 'Don't you find some of their stuff to be just plain weird,' Harris told a crowd in Atlanta just last week. Mastromonaco, who worked for Obama from 2011 to 2014, defended the use of the label, while Couric, visibly unamused, suggested Democrats had more pressing matters at hand than pandering to social media users and Gen Z. 'You can think their behavior and their rhetoric is weird,' Couric said, 'but you can also do a better job of reaching out to disaffected voters who are non-college educated White people, in particular who feel left out.' Back in April, Couric, 67, appeared on another podcast where she spoke about the election, this with fellow liberal Bill Maher. 'The socio-economic disparities...and class resentment...and anti-intellectualism and elitism is what is driving many of these anti-establishment [people] which are Trump voters,' she said at the time. 'The socio-economic disparities...and class resentment...and anti-intellectualism and elitism is what is driving many of these anti-establishment [people] which are Trump voters,' Couric said earlier this year 'I mean globalization and the transition from an industrial to a technological society I don't know if you've ever been jealous of someone else or resentful it is such a corroding and bitter, almost bile feeling,' The comments, back then, left Trump supporters furious, with many onlookers blasting her as 'out of touch'. With Biden out of the race and Harris now the heir apparent, Couric's new comments appear to indicate she has since ruminated on the thought, while expanding on it. Many criticized the confidence exhibited by the Democratic party in the buildup to Trump's win in 2016. As of writing, Harris has yet to name a running mate, and she has yet be pegged as the official Democratic nominee. The election is 96 days away. Vice President Kamala Harris has been branded a faker over a photo of her chatting to Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny's widow on the phone. The presumptive Democratic nominee shared the image on social media, explaining that she spoke with Yulia Navalnaya on Thursday amid a historic prisoner swap between the United States and Russia. Harris made the call, she said, because some of the detainees freed in the deal 'worked with Navalny to combat corruption and build a free, democratic Russia.' 'I thanked Yulia for her courage in continuing her husband's works and reaffirmed my commitment to stand with those fighting for freedom in Russia and around the world,' she added. But some eagle-eyed users of social media criticized the 59-year-old vice president as a 'phony' for holding the phone to her ear as she spoke to the grieving widow. Vice President Kamala Harris was mocked for this photo of her speaking with Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny's widow on Thursday 'Why is it on "speaker-phone" but being held up to your ear... as though you're speaking on the phone through the normal speaker,' Nikki Villanueva wrote. The user added a Yoda-like reference: 'The gaslighting is "strong" with this one.' Others likened the image to a cheap 'photo op.' 'It's so weird how Kamala puts a phone to her ear while on speaker,' another X user wrote, while a third posted: 'If the phone's on speaker, you don't have to put it to your head Kamala.' 'It's on speaker, Kamala,' a fourth person wrote on Instagram. The post marks the second time in less than a week that Harris has been mocked for the bizarre behavior. Some people online criticized the vice president for holding the phone to her ear while it was on speaker phone On Friday, the Obamas posted a video of them calling Harris to endorse her for the Democratic presidential nomination. In the video, Harris could once again be seen holding the phone to her ear - even though the speaker phone button is pressed. 'The Obama's endorse Kamala in the most cringeworthy way,' one X user wrote. 'None of them can act, and Kamala goes from taking the phone call on speaker to holding it to her ear. 'We somehow can still hear the Obamas clearly. 'These people are dumb.' Drew Hernandez also called the video 'poorly scripted events. 'Everything about Kamala Harris right now is synthetic,' he wrote. 'Who talks on speaker phone with the phone up to their ear?' Another X user said Harris was guilty of 'bad acting.' 'She is as fake as her laugh,' the X user wrote. It marks the second time in less than a week that Harris has been criticized for the bizarre practice after she was seen doing it in a video in which the Obamas endorsed her One X user called the video 'cringeworthy' and said she was 'dumb' for holding the phone to her ear on speaker phone Another said she was 'as fake as her laugh' Even former President Donald Trump criticized Harris for the video, telling a crowd in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on Wednesday that the 'radical left Democratic Party bosses have installed a puppet candidate to fight only for themselves.' 'She's totally scripted, owned and controlled by the donors and the power brokers who created her campaign, who rip off our government and make billions and billions of dollars,' the Republican nominee said, according to the Daily Wire. 'Unlike her, I cannot be bought and I cannot be controlled. I have no interest in that. 'Because everything about Kamala Harris' rollout, it's phony and it's fake. 'Did you see when President Obama and Michelle called,' he continued, before mocking the phone call. '"Hello, hello, yes, what's this? Oh this is Michelle and Barack. Oh, so surprised to hear."' They got four cameras in front.' Chilling triple-0 audio in the moments before a man was murdered by his neighbours in a religiously motivated terror attack has been released by a coroner. Alan Dare, 52, was one of the three victims shot dead by crazed gunmen at a property in Wieambilla, in Queensland's Western Downs region, in late 2022. Mr Dare lived with his wife Kerry at the neighbouring property of Nathaniel, Stacey and Gareth Train. In a triple-0 call, Ms Dare tells the operator she can hear 'gunshots and black smoke' and smell an 'electrical burning smell'. Mr Dare can be briefly heard in the background. 'There's been ... gunshots across the road for the last hour or so,' Mrs Dare says. 'But there's been two big bangs in the last 10 minutes. Really loud - not gunshots.' Mrs Dare goes on to say there is a lot of smoke in the air before the operator tells them not to investigate. The five-week inquest into the massacre at Wieambilla is examining the deaths of Queensland Police constables Rachel McCrow and Matthew Arnold, Mr Dare and the three members of the Train family - Nathaniel, his brother Gareth and Gareth's wife Stacey - on December 12, 2022. Alan Dare, the Trains' neighbour, was murdered investigating fires the trio had lit at the property an hour after two constables were gunned down Mr Dare filmed the unfolding event on his phone before his death Constables McCrow, 29, and Arnold, 26, were murdered by the Train brothers after jumping the fence of the Wieambilla property. Two other constables - Keely Brough and Randall Kirk - survived. Mr Dare, 58, was murdered investigating fires lit by the Trains. He lived on a property opposite theirs. All three members of the Train family were killed by highly trained Special Emergency Response Team (SERT) officers during a lengthy shootout later that night. The attending police were conducting a welfare check on Nathaniel, a former NSW school principal who had been reported missing months prior, but were ambushed by the family as they lay in wait. The Trains followed an extremist Christian doomsday ideology known as premillennialism, believing Jesus Christ would return to earth after a period of extreme suffering. In the triple-0 call, released by the Coroners Court on Friday, Mrs Dare tells the operator the blaze does not smell like a grass fire. POLAIR vision has revealed the tense final moments during the shootout at Wieambilla 'Holy cow it's close ... it's getting bad, holy sh*t,' she says as the black smoke continues to advance. 'We're going to have to get onto the neighbours.' Mrs Dare relays to the operator her husband was going to investigate with another neighbour, Victor Lewis. 'I would absolutely advise against it,' the operator tells her. In the audio, she says her husband is 'at the top of the road'. The inquest into the massacre at Wieambilla is examining the deaths of Queensland Police constables Rachel McCrow and Matthew Arnold, Mr Dare and the three members of the Train family - Nathaniel, his brother Gareth and Gareth's wife Stacey (pictured) The triple-0 call Kerry Dare (pictured with Alan) made during the shootings and fires at Wieambilla was released by the court on Friday Queensland Police Constables Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow were murdered by members of the Train family The operator tells her police are already responding to a job in the area and urges her to call back if anything else comes to light. Mr Dare was recording at the time he was fatally shot while investigating the fires. On Friday, Queensland Police Sergeant Andrew Gates also gave evidence of the moment he retrieved the bodies of his fallen colleagues after they were shot dead by the Trains. He told the court that he volunteered to go in as part of the extraction team to retrieve the bodies of constables Arnold and McCrow. He revealed he did not want to but said it was 'what we were doing'. The court was told the team progressed along Wains Rd to the address with a vehicle proceeding at 'walking pace'. Sergeant Gates explained he felt the officers were in a 'fatal funnel' due to the lack of cover. He said he saw Constable McCrow down on the driveway about 150m onto the property. The team were also calling out 'colours' to Constable Brough as she hid in grassland to check if she could hear them. Sergeant Gates gave evidence he yelled for Constable Brough to keep to the tree line. He last saw his colleague 'running for her life, Glock in hand' before the team moved in. The court was told he then moved over to the body of Constable McCrow - almost ripping her shirt off as he tried to drag her to safety with her vest. Sergeant Gates said it appeared to have been removed. 'We put her in (the vehicle) ... her head turned, and I realised she was deceased,' Sergeant Gates said. Toowoomba-based Senior Sergeant Christina Esselink also gave evidence she saw the initial job while working in the Darling Downs city. She received permission to attend the forward command post - even though Wieambilla was not within her police district. 'I was aware there were shots fired at police and two (officers) were unaccounted for,' Sergeant Esselink said. The court was told 'significant' resources would be needed to respond to the shooting, including aerial assets like the Polair helicopter, she explained. Sergeant Esselink said she organised for trained rifle users to come out to Wieambilla and attempted to organise the dog squad to attend. The court was told Sergeant Esselink used her car to block an open gate towards the Train's property, effectively containing and isolating the shooters on the property. The Trains' property at Wains Rd in Wieambilla Nathaniel Train Stacey and Gareth Train At this point, she was fired upon by members of the family, forcing her to bolt from the vehicle to safety. The court was told she noticed Mr Dare's body lying nearby and thought about taking his body with her. 'He had been murdered and there was a crime scene, there were shots and gunfire, and we had nowhere to put (his body),' Sergeant Esselink said. 'I thought we'd be back for him ... everything was crazy at the time,' she said. The inquest continues. Do you know more? Email tips@dailymail.com A controversial tenants' rights activist has thrown his support behind an Officeworks worker after she refused to serve a Jewish customer because she was pro-Palestine. The customer, who was wearing a yarmulke at the time of the incident, took an article from the Australian Jewish News newspaper to an Officeworks store at Elsternwick, in Melbourne's east, on March 4. The piece was titled: 'The indomitable spirit of our people', and featured a photo of a group holding Australian and Israeli flags. After seeing the newspaper, the Officeworks manager refused to serve the Jewish man, stating: 'I'm pro-Palestine.' The confrontation ended with the employee threatening to call police if the Jewish man did not leave the store. Jordan van den Berg, best known for advertising abandoned homes for Australians to squat in under the social media handle Purplepingers, issued a message of support for the worker. 'Really proud of this manager - I've told this story before, but back when I worked at Officeworks Hornsby, we all refused to print any anti-same-sex marriage materials during the plebiscite,' he said. 'Customers cant force workers to print whatever theyd like.' An Officeworks manager who refused to laminate a Jewish man's newspaper article because it mentioned Israel and she is 'pro-Palestine' has started receiving support online Controversial left-wing influencer Jordan van den Berg (pictured) said he was 'proud' of the Officeworks manager because 'customers cant force workers to print whatever they'd like' Mr van den Berg's comments' came just hours after Officeworks apologised for the incident, but did not fire the worker, sparking outrage from the Jewish man who was refused service. Instead, she received 'education and training', including a visit to the Melbourne Holocaust Museum. 'The anti-Semitic employee is still currently employed, which would make it seem that Officeworks condones her behaviour,' he told Sky News on Thursday. 'It seems as though you can be blatantly anti-Semitic and still keep your job. 'I cannot understand how that would not meet the criteria for an immediate dismissal from her role.' Officeworks Managing Director Sarah Hunter justified the company's decision not to fire the worker. 'At the time, we concluded the incident was linked to ignorance, not malice,' she said in a statement. The Jewish man who was received service by the worker is suing under the Equal Opportunities Act for racial and religious discrimination 'Disciplinary measures were implemented with the team member, including a final warning, additional training and relocation to a different store. Ms Hunter said the worker had learnt from her mistake, describing the effect of the incident as 'profound' and 'their remorse deep and genuine'. 'Again, I express my disappointment and deep regret that the incident occurred, as it does not reflect our ways of working and our values,' she said. 'We apologised to the customer at the time, and I take this opportunity to repeat our apology to him, and extend it to the broader community for the hurt and upset it has caused. 'We will continue to work closely with our team to promote awareness, tolerance and compassion while reiterating our expectation that the highest standards of conduct must be maintained.' A Texas family has been left distraught after learning their stunning $400,000 new-build home is so poorly constructed that it could be knocked over by a gust of wind. Laci Booker said she moved into her Seguin home in April 2023, but within just a few weeks it became obvious that the corrective work was extensive - even though the home appears fine from the outside. 'I feel very disappointed, I'm angry,' she told News 4 San Antonio. She said she hired her own home inspector, who noticed nearly 80 issues. Among them are inadequate interior and exterior wall braces. 'What that does is make the house more vulnerable to racking to the wind loads,' Mark Eberwine said. 'And not even tornado-level wind loads, just high winds.' The Bookers' home in Seguin, Texas, offers a few visual clues to the chaos inside But the first issues Booker said she noticed with the two-story house were that the walls were not straight - which she said made it difficult to open and close doors. 'And so we started asking the warranty team to come in and take a look at things,' she recounted. They then found even more issues - and their newly-built home by Pulte Homes of Texas has become a dangerous construction zone. Drywall was removed, exposing beams throughout. 'You walk in and you're greeted by studs and drywall cut out,' Booker told the local news station. 'The more work that they've done the more issues that they've found,' she added. Laci Booker said she moved into her Seguin home in April 2023, but within just a few weeks it became obvious that the corrective work was extensive Drywall has been removed from the interior of the home, exposing beams throughout This is what the Bookers' home should look like, but it has been torn apart over construction flaws As the issues became more and more extensive, Booker said the Pulte Group asked them to move into temporary housing at the company's expense to allow for more thorough repairs without the risk to injury to her or her family. 'We give them three weeks they'd take care of those issues, and then we could come back into our home,' she said. Both sides then agreed to start work after the winter holidays in 2023 - but the home is still undergoing repairs. 'I never would have expected to be dealing with something like this,' Booker said. 'It's just been a tremendous emotional and mental strain on us.' The kitchen is still ripped apart and covered in dust, and Booker said her living room 'where my family used to hangout and relax together is a regular construction zone.' Home inspector Mark Eberwine said he expects there to be even more issues hiding underneath the surface Pulte confirmed that the repair work started in January, and noted that the city of Seguin conducted its own inspection and they have resolved all the issues that were identified in that report. They are also working to address issues outlined in his Eberwine's report and the homebuilder said that framing repairs were needed, which subsequently resulted in repairs to the drywall and interior finishes. But Eberwine said he believes there are even more issues hiding underneath the surface. 'I'm absolutely certain at this point, if you were to pull this drywall, you're going to find more structural integrity issues,' Eberwine told the local news station. He said he believes that is why the repairs have dragged out. Pulte, however, claims that even though the family moved out, they did not always let the repair crews in - a claim that the Booker family denies. 'We are aware of and are addressing the concerns raised by Mr. and Mrs. Booker, with repairs already underway, according to schedule,' a spokesperson for the company said. But because Booker has involved lawyers, repairs have been halted and the two sides are at an impasse. PulteGroup Inc was previously sued by eight other Texas homeowners. CEO Ryan Marshall is pictured Booker, though, says she just wants the company to take the house back 'and let me get far, far away from them.' Eberwine agreed, saying, 'They need to buy the house back plain and simple.' Booker's complaints come just a few years after the owners of eight homes in Converse, Texas sued the PulteGroup Inc, claiming their properties have numerous design and construction defects that have caused 'unacceptable levels of cracking and buckling' to the home's foundation. That led to extensive interior damage, including broken tiles, split trim and cracked wall boards that rendered the homes 'unsafe, unsanitary or otherwise unfit for living,' the lawsuits state, according to the San Antonio Express-News. Mold growth was also cited. The homeowners sued Pulte Homes of Texas for fraud, negligent construction and breach of implied warranties. Company spokesman Jim Zeumer said at the time that it 'works hard to deliver outstanding build quality and overall customer experience. 'We are reviewing the filings, but we stand behind our warranty and look forward to meeting with these homeowners to assess their issues.' The group also added in a legal filing that it is 'not liable for normal wear, tear or deterioration,' nor is it liable 'for any percentage of damages caused by the plaintiff's failure to take reasonable action to mitigate damages or to maintain the residence.' Vice President Kamala Harris was not involved in the diplomacy that got journalist Evan Gershkovich and fellow American Paul Whelan freed from Russian prisons - but she was on hand to serve up some trademark word salad as they touched US soil for the first time. Harris, the presumptive 2024 Democratic nominee to replace President Joe Biden, had just embraced the prisoner-swap duo as they got off a jet at Joint Base Andrews just before midnight, when she walked over to the gaggle of reporters and let loose. 'This is just an extraordinary testament to the importance of having a president who understands the power of diplomacy and understands the strength that rests in understanding the significance of diplomacy,' Harris said in her latest word salad. Stuttering and seemingly stumbling over her words at times, the democrat added: '[A]nd strengthening alliances. 'This is just an incredible day', she finally concluded, as the president looked on. Scroll down for video: Vice President Kamala Harris offered up a stammering statement praising Joe Biden shortly after greeting Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan back on US soil. The president looked on as he waited for her to finish The journalist (seen here) and two other falsely imprisoned Americans landed in the US late Thursday after being freed in a historic prisoner swap. Gershkovich is seen being greeted by relatives and friends here The plane carrying the formerly detained Americans landed at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland after taking off from Ankara, Turkey, around 8:00pm local time. Gershkovich,32, a Wall Street Journal reporter, was seen on Thursday while boarding a plane in Turkey. He had been wrongly accused of espionage, and was detained in Russia while on assignment on March 29 of last year. Whelan, a 54-year-old ex Marine, was sentenced to 16 years in 2020 after being detained two years earlier on suspicion of spying. Both were freed Thursday as part of the East-West prisoner swap - the largest since the Cold War. After being freed from their Russian cells, the former prisoners took a four-hour flight from Moscow to Ankara. They then boarded a plane for a 10-hour trek back to the US. Also freed was Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, who was sentenced to over six years in a Russian prison in a rapid, secret trial late last month. She was seen running into the arms of her family Thursday, after embracing both Kamal Harris and Joe Biden upon exiting the plane. But it was Whelan who disembarked first, followed by Gershkovich, and then Kurmasheva. All three were seen giving Harris and Biden handshakes before blissfully running into the arms of their respective families. Whelan had been out of their grasp for five-and-a-half years, while Gershkovich's was without him for a year and six months. The plane carrying the Americans from their Russian imprisonment landed late Thursday, after taking off from Ankara, Turkey around 8:00 pm local time The plane landed at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland just before midnight, with Gershkovich, a 32-year-old reporter imprisoned last year under suspicion of espionage, seen disembarking here. His mother Ella Milman was seen giving him a warm hug as President Joe Biden looked on He had been wrongly accused of espionage, and was detained in Russia while working as a journalist on March 29 of last year. Fellow freed hostage Paul Whelan is seen meeting the president and vice president in the background Harris and Biden - credited with negotiating the deal - arrived separately in their own motorcades moments before, and happily welcomed the now-freed hostages Harris is seen greeting the wrongly incarcerated Wall Street Journal reporter here, just before midnight Several Wall Street Journal employees were on the scene as well, anxiously awaiting their coworker's arrival Kurmasheva was cuffed six and half years ago by a court in the central city of Kazan, for supposedly of 'spreading false information' about the military Her family appeared ecstatic to see her again, as was the case with the other families. Following the revelry, the three were cleared to take another plane to San Antonio, where they will be checked out by doctors and cleared to return home. Minutes before landing, President Biden and his motorcade made its way to the landing area, as Vice President Kamala Harris, traveled separately. Several Wall Street Journal employees were on the scene as well, anxiously awaiting their coworker's arrival on the tarmac. The prisoners were seen speaking with the president and vice president on the landing strip as onlookers cheered, in a display that, instead of occurring in private, was aired for the world to see. Whelan, a 54-year-old ex Marine, was cuffed for five-and-a-half years on phony espionage charges He is seen greeting Biden here, before being reunited with his family He was sentenced to 16 years in 2020 after being detained in Moscow two years before, under suspicion of spying He disembarked first, followed by Gershkovich. Both got to speak to the president and Harris Harris and Gershkovic shared a moment as the journalist walked on US soil for the first time in over a year Following the revelry, the freed hostages were cleared to take another plane to San Antonio, where they will be checked out by doctors and cleared to return home Earlier in the day, Biden - who is credited with negotiating their release - delivered remarks from the White House flanked by the hostages' relatives, hailing the occasion as historic. 'Their brutal ordeal is over, and they're free,' Biden, 81, said from the Oval Office at around noon Thursday, roughly 12 hours before the trio's landing. He added how the former prisoners had just left Russia and were on their way home, and revealed he has spoken to them over the phone already. He said their relatives were able to as well, paving the way for the widely seen reunion. Biden went on to call the multi-nation deal involving seven countries 'a feat of diplomacy', and one that he touted as the fruits of 'friendship.' Meanwhile, Russian State television also touted the agreement as a victory, after airing their own broadcast of President Vladimir Putin's own reunion with eight Russian nationals imprisoned overseas, including a man who was serving a life sentence in Germany for murder. Also freed was Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva (at right), who was sentenced to over six years in a Russian prison in a rapid, secret trial late last month She was seen embracing the president as well, after speaking briefly with both him and Harris. She had been detained for more than six years The woman was then seen running into the arms of her family, thankful she avoided a prison sentence for supposed espionage Also released were confirmed cyber criminals Roman Seleznev and Vladislav Klyushin, who were returned from the US. Vadim Konoshchenko, who was accused of providing US-made electronics and ammunition to the Russian military, was also released from the US, while Spanish-Russian journalist Pavel Rubtsov was released from Poland. Married couple Artem and Anna Dultsev were returned to Russia from Slovenia, where they were convicted of espionage charges. Mikhail Mikushin, an academic who entered Norway as a Brazilian citizen, has also been released. He was arrested on suspicion of spying in 2022. The convicts were released in exchange for 16 Western prisoners, including the three US citizens. A triumphant Biden, meanwhile, told reporters on the tarmac as the reunions were taking place: 'I was absolutely convinced we could get it done.' After being bombarded by his Journal colleagues, a beaming Gershkovich added, 'I'm home.' A small desert city has taken out the unwanted title of the hottest city in the United States for the month of July. With an average temperature of 103.2 degrees Fahrenheit, Needles in California surpassed even Phoenix, Arizona, which held the previous record. The Arizona State Climate Office officially acknowledged Needles' scorching achievement, jokingly welcoming the city, along with Palm Springs and Blythe, to the exclusive club of cities with triple-digit average monthly temperatures. The mayor of the city, which boasts a population of just 5,200, wasn't in the slightest surprised. 'We probably did [beat the record], quite easily,' Jan Jernigan said, adding that the area has adapted to its less than stellar climate by holding events early in the morning. With an average temperature of 103.2 degrees Fahrenheit, Needles, (pictured) surpassed even Phoenix, Arizona, which held the previous record To battle the heat, food distribution events start at 5am and end at 8am before the heat becomes too unbearable to function. The city has embraced the temperatures and leaned into the jeers, offering 'Needles is Red Hot' spicy candies as gag gifts to newcomers. To escape the relentless sun, residents and tourists flock to the Colorado River, where Needles boasts three beaches. 'Youve [got to] be waist-deep in the Colorado River,' said City Manager Patrick Martinez. The city has invested $8.4 million in improving its riverfront areas, including parks and infrastructure, in an effort to enhance the quality of life for its residents. Beach clean-ups have also been implemented to reduce the risk of future wildfires. However, the intense heat has also brought challenges. A brush fire ignited near Needles in late June, burning 70 acres and destroying one structure before crossing into Arizona and burning 143 acres there. Phoenix is happy to relinquish the record to Needles, now the hottest monthly U.S. city with 103.2F (preliminary avg July temp). Arizona welcomes a few new members to the 100F+ monthly temp club: Palm Springs (100.0F) and Blythe (100.7F). Welcome? This is the 2nd time pic.twitter.com/0IxUByqtWk AZ State Climate (@AZStateClimate) August 1, 2024 To escape the relentless heat, residents and tourists flock to the Colorado River, where Needles boasts three beaches The small desert city of Needles, California, has claimed an unwanted title: the hottest city in the United States for the month of July The blaze was exacerbated by the dry conditions caused by the high temperatures, with fires burning 30 times as many acres statewide as last year. To combat the extreme heat, Needles operates a senior center offering a cool refuge and water for residents. This community hub is equipped with a generator, ensuring it can remain open during power outages to protect vulnerable residents from heat-related illnesses. While recent infrastructure improvements have been significant, Mayor Jernigan emphasized that the city 'still has a long way to go' in its efforts to adapt to the increasingly harsh climate. President Joe Biden has sparked fresh health concerns as he was caught on camera staring blankly ahead while his vice president took the lead during a historic prisoner swap between the United States and Russia. The 81-year-old commander in chief appeared to be looking off into the distance as Vice President Kamala Harris gave a statement to a reporter Thursday night. Biden only moved once in the post-midnight appearance, apparently to scratch his head, with his vacant appearance quickly noted by viewers. He did speak earlier on and did not appear to make any verbal flubs - but nonetheless, his subsequent expression disturbed many. 'This dude is not there,' Juanita Broaddrick posted on X, sharing the video. 'Joe Biden is gone,' Nick Sortor added. 'Absolutely freaking gone. This is pathetic.' President Joe Biden was seen staring blankly ahead as Vice President Kamala Harris spoke with a reporter Thursday night during a historic prisoner exchange with Russia Nick Sortor shared the video, writing that 'Joe Biden is gone' Broaddrick, who accused former President Bill Clinton of sexual assault in 1978, has been an ally of former President Trump since Hillary Clinton ran for president in 2016. The 'deer in headlights' moment for Biden came one month after he told Democratic governors that he plans to stop holding events past 8 p.m. - so he can get more sleep. The late night schedule fix came after Axios cited staffers saying he already clocked a succinct 10 am to 4 pm workday, with an afternoon nap. Biden, who had been desperately trying to stay in the presidential race at the time, told the governors 'that he told his staff he needed to get more sleep,' the New York Times reported. Biden insisted 'he needed to work fewer hours and avoid events after 8 p.m.' Biden only moved once during as Harris spoke, apparently to scratch his head The vice president has taken more of a prominent position in the administration since Biden announced he was dropping out of the presidential race Meanwhile, the 59-year-old vice president stumbled to praise Biden's efforts to bring home Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and ex-Marine Paul Whelan. 'I am very thankful to the president and what he has done his entire career, but in particular as it relates to these families and these individuals, what he's done to bring the allies together on many issues, but particularly this one,' Harris said, in a statement that some have branded a 'word salad.' 'This is just an extraordinary testament to the importance of having a president who understands the power of diplomacy and understands the strength that rests in understanding the significance of diplomacy, she continued. Stuttering and seemingly stumbling over her words at times, the Democrat added: '[A]nd strengthening alliances. 'This is just an incredible day', she finally concluded, as the president looked on. Harris stumbled as she tried to praise the president for bringing home ex-Marine Paul Whelan, left, and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich Harris has taken more of a prominent position in the administration since Biden announced he was dropping out of the presidential race and endorsed his vice president to take over his position. The decision came after weeks of concerns about his mental acuity following a disastrous debate with former President Donald Trump. Many medical experts have suggested Biden's apparent cognitive decline could be due to him suffering from Parkinson's disease - especially after it emerged that a doctor specializing in the disease regularly visited the White House during Biden's tenure. Dr Ernst von Schwarz, a cardiologist in California, told DailyMail.com that Biden's 'dry mouth, fixed stare, very little... hand movements and gestures... could be signs of cognitive decline' caused by his age, or 'a neurodegenerative condition' such as dementia. But they could also be due to medication, he said. 'Keep in mind that there are ways to improve someones speech by medical intervention,' the doctor noted. 'The use of medications such as psychostimulants (like Adderall or Ritalin among others) is very common for many to take just before lectures or presentations or official tasks since they increase dopamine availability in the brain.' Harris is seen greeting the wrongly incarcerated Wall Street Journal reporter here, just before midnight Meanwhile, Harris has taken a commanding lead in the presidential race, leading in Arizona, Michigan, Nevada and Wisconsin. Amid her surging popularity, Harris was seen greeting Gershkovich, a 32-year-old WSJ reporter, and Whelan, a 54-year-old ex-Marine, as they landed safely at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. Also freed was Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, who was sentenced to over six years in a Russian prison in a rapid, secret trial late last month. She was seen running into the arms of her family Thursday, after embracing both Kamal Harris and Joe Biden upon exiting the plane. But it was Whelan who disembarked first, followed by Gershkovich, and then Kurmasheva. All three were seen giving Harris and Biden handshakes before blissfully running into the arms of their respective families. Following the revelry, the three were cleared to take another plane to San Antonio, where they will be checked out by doctors and cleared to return home. Police have charged seven men with violent disorder offences after riots broke out linked to the Southport stabbings and have made more arrests - including an 11-year-old boy detained for allegedly setting fire to a patrol car. The vehicle was torched during riots which spread from Southport to other parts of the UK in the wake of the knife rampage which claimed the lives of three young girls. The violence, also seen in London and Manchester, has been sparked by false speculation online that the suspect in the stabbing frenzy is an illegal immigrant who arrived in the UK on a small boat. Murder suspect Axel Rudakubana, 17, was born in Cardiff to Rwandan parents and lived in Banks - a Lancashire village less than 15 minutes from Southport. Cleveland Police's Assistant Chief Constable David Felton said: 'This is very much a live investigation and we are continuing to work to identify those involved in the disorder yesterday evening and bring them to justice. An 11-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of arson after a police vehicle was set alight during a protest in Hartlepool on Wednesday Riot officers on the streets of Hartlepool following a violent protest on Wednesday night Firefighters tend to a burning police car burns as officers were deployed on the streets of Hartlepool on Wednesday night 'Disorder of this kind will not be tolerated and those found to be involved will be robustly dealt with.' Confrontations raged late into Wednesday night in Hartlepool, where rioters set pelted officers with missiles including glass bottles. A lone Asian man was also punched in the face in footage which was captured on a live stream. Police are continuing to hunt for the man who carried out that attack. Cleveland Police said all seven men who have now been charged face counts of violent disorder. A 42-year-old man was also charged with assault by beating of an emergency worker. A 28-year-old man was charged with violent disorder and possession of an offensive weapon in a public place, as well as violent disorder. All seven men have been remanded in custody and are due to appear at Teesside Magistrates Court later today, while an 11-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of arson after a police vehicle was set alight. Cleveland Police said 11 other people were arrested on Wednesday evening in connection with the disorder during which officers were attacked with missiles, glass bottles and eggs in the County Durham town. Police officers and dogs were deployed to the streets of Hartlepool amid fresh violence A police car burns in the distance as riot police officers line up nearby Cleveland Police's Chief Constable Mark Webster spoke to reporters outside Hartlepool Police Station on Thursday afternoon following the previous evening's disorder The arrests included seven men, one juvenile and one woman, with ages between 14 and 54, on suspicion of offences including violent disorder and assaulting an emergency worker, according to the force. During the violence, which involved about 150 people meeting at the Cenotaph and descending on Murray Street and the surrounding area, four police officers suffered minor injuries. Before the protest, officers identified the suspected organiser and arrested a 51-year-old man from Hartlepool on suspicion of distributing written materials to stir up racial hatred. He has been released on conditional bail while inquiries continue. A woman aged 28, also from the Hartlepool area, was arrested on Wednesday before the demonstration. She was detained on suspicion of unlawfully obtaining or disclosing protected information and distributing written materials to stir up racial hatred relating to personal information placed on social media, and has been released on conditional bail. Speaking outside Hartlepool Police Station yesterday afternoon, Chief Constable Mark Webster said the events in the town were 'mindless thuggery' and that experienced officers had never seen such disorder there before. Asked what the motivation was for the disorder, he said: 'There is an opportunity to go out and damage things, and just exhibit a bit of violence. Firefighters attempt to put the intense blaze out as violence escalated in Hartlepool The remains of the police car can be seen as riot police officers walk past The Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has condemned rioters at a Downing Street briefing 'I don't think there is a principle at stake, this was not a legitimate protest or demonstration. 'I think there is some mindless thuggery and that's why we are being really proactive to go out and arrest people. There's no excuse for last night.' Also yesterday, Sir Keir Starmer condemned 'far-right hatred' in the wake of the Southport stabbings and today announced a new 'national' response to the violent disorder linking police forces across the country. The Prime Minister said 'thugs' involved in the scenes of unrest should not 'pretend they are speaking' for the grieving families of the three young girls killed in the initial attack. At a press conference following riots in which bricks were hurled at police officers and a local mosque targeted, Sir Keir warned: 'The far right are showing who they are - we have to show who we are in response to that.' In a televised address from Downing Street after the disorder in London, Hartlepool, Manchester and Southport, he announced a new 'national capability' to tackle the disorder across police forces in England. This will involve sharing intelligence, wider deployment of facial recognition technology and criminal behaviour orders to restrict the movement of those involved, Sir Keir said. He said: 'These thugs are mobile, they move from community to community. We must have a policing response that can do the same.' Violence erupted on the streets of London as flag-waving protesters clashed with police Protesters were seen wearing T-shirts with the faces of the three Southport victims on Southport locals have demanded rioters leave their town after Tuesday night's violence there The Southport mass stabbings have led to riots on the streets. Pictured: A police van is torched in Southport on Tuesday night Pictured for the first time: Southport stabbing suspect Axel Rudakubana, now 17, pictured as a child, is charged with murdering three little girls and harming 10 others Court artist drawing of Rudakubana covering his face as he appeared in the dock at Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday Alice Dasilva Aguiar, aged nine, was one of three children killed by a knifeman at a Taylor-Swift themed dance class in Southport Bebe King, aged six, was also killed in the attack at the dance school in Southport on Monday Also killed was seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe in the attack which shocked the nation The Prime Minister also sounded a note of caution to social media companies after misinformation spread online about the identity of the 17-year-old suspect, including false claims that he was an asylum seeker. 'Let me also say to large social media companies and those who run them: violent disorder, clearly whipped up online, that is also a crime, it's happening on your premises, and the law must be upheld everywhere,' he said. 'That is the single most important duty of government, service rests on security. We will take all necessary action to keep our streets safe.' Sir Keir, a former director of public prosecutions, also warned that speculating about the attack could risk prejudicing the active criminal proceedings against the suspect and impeding justice for the bereaved families. Asked what his message was to Muslims who may be concerned after a mosque was targeted in the violence in Southport, he said: 'In relation to the Muslim community, let me be very clear - I will take every step that's necessary to keep you safe. 'Mosques being attacked because they're mosques - the far right are showing who they are. We have to show who we are in response to that.' The press conference was held shortly after police chiefs from Scotland Yard, Merseyside and West Yorkshire were summoned to Downing Street for crisis talks with the PM and his ministers following the violence. Sir Keir said the meeting was held to 'pull together our response, response both to the immediate challenge which is clearly driven by far-right hatred, but also all violent disorder that flares up whatever the apparent cause or motivation'. Police officers outside a damaged butchers shop on Murray Street in Hartlepool the morning after the riots Mourners leave floral tributes near the scene in Hart Street, where three children died and eight were injured in a 'ferocious' knife attack Southport burns: A street near a mosque goes up in flames as violent thugs took to the streets on Tuesday night He hit out at a 'gang of thugs' who descended on Southport to riot following the initial attack, saying that as a result the community had been forced to suffer twice. 'Let's be very clear about this. It's not protest. It's not legitimate. It's crime. Violent disorder. An assault on the rule of law and the execution of justice,' Sir Keir said. In London on Wednesday, more than 100 people were arrested after protesters in Whitehall launched beer cans and glass bottles at police, and threw flares at the statue of Winston Churchill in Parliament Square. Police in Manchester confronted another demonstration outside the Holiday Inn on Oldham Road before dispersing the crowd after protesters started throwing beer bottles at officers and members of the public. The string of violent incidents followed similar scenes in Southport on Tuesday, where demonstrators attacked police and set cars on fire. A BBC staffer sent inappropriate and flirty messages by Huw Edwards has described feeling 'sick' to their stomach when they discovered the stellar newsreader had admitted possessing child porn. The corporation is facing calls to release its 'fact-finding mission' into complaints about the behaviour of Huw Edwards from younger staffers who he bombarded with 'inappropriate' messages. The BBC stands accused of trying to protect its own reputation - and Edwards - over failing to reveals its findings about the disgraced broadcaster's behaviour at work. MailOnline revealed yesterday how suggested a junior colleague could stay over in his BBC-funded hotel suite on the eve of Prince Philip's funeral and sent a picture of the room including the bed. In an interview with BBC News last night, Director General Tim Davie insisted that bosses are 'not sitting on anything that I think we need to share with the police, or is of a serious nature that would make me feel that we hadn't followed up properly'. But one BBC staffer who received inappropriate messages from Edwards has said that learning the TV presenter had child sexual abuse images on his phone 'made them feel sick'. They told Newsnight: 'Huw Edwards messaged me on social media several times, despite us never having met and not knowing each other. Many of the messages were clearly inappropriate, including telling me unprompted what he was doing in the early hours of the morning, asking that he take me for food, and including several kisses at the end of messages. Director General Tim Davie insisted that bosses are 'not sitting on anything' but staffers who complained about Huw Edwards want to see the internal inquiry Huw apparently sent a picture of his suite and said there was 'plenty of room' for a junior colleague there on the eve of Prince Philip's funeral during Covid-19 restrictions 'When I first told my experiences to Newsnight a year ago I had no idea the story would eventually take such a dark turn. Hearing the allegations this week made me feel sick. 'My experience does shed a bit of light into a much broader picture, one in which the most senior journalist felt able to abuse his position of power in several ways, from inappropriate messages to members of staff he did not know, to much darker activity on WhatsApp in conversation with a convicted paedophile. 'I hope the BBC uses this experience as an opportunity to learn, and recommit to ensuring the highest standards of professionalism of its presenters. It has never been more important for the people of the UK to be able to trust them. 'At the time I was confused as to why he was sending such messages to me, but I had heard stories of other younger employees in the BBC having similar experiences with him. 'I care deeply about the BBC, which is an organisation I love and remain very proud to have worked for. It is full of brilliant, talented, caring people, at all levels. There are clearly questions for senior leaders in the organisation to answer about how it handled the situation in November, upon hearing the news of his arrest'. BBC staff who told into that inquiry team of how Edwards sent them messages that made them feel uncomfortable claim they have been left 'totally isolated' - and demanded the report is made public. Speaking to Newsnight anonymously last night, one said: 'It has been deeply disappointing for the details of the report to have not been made public, or to know what other people have experienced what you have - so you know how many other people this affected. 'It has made me feel totally isolated. I've felt more reassurances by speaking to the media as a trusted source than I have dealing with the BBC directly. It shouldn't have been that way'. The staffers said they have heard nothing from BBC's HR team since November, when they sent them links to Samaritans and the Mind mental health charity. Mr Davie also said the corporation will 'look at all options' in trying to reclaim pay from Edwards after the revelations. The BBC chief said: 'These are, unfortunately, the specifics of how it works, that we can't claw back pension. 'I think when it comes to pay, again, legally challenging, but we'll look at all options.' Former culture secretary Sir John Whittingdale said there is an impression that the BBC has not sought to be as transparent as it should be, amid questions over its handling of the Huw Edwards probe. The Conservative MP appeared on BBC's Newsnight to discuss alleged internal complaints made against former BBC News presenter Edwards, who admitted earlier this week to making indecent images of children. Former BBC producer David Keighley said today: 'The problem is that the BBC is its own judge and jury on these matters. That means it will in the first instance try to protect its own reputation rather than get to the truth'. It comes after BBC director-general Tim Davie defended his decision to employ the veteran broadcaster until April, five months after he was told of Edwards' arrest in November over the most serious category of indecent photographs. 'I think it's clearly damaging for the BBC, particularly the way in which further revelations (have) become public,' Sir John said. 'There is an impression that the BBC has not sought to be as transparent as they should be.' The Newsnight programme included statements from a current BBC employee and a former staff member at the broadcaster who were critical of an internal inquiry into Edwards' behaviour after they said they received 'inappropriate' messages from Edwards. Sir John said: '(The) BBC always carries out internal inquiries and we're told that lessons have been learnt and safeguards have been put in place and yet they don't appear to have been effective. '...Revelations about what we're hearing from BBC employees who have suffered completely inappropriate behaviour and reported it and yet nothing was done. 'And those are the kinds of questions where it isn't enough just to have an internal inquiry, I think there is a public need to know exactly what actions were taken by the BBC.' Sir John said it was 'unfortunate' that while Mr Davie had given an interview to BBC News, he has not been able to be examined 'in a way a select committee could' - which 'hasn't yet been set up because we're in a new parliament'. The Culture Secretary has asked the BBC to look into whether it can recoup money from Huw Edwards' pay packet after the former broadcaster admitted accessing indecent images of children. Lisa Nandy spoke with BBC director general Tim Davie on Thursday after Edwards admitted making indecent photographs, with seven of the 41 images being of the most serious type. Mr Davie also said the corporation will 'look at all options' in trying to reclaim pay from Edwards after the revelations. The BBC chief said: 'These are, unfortunately, the specifics of how it works, that we can't claw back pension. 'I think when it comes to pay, again, legally challenging, but we'll look at all options.' Edwards' child pornography charges were not made public for five weeks due to fears over his 'mental health', it was claimed last night. Huw Edwards' child porn charges were not made public due to fears over his mental health, it is understood Edwards, 62, was arrested on suspicion of receiving indecent images of children via a WhatsApp exchange with paedophile Alex Williams, 25, in November 2023. He was charged this year on June 26. The former BBC presenter has pleaded guilty to possessing seven category A images, 12 category B images and 22 category C images of children at Westminster magistrates' court this week. But despite there being major pubic interest in Edwards' case, the charges and his upcoming court appearance were not revealed to the public at the time, as is typical practice. It comes as the BBC's director general Tim Davie has insisted that the corporation was not 'sitting on' any information regarding the police inquiry. The Met and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) have both denied suppressing information or giving Edwards special treatment. Fears over the former presenter's mental health contributed to the decision to withhold information for as long as possible, sources have told The Telegraph. The source said: '[...] concern over Edwards' mental health was certainly a factor in deciding not to release all the details immediately. The intention was to release details of the charges the day before he was due in court. 'This was not an attempt to cover it up but simply to manage the inevitable frenzy that would follow the news being made public.' MailOnline has contacted the CPS and the Met for comment. BBC boss Mr Davie admitted he knew Huw Edwards had been arrested over the most serious category of child porn images - yet continued to pay the paedophile presenter more than 200,000 until he resigned. In a bombshell interview with BBC News on Thursday, the director general said: 'We knew it was serious, we knew no specifics, apart from the category of the potential offences.' BBC bosses, who were told about Edwards' arrest in November but kept paying him for another five months, say they were not aware of the ages of the children in the images. Britain's most famous newsreader yesterday pleaded guilty at Westminster Magistrates' Court to receiving 41 indecent images of children, two of which showed a child aged between about seven and nine. Edwards received the pictures on WhatsApp from convicted paedophile, Alex Williams, between December 2020 and August 2021. Seven of them were category A images - the most serious classification - while 12 were category B and 22 were category C. Category A images show serious abuse including penetrative sexual activity, while Category B images involve non-penetrative sexual activity. Category C images do not depict any sexual activity. Huw Edwards yesterday pleaded guilty to receiving 41 indecent images of children, which included two sexual videos of a boy under nine Huw Edwards is yet another BBC star to be disgraced after he admitted three counts of making indecent pictures of children between 2020 and 2022 Mr Davie tonight confirmed the BBC did know the severity of the alleged offences, but claimed the police had not told them the full details. When the ex-anchorman's charges were made public this week, Mr Davie said: 'We were very shocked. No one knew about the specifics of what we heard over the last few days, which have been deeply disturbing.' The director general also reiterated that the BBC did not reveal that star's arrest at the request of the police, adding that the Beeb also had to consider its duty of care to Edwards. 'When it comes to the decision we made in November, we were obviously faced with a difficult decision, and we considered it very carefully,' Mr Davie said. 'The police came to us and gave us information that they had arrested Mr Edwards. But they wanted to be assured of total confidence, and the reason they rung us at that point, it's a technical process to ensure employees are protected and there's no risk.' He added: 'Another factor at this point was very significant duty of care considerations. I think it was right for us to say we'd let the police do their business, and then when charges happen, we will act.' Addressing whether Edwards would still receive his pension, he said it was 'very difficult to claw back, nigh on impossible', adding: 'These are unfortunately the specifics of how it works. 'When it comes to pay, again, [it's] legally challenging [to recover], but we'll look at all options.' Mr Davie was also quizzed about the BBC's own investigation into Edwards, which has not been published. He said the BBC was 'not sitting on anything that I think we need to share with the police, or is of a serious nature that would make me feel that we hadn't followed up properly'. Alex Williams (pictured) was snared by Welsh police - who later discovered he had sent Edwards a series of indecent images of children He continued: 'I can categorically say that when it comes to the offences we've seen, which are truly horrendous, any evidence that is out there is not in the hands of the BBC. If I saw evidence of that, that is not a complicated decision [to hand it over].' Before Edwards resigned in April on medical advice, he was paid between 475,000 and 479,999 for the year 2023/24, according to the BBC's latest annual report. This last salary marked a 40,000 pay rise from 2022/23, when he was paid between 435,000 and 439,999. The disgraced broadcaster earned more than 200,000 between his arrest last November and leaving the corporation in April. The BBC has said that if Edwards had been charged while he was still an employee it would have sacked him, but at the point of charge he no longer worked for the corporation. After his guilty plea on Wednesday, a BBC spokesperson said: 'In November 2023, whilst Mr Edwards was suspended, the BBC as his employer at the time was made aware in confidence that he had been arrested on suspicion of serious offences and released on bail whilst the police continued their investigation. 'At the time, no charges had been brought against Mr Edwards and the BBC had also been made aware of significant risk to his health.' Edwards received seven category 'A' images of the very worst kind on his phone after being sent them on WhatsApp by paedophile Alex Williams The corporation added: 'The BBC is shocked to hear the details which have emerged in court today. There can be no place for such abhorrent behaviour and our thoughts are with all those affected. 'Today we have learnt of the conclusion of the police process in the details as presented to the court. 'If at any point during the period Mr Edwards was employed by the BBC he had been charged, the BBC had determined it would act immediately to dismiss him. In the end, at the point of charge he was no longer an employee of the BBC. 'During this period, in the usual way, the BBC has kept its corporate management of these issues separate from its independent editorial functions.' Sir Keir Starmer has said he is 'shocked and appalled' by the Edwards' news when asked about the case at a press conference in Downing Street. The Prime Minister also confirmed the Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy will hold urgent talks with the BBC director-general Tim Davie on Thursday. The public currently pays 169.50 a year for the licence fee and questions will surely be raised if Edwards' salary was the best use of that money. Charlotte Rees-John, an employment law partner at legal firm Irwin Mitchell, told the PA news agency: 'It would have been possible to dismiss Huw Edwards after he was arrested, but it is not without risk. 'I suspect this was considered but the safer approach was taken, which was to wait until charged. 'Suspension on full pay was then appropriate as was the pay rise if contractual. 'Many other organisations would have taken the risk to protect their reputation, but the BBC is under a greater level of scrutiny and they also had to consider that he was suffering with his mental health and as such at risk of serious harm.' However, the fact Edwards has now admitted three charges of making indecent photographs - after he was sent 41 illegal images by convicted paedophile Alex Williams - will also likely raise serious questions of trust in figures at the BBC. The scandal with Edwards comes in the wake of the crimes of Jimmy Savile, the TV star and serial sexual abuser who managed to conceal his crimes until after his death in 2011. It also comes weeks after the BBC delayed publishing a report in the conduct of former Radio 1 presenter Tim Westwood because of an ongoing police investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct going back four decades. Westwood 'strongly denies all allegations of inappropriate behaviour' and refutes all accusations of wrongdoing. He has not been charged with a criminal offence. At the time the annual report was published, Davie defended Edwards' 40,000 pay rise, saying: 'We are always trying to be very judicious with the spending of public money and no-one wants to waste a pound. 'But what you're trying to do, and from the onset of that affair, was trying to act proportionally, fairly and navigate this appropriately. 'I think that's what we did... but I think we wouldn't have wasted money if we weren't doing the right thing.' Edwards resigned from the BBC in April 'on the basis of medical advice from his doctors' after unrelated allegations that he paid a young person for sexually explicit photos. Police found no evidence of criminal behaviour in relation to this matter. Edwards will next appear in court on September 16. The new Labour government has axed a planned 800 million supercomputer announced by the Conservatives that would have been 50 times more powerful than any other computer in the UK. The cancellation is a part of a 1.3 billion funding cut that will also see a 500 million AI project pulled. It comes after Chancellor Rachel Reeves warned the economic situation left by the previous government was worse than expected, as the government prioritises election pledges such as reaching a deal with striking junior doctors. The plans were unveiled less than 12 months ago by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT). But the current Secretary of State Peter Kyle has announced they will no longer go ahead with the department saying Rishi Sunak's government had not budgeted for them. The new Labour government has axed a planned 800 million supercomputer announced by the Conservatives It had been hoped the computer would help scientists speed up their research in important areas including medicines and nuclear fusion The supercomputer, or exascale, would have been based in Edinburgh and was described by the Tories as 'next generation' and 'game-changing'. It had been hoped the computer would help scientists speed up their research in important areas including medicines and nuclear fusion. All those affected by the decision have been informed by Mr Kyle, it is understood, but the BBC reports Edinburgh University has already spent more than 30 million building a casing for the new model. The UK already hosts supercomputers in Edinburgh and Bristol, with only a handful of exascale models in the world. The Conservatives' shadow minister Andrew Griffith did not comment on claims the project was 'unfunded', but said: 'As a point of fact, at the time the election was called, ministers had been advised by officials that the department was likely to underspend its budget for the current financial year.' The University of Edinburgh told MailOnline it is urgently seeking a meeting with Mr Kyle. A spokesperson added: 'The University of Edinburgh has led the way in supercomputing within the UK for decades, and is ready to work with the government to support the next phase of this technology in the UK, in order to unlock its benefits for industry, public services and society.' The University's Principal and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sir Peter Mathieson, is urgently seeking a meeting with the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology. In a statement, a DSIT spokesperson said: 'The government is taking difficult and necessary spending decisions across all departments in the face of billions of pounds of unfunded commitments. 'This is essential to restore economic stability and deliver our national mission for growth.' Holly Willoughby appears to be struggling to become the 'new Gwyneth Paltrow'. While the Hollywood star has enjoyed success with her company Goop, Holly's own wellness and lifestyle brand Wylde Moon has just 1,885 in reserves almost three years after it was set up. Accounts reveal that although the company has assets of 585,633, it owes creditors 583,748 - meaning it is only just staying in the black. Selling exotic candles, 'wax melts' and 'diffusers', the brand has been compared to Goop, the brand launched by Oscar-winning Hollywood actress Paltrow in 2008 and has been valued at 200million. Holly, who used to present ITV's This Morning with Phillip Schofield, is prominent in the firm's online marketing, posing on the website. Holly Willoughby's wellness and lifestyle brand Wylde Moon has just 1,885 in reserves almost three years after it was set up Hollywood actress Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop brand has been valued at 200million While Holly's brand may not be financially flourishing, it's an improvement from accounts filed in October 2023 that showed it had a mere 149 in assets. The 2023 micro accounts indicated that there was over 283,000 in assets but creditors are owed 310,000. Holly launched her Goop-esque lifestyle brand in September 2021 and it currently sells candles and perfume. The site contains beauty and style advice and a section on spirituality where readers are advised on crystals, healing and auras. The TV presenter said that the idea to launch her own lifestyle brand came to her in 2018 when she was in Australia hosting I'm A Celebrity alongside Declan Donnelly. She said: 'I've always been fascinated with the moon, space, shooting stars and looking up. 'On holiday, I spend more time on the sun lounger at night than during the day. The moon is always there like the sun no matter where you are in the world. 'I'd lost a part of who I was and that rediscovery has led me here, to a whole new place of beauty and power.' The news of its current assets comes after the TV star bravely spoke out after the trial of a man found guilty of plotting to abduct, rape and murder her. She thanked the police and her legal team who brought obsessive stalker Gavin Plumb to justice last month, before he was given a life sentence behind bars with a minimum term of 15 years. Accounts reveal that although the company has assets of 585,633, it owes creditors 583,748 - meaning it is only just staying in the black Former This Morning presenter Holly Willoughby founded her own firm three years ago Holly features prominently on the wellness brand Wylde Moon's website Products offered by the company include candles such as this one costing 40 Wylde Moon's site also contains beauty and style advice and a section on spirituality where readers are advised on crystals, healing and auras - as well as offering this 80 candle Her presenting roles on ITV have also included Dancing On Ice, which she hosted between 2006 and 2011 and again since 2018 Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop brand offers products including candles and cream The US star has also promoted a citrus drink containing skin-supporting antioxidants The star released a statement less than two hours after he was convicted in which she also praised the security guard's previous female victims after their evidence helped find him guilty. Holly, 43, who was acclaimed by police for her courage, said: 'As women we should not be made to feel unsafe going about our daily lives and in our own homes. 'I will forever be grateful to the undercover police officer who understood the imminent threat, and to the Metropolitan and Essex police forces for their swift response. 'Thank you to the Crown Prosecution Service, the Rt Hon Mr Justice Murray, Alison Morgan KC, the members of the jury and all involved in this case for ensuring that justice was done and that the defendant will not be able to harm any more women. 'I would also like to commend the bravery of his previous victims for speaking up at the time. Without their bravery this conviction may not have been possible.' Plumb, 37, claimed he wasn't physically capable of abducting the former This Morning presenter, had no one qualified to drive to her London home, and that vile conversations he had with 'like-minded' people in dark recesses of the internet were 'just online chat'. But a jury took 12 hours and 19 minutes to find him guilty after being presented with a raft of shocking evidence, including a chloroform restraint kit that he planned to use it to kidnap Ms Willoughby. He then planned to take the TV presenter to an isolated stud farm for sexual torture, kill her and dump her body in a lake. The defendant, who weighed up to 30 stone and adopted the user name Big Bear to chat to others about his plot online, appeared to formulate his fantasy as early as 2011 - Googling the phrase 'how to meet people who plan to kidnap celebs'. Former security guard Gavin Plumb (pictured) was jailed for life last month, with a minimum term of 15 years, after being found guilty of plotting to kidnap, rape and murder the TV star Holly Willoughby, seen here at the Pride Of Britain Awards in London in October 2018, issued a statement last month praising police for bringing Plumb to justice Holly used to present ITV daytime show This Morning alongside Phillip Schofield But his plans were foiled when one of his potential accomplices, who went by the name of David Nelson, turned out to be an undercover officer from the Owatonna Police Department in the US state of Minnesota. Jurors heard that Plumb had form when it came to 'terrifying real women', including convictions for attempted kidnap and false imprisonment following three incidents involving four women in 2006 and 2008. Plumb was heard discussing the horrifying plot to abduct, rape and then kill the 43-year-old presenter during a series of horrifying voice notes played to the court. The defendant, who weighed up to 30 stone and adopted the user name Big Bear to chat to others about his plot online, appeared to formulate his fantasy as early as 2011 - googling the phrase 'how to meet people who plan to kidnap celebs'. But his plans were foiled when one of his potential accomplices, who went by the name of David Nelson, turned out to be an undercover officer from the Owatonna Police Department in the US state of Minnesota. Jurors heard that Plumb had form when it came to 'terrifying real women', including convictions for attempted kidnap and false imprisonment following three incidents involving four women in 2006 and 2008. Plumb was heard discussing the horrifying plot to abduct, rape and then kill the presenter during a series of horrifying voice notes played to the court. He also spoke with another associate about buying realistic-looking air weapons 'from pistols to sniper rifles'. Plumb was arrested on October 4 last year after he revealed his plan to police officer Mr Nelson, who was based in Minnesota and alerted authorities in the UK. Holly Willoughby has said that the idea to launch her own lifestyle brand came to her in 2018 when she was in Australia hosting I'm A Celebrity alongside Declan Donnelly Holly launched her Goop-esque lifestyle brand in September 2021 and it currently sells candles and perfume Her brand Wylde Moon's 2023 accounts indicated that there was over 283,000 in assets but creditors are owed 310,000 Plumb has previous convictions for trying to kidnap two women on trains and tying a 16-year-old girl up at knifepoint. Willoughby waived her right to anonymity in connection with an accusation against Plumb of assisting or encouraging rape. Alleged victims of sex offences or targets of sex offence conspiracies have a right to automatic anonymity for life from the moment an allegation is made by them or anyone else. Holly has been hosting Dancing On Ice 2024 and will also present a Netflix show, for release next year, in which adventurer Bear Grylls hunts celebrities in the jungle. A man described as a 'runner' working for his boss dealing drugs out of a western Sydney hotel has been jailed for the violent murder of a woman whose body was then set alight. Robert Sloan, 61, pleaded guilty to murdering Najma Carroll alongside a co-accused before setting her on fire in a remote part of Sandy Point in Sydney's southwest on July 14, 2020. The 33-year-old's body was discovered by a bushwalker 15 days later. 'The deceased was isolated before her death, then taken to remote bushland where she had no chance of escape, then killed,' said Justice Natalie Adams on Friday. 'It must have been an absolutely terrifying experience for her.' The NSW Supreme Court judge sentenced Sloan to a maximum 25 years and two months in jail, backdated and expiring on July 3, 2047. His non-parole period of 17 years and six months will expire on November 3, 2039. Sloan was given a lower sentence than his 46-year-old drug running boss Benjamin Troy Parkes, who was sentenced last week for the murder. Najma Carroll was murdered before her body was set on fire in a remote part of Sandy Point in Sydney's southwest on July 14, 2020 Robert Sloan, 61, has been jailed for the violent murder The 33-year-old's body was discovered by a bushwalker 15 days later He faces a maximum jail sentence of 31 years, with a non-parole period of 21 years and six months. Justice Adams found that Sloan looked up to Parkes, who often ordered his subordinate to do his 'dirty work' for him. 'Mr Sloan assisted Mr Parkes out of a sense of misguided loyalty to him,' she said. The motive for the murder belonged solely to Parkes who worried that Ms Carroll knew too much about their drug running, did not want to return $8,500 that she had 'invested' in the illegal business, and was concerned she could go to the police, Justice Adams found. Sloan, who has previously gone under the alias Ronald Joseph Sladden, also entered into an agreement to kill Ms Carroll at a later time than Parkes. In sentencing the 61-year-old, the judge took into account his early guilty plea, highly disadvantaged upbringing and his physical health, including pain issues after he was shot in the leg in a motel room around 25 years ago. She noted he had been threatened and assaulted in custody since his arrest for the murder in November 2020, saying this could have been because of his involvement with The Heathens in Melbourne 10 years ago. Sloan's criminal history spans decades and involves run-ins with the law in NSW, Victoria and South Australia over crimes such as armed robbery, false imprisonment, threatening a witness, drug possession and motor vehicle theft. He was a long-term drug user and was taking 'ice' at the time of Ms Carroll's murder, Justice Adams said. Justice Natalie Adams said the victim's final moments must have been 'absolutely terrifying' Sloan watched the sentencing proceedings from Silverwater prison, and shook his head, muttering 'not true' as the judge considered whether he had assaulted Ms Carroll, causing her a black eye days before she was killed. The judge aired her suspicions but could not be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that he caused the injuries. She found Ms Carroll was a heavy drug user at the time who could have hurt herself instead. Justice Adams noted the significant effect the murder had on mother Anne Carroll who was told the shocking news by police that a burnt body found in bushland was that of her daughter. 'On behalf of the court, I extend my sincere condolences to the family and friends Najma Carroll,' she said. Serious errors led Israel to launch an airstrike on a humanitarian convoy that killed an Australian aid worker and six colleagues, government advice has found. The Israeli Defence Force launched strikes in early April that killed Australian Zomi Frankcom and six other World Central Kitchen (WCK) workers as they delivered food in Gaza. Amid outrage over the deaths, the Australian government announced former Australian Defence Force chief Mark Binskin would serve as special adviser to the government on Israel's response to the incident. On Friday, his findings were officially delivered. 'It is my assessment that the IDF strike on the WCK aid workers was not knowingly or deliberately directed against the WCK,' he wrote. He confirmed the deaths were the result of serious failures to follow Israeli Defence Force procedures, mistaken identification and errors in decision-making - aligning with Israel's assessment the incident was a 'grave mistake'. The aid organisation's convoy included white trucks with World Central Kitchen identification stickers, but these were not visible at night, Mr Binskin wrote. Those at the brigade level of the Israeli Defence Force were unaware of the full details of the World Central Kitchen's plan and were 'certain that the 'white pick-ups' were Hamas vehicles'. Australian aid worker Australian Zomi Frankcom was killed by Israeli airstrikes while delivering food in central Gaza 'It appears that the IDF controls failed, leading to errors in decision making and a misidentification, likely compounded by a level of confirmation bias,' the report read. Mr Binskin said Israel's response so far had been appropriate and 'with some exceptions, sufficient' but emphasised an apology should be made to the families of those killed. He recommended Australia request regular updates on the investigation. Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong said the government would implement all of the recommendations and reiterated calls for a ceasefire in Gaza. 'Israel is bound by international law, which requires the protection of aid workers. Demonstrably, that did not occur in relation to Zomi Frankcom and her World Central Kitchen colleagues,' she told reporters in Adelaide. 'The best protection for aid workers - and civilians - is a ceasefire. Ms Frankcom was one of seven World Central Kitchen volunteers killed in a series of Israeli airstrikes on Monday (pictured, the wreckage of one of the three cars) 'We do believe an apology should be provided, I have also said that clear practical action is needed to ensure this this tragedy is never repeated.' Two Israeli officers have been removed and three reprimanded, but Ms Frankcom's family says this is not enough and has called for a criminal investigation. 'The Australian government will continue to press for full accountability, including any appropriate criminal charges,' Senator Wong said. The World Central Kitchen hired armed locally contracted security on its aid convoy, which had not been approved in its coordinations with the Israeli Defence Force, giving 'the appearance of the presence of Hamas'. A Israeli force member later mistakenly claimed he saw one of the convoy's drivers place a 'gun' into the vehicle. Israel launched the strike soon after. Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said Mr Binskin's report was unnecessary and said the former ADF chief's appointment was a 'politically based decision'. 'IDF has ... pointed out that they've made a mistake, as is the case in a theatre of war,' he told reporters in Perth. On October 7, Hamas - designated a terrorist organisation by the government - launched an attack on Israel that killed 1200 people and led more than 200 to be taken hostage, according to Israeli authorities. In the months since, Israel has launched a bombing campaign and ground offensive in Gaza that has killed nearly 40,000 Palestinians, the local health ministry says. About 1.9 million Gazans have been displaced while 495,000 are facing catastrophic levels of food insecurity. Greek police have arrested a British man on manslaughter charges after his partner was killed in a brutal head-on car crash in Greece earlier this week. The 28-year-old Brit was behind the wheel with his 33-year-old partner in the passenger seat when their car veered into oncoming traffic as they drove through the resort town of Kardamena on the Greek island of Kos on Monday morning. Their vehicle rolled into the path of a second car driven by a 42-year-old Albanian man and suffered a sickening collision. Both drivers escaped the horror smash with minor injuries but the 33-year-old woman sustained critical trauma, according to Greek media reports. She was rushed to Kos hospital by EKAV ambulance services, but succumbed to her injuries just hours later, with doctors unable to save her. Her 28-year-old partner was initially released after medical checks, but was subsequently arrested and was reportedly charged with 'manslaughter by negligence'. MailOnline has contacted the FCDO and the Hellenic Police for comment. The critically injured 33-year-old Brit was rushed to Kos hospital by EKAV ambulance services, but succumbed to her injuries just hours later The horror car crash took place in the resort town of Kardamena on the Greek island of Kos on Monday morning The tragic incident comes just weeks after a British woman was run down and dragged along the tarmac by a reckless driver who lost control of their car on the Greek island of Crete. The unnamed 47-year-old was enjoying a family holiday with relatives and in-laws in the coastal village of Georgioupoli in Crete's Chania region in early July. They were on a walk along a country lane on Friday evening when a silver Peugeot 206 sped along the road and ploughed into the group. The victim was knocked to the floor and dragged off the road by the car which smashed through a wire fence and eventually came to a stop roughly 40ft into the adjacent field. Horrific pictures from the scene captured by Greek media outlet Flash News showed a pool of blood soaking into the tarmac by the side of the road. The victim was knocked to the floor and dragged off the road by the car which smashed through a wire fence and eventually came to a stop roughly 40ft into the adjacent field Two women, aged 47 and 54, were hit by the car Two women, aged 47 and 54, were hit by the car with the elder victim sustaining various abrasions but ultimately escaping without serious injury. The 47-year-old however was rushed to Rethymnon Hospital with serious head trauma. Doctors stabilised her but her condition deteriorated overnight and Greek media reported that she passed away in her hospital bed on Saturday, July 13. The driver of the vehicle is said to have escaped the incident without injury and was taken into custody. Officers from the Vrysses Police Department in Chania are now conducting an investigation into the incident. A FCDO Spokesperson said: 'We are supporting the family of a British woman who has died in Greece and are in contact with the local authorities.' The Tory leadership battle is ramping up today as Robert Jenrick warns the party must admit 'where we went wrong' and cut immigration. The former minister will bid to kick-start his campaign at a rally, laying out his blueprint for how to recover from the election disaster. Mr Jenrick is among six candidates trying to succeed Rishi Sunak, with the One Nation and right-wing factions struggling for control. But the contest is set to be an attritional one, with the winner not due to be announced until November 2 - three days after Labour's first Budget. There have already been complaints about 'dirty tricks' between rival camps. Robert Jenrick is among six candidates trying to succeed Rishi Sunak, with the One Nation and right-wing factions struggling for control Bookmakers have Mr Jenrick as second favourite in the race behind shadow communities secretary Kemi Badenoch (left). James Cleverly (right) is also a contender 'We have a mountain to climb. Shadow security minister Tom Tugendhat is a candidate from the One Nation wing of the party Former home secretary Priti Patel has also thrown her hat into the ring to lead the Tories Bookmakers have Mr Jenrick as second favourite in the race behind shadow communities secretary Kemi Badenoch. The two rivals from the right of the party are up against shadow work and pensions secretary Mel Stride, shadow security minister Tom Tugendhat, shadow home secretary James Cleverly and former home secretary Dame Priti Patel. The field will be whittled down to four in time for the Tory conference in Birmingham in the autumn before MPs vote for a final two who will face a ballot of Conservative members. At his launch in his Newark constituency this afternoon, Mr Jenrick is expected to argue that the Tories can win again in just five years. 'They say Sir Keir Starmer is guaranteed a decade in Downing Street,' he will insist. 'Trust is hard fought, but easily lost. It can't be restored overnight. 'But if the party learns the hard lessons, listens to the country and shows the party has changed, if we show the country that we have listened, if we show the country we know where we went wrong and have learned our lessons, if we show that we understand the scale of the challenges this country faces and are capable of delivering for Britain again, if we show that we have come together, a broad church, but united by a common creed, above all, if we show that we have changed, I know we can win again. 'Not in two terms. Not in a decade. But at the next general election.' Mr Jenrick will campaign on a tough stance of cutting immigration and pulling out of the European Convention on Human Rights. In a campaign video this week, he said Mr Sunak's party had been 'unable or unwilling' to do what was required to reduce the number of people coming to the UK. Hundreds of thousands of people 'we didn't need' had arrived legally while 'dangerous' immigrants could not be deported, he said. Mr Jenrick resigned from Mr Sunak's government last year, claiming that the plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda did not go far enough. 'I believe that anyone who comes here illegally must be deported within days,' he said in his pitch to replace Mr Sunak. Shadow work and pensions secretary Mel Stride is another hopeful in the contest The party must respond to the threat from Nigel Farage's Reform UK on the Right, as well as winning back former heartlands in southern England which were lost to the Liberal Democrats. Suella Braverman, who bowed out of the race last week, warned the Tories have 'no chance of winning the next general election' as long as Mr Farage's outfit 'is a viable alternative'. The former home secretary denied speculation she might defect unless she was 'driven out to Reform by my colleagues'. Arguing that Tory-to-Reform defector Lee Anderson 'should be a Conservative MP', Ms Braverman told GB News: 'We should not be hounding out Conservatives, right-wingers, Eurosceptics, people who want to stand up for our flag and our faith as if they are somehow swivel-eyed loons.' She cautioned any Tory leader against 'complacency' over the threat from the right, saying 'Reform can do better' and 'young people are voting more for Reform than they are for the Conservatives'. For decades, Britain's most notorious criminals from Charles Bronson to murderer Thelma Purchase have been marrying partners behind bars. Whether fellow inmates, ordinary members of the public or morbid fans, some of the UK's most hated names have been able to marry or have civil partnerships confirmed while serving lengthy sentences. But the new Justice Secretary has announced a crackdown on the privilege in a relief for victims and their families, with those sentenced to a whole life order now banned. It means the likes of ex-Met police officer and murderer Wayne Couzens would never be able to marry or have a civil partnership as they live out the rest of their days at His Majesty's Pleasure. Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, said: 'Victims should not be tormented by seeing those who commit the most depraved crimes enjoy the moments in life that were stolen from their loved ones. That is why I have acted as soon as possible to stop these marriages and give victims the support they deserve.' As the new legislation is signed into the Victims and Prisoners Act, MailOnline takes a look at some of the most high-profile prison marriages in recent years. Charles Bronson Charles Bronson, 71, has been married twice behind bars but his most recent wife died just months later Bronson was first married to Irene Dunroe (pictured) after the pair met aged just 19 Known as Britain's 'most violent inmate', Charles Bronson, 71, made himself a household name by kidnapping prison officers and staging protests against his treatment in jail. Sentenced to lengthy periods in jail for armed robbery, attacking fellow prisoners and guards, Bronson has been imprisoned almost constantly since the mid-1970s. After splitting from his first wife Irene Dunroe, who he met at the age of 18, he began exchanging letters with Fatema Saira Rehman, who moved to the UK from Bangladesh after allegedly being forced into marriage there. The pair met at HMP Woodhill in 2001 and got married three years later. Ms Rehman, who was 31 at the time to Bronson's 48, first fell for the criminal after seeing his photograph in a newspaper. The pair divorced in 2006. Then in 2017 Bronson married a soap actress Paula Williamson, who boasted appearances in Coronation Street, Hollyoaks and Emmerdale. The couple married at Wakefield jail after a bizarre ceremony in which she entered the jail under a purple cloak. It was reported Bronson wooed the actress by singing her a Frank Sinatra song over the phone. He was handcuffed to a warden for the entire two-hour ceremony. Ms Williamson was sadly found dead at a property in July 2019, aged just 38. Thelma Yvonne Purchase Thelma Purchase encouraged her son and his friend to suffocate Greg Baker, 61, who she was caring for Murdering care worker Thelma Purchase was jailed for life in 2008 after killing a disabled man she was looking after with help from her son and his friend. Greg Baker, 61, was killed in a plot to net 60,000 from his will masterminded by the care worker, who was ordered to serve a minimum term of 30 years. During her imprisonment Purchase became romantically involved with fellow murderer Tai Pilley, a trans woman who was moved to a female prison after receiving gender reassignment surgery. The pair had a civil partnership ceremony at HMP New Hall in 2010. But their relationship reportedly later ran into trouble after Purchase became close to another inmate. Pilley, previously known as Douglas Wakefield, murdered an uncle in 1974 by beating him with a hammer and stabbing him 48 times. Wakefield also killed a fellow inmate at Pankhurst before gender surgery. Julian Assange Julian Assange, 53, married his long-term girlfriend Stella Morris while imprisoned in HMP Belmarsh Wikileaks founded Julian Assange, 53, got married to his long-term partner Stella Morris in March 2022 as a battle over his possible extradition to the US raged on. Assange was imprisoned in HMP Belmarsh after being arrested at the Ecuadorian Embassy, where he previously sought asylum to escape extradition. Ms Morris campaigned tirelessly for him to be released during his imprisonment, as the US sought him over 18 counts relating to the release of military records and diplomatic cables. At their wedding the couple wore outfits designed by Dame Vivienne Westwood. 'This is not a prison wedding,' Ms Morris said. 'It is a declaration of love and resilience in spite of the prison walls, in spite of the political persecution, in spite of the arbitrary detention, in spite of the harm and harassment inflicted on Julian and our family. 'Their torment only makes our love grow stronger.' Assange has since been released from prison and has returned to his native Australia. Levi Bellfield Serial killer Levi Bellfield, 56, has tried several times to get married or have a civil partnership with his girlfriend, but has now been blocked by new legislation Milly Dowler, 13, was murdered by Bellfield in 2002 as he embarked on his killing spree Marsha McDonnell, 19, also fell victim to the evil killer - who has been banned from getting married under new legislation French national Amelie Delagrange, 22, also killed by Bellfield, was found with a serious head injury lying on Twickenham Green, south west London Serial killer Levi Bellfield, 56, had hoped to have a civil partnership under laws that, until now, allow prisoners to marry with the permission of the jail's governor. But he has been blocked from having the ceremony after a new law came into force stopping the most serious offenders getting married behind bars. Bellfield is serving two whole life orders for killing 13-year-old Milly Dowler, Marsha McDonnell and Amelie Delagrange, as well as the attempted murder of Kate Sheedy. It is understood he had recently submitted the application for a civil partnership, which is believed to have spurred the Government on to bring the restriction blocking those serving whole life orders from marrying from today. Previously Bellfield had applied to marry his girlfriend and made a bid for legal aid to challenge a decision to block his marriage. It is understood he withdrew his application to get married but had submitted a new application for a civil partnership in recent months. Bellfield was reportedly put in touch with his now-fiance by Peter Sutcliffe, after seeing a picture of her in the Yorkshire Ripper's cell. A cancer patient with a terminal diagnosis has ended his own life by lethal injection under new laws. NSW Central Coast resident Scott Hollingshed has been documenting his battle against lung cancer on Facebook. One of Mr Hollingshed's close friends Kellie Lott confirmed the 58-year-old died on Friday afternoon shortly after 2pm 'peacefully and with his partner Kat holding his hand'. Despite only being diagnosed in June, the cancer had already progressed to stage four, dashing any hopes of being cured. Ms Lott said her friend was one of the bravest men she has had the pleasure of knowing. Mr Hollingshed said he was 'scared' to end his life but he has 'beautiful people with me' and wanted to show his gratitude to those who had supported him more widely as he takes part in NSW's voluntary assisted dying program. In a livestream video shared on Friday morning, Mr Hollingshed gave a heartbreaking goodbye to those who supported him and said he wanted to make one final point, which was: 'Just to love each other and be there for each other.' 'If you walk by someone in the street, ask them if they're okay. It might save their life just to know there's good people left in the world... Just stick it out people, for as long as you can, just stick it out.' Cancer victim Scott Hollingshed plans to livestream his death by lethal injection on Friday Mr Hollingshed's friends paid tribute to him. 'Goodbye my first friend... will miss you, see you later mate.' Kat O'Brien said she it was 'very emotional' to speak with him on Friday morning. 'But I feel very deeply that he is doing the right thing for himself and I say that because I've seen him go from being pretty robust... and it just really went downhill very very fast and he's lost that autonomy as a man,' she told 7 News. 'I just said it'll be OK, and you need to just relax and talk to whoever you want to talk to today and have a cup of coffee and just try to be at ease,' she said. 'He was scared, and he wanted to talk through some things.' Mr Hollingshed said in a previous video posted to Facebook on Tuesday: 'I am going to do one (a livestream video) from the hospital just to say thank you to everyone and good bye.' Mr Hollingshed revealed that his partner would say a few words after he was gone. 'I thank you all so much for everything through my life,' an emotional Mr Hollingshed said. 'The compassion and support you have shown through this journey, you have all been incredible.' Mr Hollingshed had just bought a yacht with his partner and was enjoying life on the water when he began suffering chest pains. 'I've had heart attacks before but I knew it wasn't my heart,' he told 7News. Watching his father die in a hospice influenced his decision to seek assisted dying. 'Seeing him wither away ... I don't want to see myself like that and I don't want other people to see me like that, especially people who care about me,' Mr Hollingshed said. 'I've been given the control to say, 'Alright, it's time'.' After coughing up blood and being unable to sleep on his side without spluttering, Mr Hollingshed was delivered the devastating news that he had three to six months to live. His condition has since deteriorated even quicker. Mr Hollingshed had just bought a yacht with his partner when he began noticing chest pains that led to a lung cancer diagnosis 'It got to the point where I couldn't even put my socks on and my missus used to get down on her hands and knees and put my socks on,' Mr Hollingshed said. 'I know people do things for people they love but that broke my heart seeing her do that.' On Wednesday he wrote in a Facebook post that he 'would be lucky to go another week before I can't do the normal things, like going to the toilet, showering, cooking (I already can't get that done)'. 'I'm coughing up blood in large lots all day and all night,' the post read. In another recent video, Mr Hollingshed said it had been 'a beautiful journey but a very fast one compared to what I thought it would be'. Explaining that he could only sleep propped on the lounge and only in two-hour stretches while the painkillers were working, he said was considering 'f**king off to hospital'. 'All they are going to do there is put me on the oxygen and pump me full of a painkillers,' Mr Hollingshed said. 'I have my hydromorphone pain here and a bottle of bourbon, I will be alright,' he said. 'Everyone is saying I have been an inspiration and thank you to those people for those comments. 'We only get one go at this s*** make the most of it, eh.' Mr Hollingshed says he hopes his story is an inspiration to others to make live life to the fullest and turn negatives into positives Friend Kellie Lott has organised an online fundraiser to help Mr Hollingshed and his partner with end-of-life expenses. 'We have all been watching this man do amazing lives on fb. for me and I bet all of us an inspiration every time we see him talk,' the page reads. 'He is trying his hardest to pass with dignity and I'm sure we all agree that if he had less to worry about for him and his partner it will make his last days much more peaceful.' 'Please try to donate anything as every dollar helps especially at this time.' The page had raised nearly $1,000 of its $5,000 goal. NSW became the last Australian state to allow medically assisted dying late last year. Under the laws voluntary assisted dying is only available for NSW residents older than 18 who have an advanced illness or disease that will cause death in at least 12 months and is causing suffering that cannot be relieved. Mr Hollingshed said sharing his story had helped others going through similar circumstances as he urged Aussies to live life to the fullest. A British TikToker has sparked fury in Greece by dismissing the famous Acropolis as a 'glorified construction site'. The influencer, who states on the platform that he is from Manchester, slammed the 'absolute state' of the famous monument and said that it resembles somewhere beloved British animated figure 'Bob the Builder would live'. 'So they call this the city of gods but I'm a bit disappointed [as] it's a glorified construction site. Look at the state of that, the absolute state of it,' he said while filming ruins with scaffolding surrounding them. During his visit, a furious staff member ordered the man to get off the restricted area after he stepped over the rope to get closer to the temples currently being restored. 'People think it's all amazing... look at that, they are kicking me off here as well. What's wrong with me walking here, realistically?,' the TikToker asked while a staff member repeatedly blew a whistle at him and told him to 'come out' of the roped-off area. Greek TikTok users called him out for the video, with one telling the content creator: 'You are disrespectful and I wonder if you would dare not following the rules in the British museum. Never visit the Acropolis again.' The influencer (pictured), who states on the platform that he is from Manchester, slammed the 'absolute state' of the famous monument and called it a 'glorified construction site' 'So they call this the city of gods but I'm a bit disappointed [as] it's a glorified construction site. Look at the state of that, the absolute state of it,' he said while filming ruins with scaffolding surrounding them The Tiktoker said 'it's where Bob the Builder would live' as he pointed at construction containers on the Acropolis 'What are you paying 10 [for] if you're just going to walk around and look at the scaffolding and stuff,' the TikToker said The man, with the username peakedteaviews, appeared to be upset over builders storing the materials they need for the restoration on the Acropolis. He said while pointing at scaffolding and seemingly unused equipment: 'They just left it there. To be honest: they don't care. If they are just going to leave that there, leave that there - it's a tip. It's a glorified tip.' After the staff member told him that he is 'not allowed' in the restricted area off the walking path, he replied: 'But I just wanted to go to that side... I just want the go around,' as she reiterated that he wasn't allowed to do that. 'What are you paying 10 [for] if you're just going to walk around and look at the scaffolding and stuff. It's like giving a kid a minecraft game and [telling] him to just create a bunch of c***,' the tourist, who has nearly 40,000 followers on TikTok, said. He added: 'Is this the city of gods or is it like where Bob the Builder would live, let's be honest.' The TikToker claims that he was 'kicked out of Acropolis' later, but it is unclear whether he refers to being kicked out of the restricted area or being asked to leave the Acropolis entirely. Comments quickly flooded his video calling him 'disrespectful' and telling him that he deserved to have been kicked out. One person said under the video: 'Instead of embarrassing yourself like this you should better go to your country and bring back the sculptures you have stolen from Acropolis.' 'It's like giving a kid a minecraft game and [telling] him to just create a bunch of c***,' the tourist, who has nearly 40,000 followers on TikTok, said During his visit, a furious staff member ordered the man to get off the restricted area after he stepped over the rope to get closer to the temples currently being restored After the staff member told him that he is 'not allowed' in the restricted area off the walking path, he replied: 'But I just wanted to go to that side... I just want the go around,' as she reiterated that he wasn't allowed to do that Pictured above are some of the marbles that Lord Elgin removed from the Pantheon temple on the Acropolis in the 1800s The Pantheon (pictured in 2023) was partially destroyed during a Venetian bombardment on the Ottoman Empire in 1687 - when a cannon ball fired at it blew up the gunpowder stored inside it - then looted What are the Elgin Marbles? The marbles, also known as The Parthenon Sculptures, are a series of Ancient Greek sculptures created between 447BC and 432BC. They were the work of Greek architect Phidias, who also created a statue of the ancient god Zeus, which was considered one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. The artefacts are made up of 17 figures that adorned the Parthenon. Athens is still home to a smaller 164ft section of the sculptures, but the majority - around 260ft - are in the UK. Advertisement Another added: 'An uneducated person. Please don't be like him. If you wanted to see a better Acropolis then ask [the] UK to bring back all the marbles they stole. Sure then it would look magnificent.' 'If you and your country (UK) don't care about the acropolis by violating the rules in the temple (which you clearly did), then bring back the marbles you guys have stolen from us to Greece,' a user called Freskos urged. The marbles the commenters are referring to are the Elgin Marbles, who were taken from the famous Pantheon temple to Britain. In the early 1800s, workmen stripped entire friezes from the monument on the orders of Scottish nobleman Thomas Bruce, known as Lord Elgin. Elgin sold the marbles to the British government, which in 1817 passed them on to the British Museum where they remain one of its most prized exhibits. London has long argued that the sculptures had been taken with permission from the Ottoman Turks who ruled Greece at the time, but Athens insists they were stolen. The Pantheon - along with the Erechtheion, Odeon of Herodes Atticus, Propylaea of Athens and Athena Nike standing on the Acropolis - was built in the 5th century BCE to honour Athena, the patron goddess of Athens. The Pantheon was partially destroyed during a Venetian bombardment on the Ottoman Empire in 1687 - when a cannon ball fired at it blew up the gunpowder stored inside it - then looted. Fragments of the temples and the artworks inside them are scattered throughout many renowned museums. Since the beginning of the 20th century, Greece has been trying to recover them. This is the bizarre moment Joe Biden told the daughter of a freed prisoner 'no serious guys until you're 30' while awkwardly wrapping his am around her. The president led a rendition of Happy Birthday to the girl who turned 13 on Friday in front of a room filled with family members of released Americans. In footage of the moment, Biden tells the room 'Tomorrow is a big day, the 13th birthday of Miriam (Butorin),' who is the daughter of Alsu Kurmasheva, one of the hostages freed in a historic prisoner swap. As he extends his hand to pull her towards him, he asks his audience to join him in singing Happy Birthday to the young girl. 'As you all know, we have a tradition in the Biden family. We sing Happy Birthday,' he said. President Joe Biden sings happy birthday to Miriam Butorin after delivering remarks on a prisoner swap with Russia from the State Dining Room of the White House Miriam Butorin wipes her tears at the White House event Biden provided some life dating advice after the song, saying: 'And remember, no serious guys until youre 30. God love you' After the song, he dished out some awkward advice to the teen, saying: 'And remember, no serious guys until youre 30. God love you'. Miriam was quickly reduced to tears as Biden embraced her with one arm, causing her to laugh nervously at the floor as she wiped her eyes. Biden, who hasn't been seen publicly since Tuesday, made the surprise appearance inside the State Dining Room at the White House just hours after the historic deal that freed American ex-Marine Paul Whelan, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, and Kurmasheva, a Russian-American reporter. The American President had earlier confirmed that negotiations had resulted in the release of 16 people, including five Germans and eight Russian citizens. All were held inside Russia, Whelan since 2018, for 'no legitimate reason whatsoever - none,' Biden said. 'And now they're brutal ordeal is over and they're free. The US had also coordinated the release of Russian criminals including Vadim Krasikov, known as the 'bicycle assassin' who killed a Georgian national in Berlin in 2019. Responding to a question from DailyMail.com, the president defended Krasikov's release, who had been serving a life sentence in Germany. Asked how he weighed the decision to release the hit man who was able to get away with murder, Biden responded: 'I got home innocent people.' Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich is among those released from prison in Russia Biden positioned family members behind him for the event, where he read from prepared remarks and took a series of questions from the press, at a time when the White House says he is 'recalibrating' his role now that he isn't seeking reelection. 'They never gave up hope. I can't imagine what they've been through,' he said. He invoked his own late son Beau as he tried to describe what they grappled with. 'Family is the beginning, the middle, and the end,' he said. The president said it 'says a lot' about American values that the US also pushed for the release of Russian dissidents being held inside their country. He said they would not be free to 'live safely abroad' and said they would be able to continue working to promote democracy in Russia 'if they so choose.' Biden focused many of his remarks on the freed Americans, who also included Vladimir Kara-Murza, a journalist and Russian-British dissident also part of the swap. He referred to the quartet by the first names. 'This deal would not have been made possible without our allies,' said Biden. On Thursday, Biden hailed the deal as a 'feat of diplomacy' that was testament to having good allies who make 'bold and brave decisions'. The statement came just two weeks after Biden stepped back from the presidential race following heavy criticism of his age and abilities. He has since been replaced by his vice president, Kamala Harris. Huw Edwards sent flirtatious messages to a BBC producer on the eve of Prince Philip's funeral - suggesting he could have stayed with him in his hotel room. The disgraced newsreader, 62, asked the young man if he was 'around tomorrow night' on the eve of the mournful event - telling him he 'missed a good night' as he prepared to present the royal broadcast. Sending a picture of a plush hotel room - with only one bed - he added that the freelance journalist 'could have stayed here' despite strict lockdown rules that remained in place at the time. The messages create a striking picture of Edwards - who movingly described the Queen's solitary figure the next day as she stoically refused to break the country's isolation regulations, which barred indoor mixing. She famously sat alone in St George's Chapel to mourn her husband of 73 years dressed in black and wearing a Covid mask and could not be comforted by her family during the 50-minute service on Saturday April 17, 2021. Other royal events also failed to get in the way of his searches for company, as he sent selfies to a young man while presenting Harry and Meghan's wedding as the BBC figurehead tried to get him to send over naked pictures. He is said to have sent photos from the News at Ten studio and from outside Windsor Castle as he tried to impress the heterosexual 21-year-old. Huw Edwards sent selfies to a young man while presenting Harry and Meghan's wedding as he tried to get him to send over naked pictures The text messages said to have been sent to a junior colleague Huw apparently sent a picture of his suite and said there was 'plenty of room' for him A young BBC worker claims that Huw Edwards invited him to stay in his hotel suite on the eve of presenting coverage of Prince Philip's funeral in April 2021 (pictured) Alone in grief, the Queen sat alone as she said goodbye to her husband at his funeral in extraordinary and poignant circumstances due to the pandemic It made up part of a year-long campaign where he pestered the young man for sex pics, finally unleashing a foul-mouthed tirade when he only received topless photos. 'It's disgusting. It was clear he was always trying to groom me and trying to use his position and money for his own perverse gratification,' the man told The Sun. PayPal records show Edwards paid him 500 for a photo - telling him: 'F***. That's one of your best. You look so good.' In messages obtained by the tabloid, he continued: 'I want a pic of you totally naked head to toe.' He later transferred the fan 2,000 - before furiously messaging him when he was only sent through a picture of with the youngster's top half uncovered. Edwards raged: 'F*** that. F*** that. Really not impressed by you. I believed you were serious. But you're not. You chase me for cash. But you then 'forget' to deliver. F*** that.' Edwards, who led the BBC's coverage from Windsor on the day of Prince Phillip's funeral, appears to have been keen for company on the night before the funeral. A day earlier, he told the youngster who was also working at the event: 'I'm there all day tomorrow. Staying overnight, then all day Saturday. If you're around tomorrow night let me know.' Mr Edwards is said to have moved from the family home he shared with wife Vicky Flind in south London Then in the early hours of the funeral day, Edwards wrote: 'You missed a good night' adding: 'You could have stayed here', attaching a photo of his 'very nice' suite at the Macdonald Windsor Hotel, which is just across the road from the castle. Edwards wrote: 'Plenty of room, so easy'. The disgraced BBC anchorman pleaded guilty earlier this week to receiving 41 indecent images of children, which included two sexual videos of a boy under nine. It comes as the BBC admitted it knew Edwards had been arrested on 'suspicion of serious offences' last November, but kept paying his 479,000-a-year salary until he resigned in April. The BBC worker, whom the Mail is calling 'Charlie', told the Mail: 'He sent me a picture of his hotel room. I felt it was very suggestive. There were lockdown restrictions at the time.' The deluxe suite had mounted wall mirrors, a small sofa and a coffee table, and on a chair in the corner can be seen a notebook and papers and a Covid mask. At the time, the rules in England were that masks should be worn in public areas of hotels, and they stated: 'No indoor mixing between people of different households allowed.' In the end, the pair never met. But the funeral was one of three occasions during the period when Covid rules banned indoor socialising that Edwards suggested a meeting. Britain's most famous newsreader and Charlie who was in their early twenties - had begun messaging online after the youngster started working for the BBC in a junior freelance role and had followed Edwards on Instagram. Charlie regarded Edwards as a role model in the industry, and said the star had been friendly. The pair later switched to WhatsApp and Charlie has kept hundreds of messages spanning April 2021 to August 2022. Police officers clear the way as former BBC news presenter Huw Edwards arrives at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London Court artist drawing of former BBC broadcaster Huw Edwards appearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court Other royal events also failed to get in the way of his searches for company, as he sent selfies to a young man while presenting Harry and Meghan's wedding as the BBC figurehead tried to get him to send over naked pictures Edwards' first message was on April 13, 2021, four days before Prince Philip's funeral. When told Charlie lived in a house-share, Edwards said: 'So I could pop in to have some tea?' During an exchange a few days after the funeral, Edwards suggested: 'Or I can come to yours.' After Covid rules were eased in May 2021, he also made further suggestions to meet indoors, which by then was legal. Married father-of-five Edwards, 62, who resigned from the BBC in April after a 40-year career, won plaudits for his faultless handling of the funeral coverage on April 17, 2021. Wearing a black suit and tie, he anchored four hours of live broadcast, as he was joined by guests including Sir David Attenborough, Gyles Brandreth and Alan Titchmarsh, with pictures beamed to millions around the world. He later wrote an article about the event entitled: 'My painstaking preparations for Prince Philip's funeral.' Published in The Spectator magazine, he portrayed himself as poring over briefing notes before the big day: 'Ahead of these great ceremonial occasions, I love the solitary rituals of reading and revising.' However his WhatsApp messages, seen by the Mail, suggest solitude was not the only thing on his mind. The disgraced BBC anchorman pleaded guilty earlier this week to receiving 41 indecent images of children, which included two sexual videos of a boy under nine The BBC's Director General Tim Davie was summoned to meet Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy today to explain the BBC's role in the scandal, including who had knowledge of Edwards' arrest eight months ago Two days prior to the funeral, he messaged Charlie, who was also working for the BBC in Windsor: 'Are you staying tomorrow night?' A day later he sent the photo. Edwards' suggestion came on the same night as Downing Street staff held a drunken gathering at No.10 for which several of them were later handed Covid rule-breaking fines by police. When the Downing Street story emerged, in 2022, it was trumpeted by BBC news bulletins throughout the day, with Edwards' co-host Clive Myrie informing viewers of the flagship news show on BBC1 that night: 'Tonight at ten, Downing Street apologises to the Queen.' Myrie went on: 'It was a time of national mourning and Covid rules meant indoor mixing was banned.' There was 'public fury' at Downing Street staff breaking the rules, the newscaster added. The BBC reported the saga had 'engulfed No.10' which had been forced into a 'chastened apology to the Queen', and BBC reporters around the country filed dispatches quoting members of the public saying it was 'disgusting' and the government was 'a rudderless ship'. It even broadcast Labour's Angela Rayner saying: 'It's [like them saying] one rule for everybody else and one rule for us.' The story rumbled on all week, with Edwards himself fronting News At Ten live from outside No.10 Downing Street. Yesterday Charlie told the Mail: 'The Covid rules about households not mixing were still in force, the Queen was all alone on the pews at Philip's funeral, and then Boris [Johnson] got a hammering for the parties in No.10 and that was the same night Huw Edwards suggested I stay in his hotel room. 'Afterwards he said I had missed a good night.' Last month the news anchor - generally regarded as the pre-eminent talent of his generation - resigned from the BBC It came nine months after Edwards - who will forever be hailed for his composure and authority announcing the death of Queen Elizabeth II - saw his 40-year career spectacularly implode. Pictured: In the BBC Newsroom The overall tone of the WhatsApp messages, which number more than 350, is friendly and consensual on both sides. With the exception of the Covid rules, there is no suggestion of any wrongdoing. But Charlie feels that, given the age gap and professional circumstances, there was a power imbalance in the relationship. Edwards was one of the BBC's best-paid stars on a salary of 435,000 to 439,999. Last month the news anchor - generally regarded as the pre-eminent talent of his generation - resigned from the BBC. He was given a perfunctory 55-word goodbye from his employers notably devoid of any thanks or regret. It came nine months after Edwards - who will forever be hailed for his composure and authority announcing the death of Queen Elizabeth II - saw his 40-year career spectacularly implode. He has been off screen since last July when it was alleged he had received sexually explicit photographs from a young person and had paid 35,000. Soon afterwards, the BBC's Newsnight said that it had evidence of 'inappropriate' behaviour towards three other junior employees. The corporation launched an internal inquiry. Charlie, who now has a job outside the BBC, told the Mail: 'I worked in TV, so I followed Huw on Instagram. He was someone to look up to and respect and carried a lot of clout.' Charlie offered to help the inquiry, yet was surprised that it took four weeks to hear back from the BBC's Corporate Investigations Team. Eventually there was a meeting over Zoom with one of the lead investigators on August 21. After the nine months, in which Edwards continued to be paid his 439,000-a-year salary, he resigned on medical grounds without a pay-off. Pictured: Edwards in 1999 The news anchor also left without any sign of the BBC's investigation having concluded. Pictured: On the set of the BBC Ten o' Clock News Charlie told the Mail: 'I told him I had been sent suggestive messages. His messages were unwise for someone in his position.' After the nine months, in which Edwards continued to be paid his 439,000-a-year salary, he resigned on medical grounds without a pay-off. The news anchor also left without any sign of the BBC's investigation having concluded. In September, when Charlie asked for an update, the BBC investigator replied: 'I understand that you would like to know if Huw has been spoken to about your concerns, but you will appreciate that any detail about this... is considered private to that individual and unfortunately it would not be appropriate for me to comment further due to policy.' After Edwards resigned on health grounds Charlie had no update at all from the BBC about the investigation. Charlie said: 'It doesn't surprise me. It's the BBC marking their own homework. 'I am also disappointed that the BBC haven't kept those affected by it up to date on what is happening. I have learned updates through reading newspapers.' Edwards' lawyers did not respond to our requests for comment. North Korean children are being born without anuses, toes, or hands, as a mysterious illness dubbed 'ghost disease' spreads near Kim Jong-un's nuke testing site, according to a North Korean defector. Youngran Lee, who lived near the Punggye-ri test site before she escaped in 2015. said in a chilling first-hand testimony that a horrifying disease has swept the region, killing and deforming infant children with doctors powerless to diagnose or treat it. Mrs Lee said: 'In Kilju County, civilians are suffering from diseases, not knowing why. In hospitals, doctors cannot diagnose it, and the patients are dying slowly with lingering illness. 'It is not too drastic to say that having a child without an anus, toes, or hands was normalised in Kilju. There are patients with various cancers in every other house.' The defector shared rare insight into life inside the 'Hermit Kingdom', expressing concerns about living so close to a nuclear testing zone. She described her house shaking, furniture falling from the walls as the military tested its weapons. Youngran Lee (pictured) gave rare insight into life near a North Korean testing site She said her son (pictured) was one of the people affected by a mystery disease A guard stands at the entrance of the north tunnel at the nuclear test site at Punggye-ri, 2018 The purported demolition of the Punggye-ri nuclear testing site in 2018 Mrs Lee counts her only son among the victims of ghost disease. She said that in North Korea, medication supplied by the UN is hoarded by senior government officials, and despite the promise of free healthcare, 'the shelves are empty in pharmacies'. So when her son developed a mild fever in October 2014, aged 27, she turned to black market medication, smuggled in from China. But it failed to help and she took him to hospital. She said: 'A tuberculosis doctor told us that my son had holes in his lungs, measuring as big as 1.5cm and 2.7cm. 'He also said he did not know why an increasing number of young adults were coming to the hospital. 'I could not understand why this had happened to my son, and felt so helpless. 'Furthermore, he had eight close friends, and they were all diagnosed with tuberculosis one by one from 2012, and died within four years.' Mrs Lee spent her life-savings buying medications for her son, before fleeing to China in February 2015, hoping to find work to send more money home. By August of that year, she'd arrived in South Korea, where she underwent mandatory training to prepare her for life in a free society. She said: 'As soon as I was released, I contacted my son to tell him to go to Pyongyang Hospital. 'But the next day, he called back and said there had been official instructions to stop Kilju County tuberculosis and hepatitis patients from entering Pyongyang. 'The only reason given was that this was for Kim Jong-un's safety, and there was no proper explanation.' She continued: 'For two years, I transferred money to my son through brokers, believing that he was getting adequate care. 'However, in May 2018, I lost my boy, my pride and joy. 'My son died without ever reaching the hospital to receive a proper diagnosis.' Mrs Lee said she had lived near a nuclear testing site before its demolition in 2018. She said: 'On the day the third nuclear test took place, a wall clock fell, and light bulbs shook. I thought it was an earthquake and ran outside. 'All my neighbours were out as well. Shortly after that, at midday, the main broadcasting system announced that the third nuclear test was successful. 'Then we realised that the military-controlled area in Punggye-ri was a test site.' Locals danced in the street in celebration, but they would be among the first victim's of North Korea's nuclear programme. The nuclear testing site was purportedly destroyed in 2018 Kim Jong Un meets soldiers during a visit to a western operational training base in North Korea Kim Jong Un inspecting a major operational training base at an undisclosed location in March Experts believe that radiation is the true cause of what's been called ghost disease. Nuclear scientist Joohyun Moon of Dankook University, in South Korea, described how radiation from the underground blasts could reach local communities. He said: 'As shock waves travel, they break the layers of the earth or create cracks. 'After a while, a mixture of melted rock and radioactive material will cool down and solidify. 'Radioactive materials contained in this compound can infiltrate into gaps or cracks caused by the explosion and flow to the surface, soil or groundwater. 'If it rains near the test site, the rain can carry these radioactive materials into the groundwater. 'Groundwater is connected to rivers, streams and surface water, releasing these radioactive materials into the outside world. 'As it is part of natural circulation, it is very difficult to intervene and prevent it.' Dr Moon said there were a number of ways for radioactive materials to then infiltrate the food chain. People could drink the irradiated water or eat seafood from it, eat crops grown with the water, or consume milk or meat from cattle fed by contaminated grass. The nuclear test site sits on the banks of the Changhung River, which itself feeds the Namdae River the main water source for Kilju County. 'Every household in Kilju gets their water supply from there,' said Mrs Lee. Dr Moon estimated over a million residents within a 40km radius of the test site could be affected. He said: 'It is safe to say that the residents near the test site will be under the influence of radiation for about 200 years. 'The time period will increase if more nuclear tests are conducted in the same location.' He added: 'If the situation continues without adequate protection, these people will have a higher chance of having cancer, leukaemia, chromosomal aberration etc. than people in other regions.' Youngran still lives with the damage in South Korea. The Korean People's Army conducts an artillery firing drill in March She was one of five North Korean defectors from Kilju County tested for radiation in the South in 2016. She said: 'The test showed that the exposure level was very high, and the white blood cells were very low. 'One of the group had an unbearable headache they could not even lift their head, but in every test carried out in A&E, no cause was found.' Her own situation is no better. She continued: 'I feel aches everywhere and cannot walk very well due to pain in my legs, and I was hospitalised six times in a year because of headaches. 'The hospital could not find any reason behind it, but I cannot even open my eyes when I have a headache; I feel restless and suicidal. 'I know many people from Kilju who are experiencing the same symptoms as me.' Brexiteers have voiced anger after Brussels presented the UK with a list of demands for Keir Starmer's bid to get closer ties. The PM has made renegotiating the relationship a key priority for his government, although he insists there is no question of rejoining the bloc. According to the Financial Times, commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic set out eight demands during his first meeting with Europe minister Nick Thomas-Symonds last month. They include fully implementing the existing Brexit agreements on Northern Ireland, and gold-plating the rights of EU citizens living in Britain as a 'test of good faith'. Brussels is said to be adamant that EU citizens living in the UK should not be required to make a separate application for 'settled status' after five years of residence. EU commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic (left) apparently set out eight demands during his first meeting with Europe minister Nick Thomas-Symonds (pictured right) last month Former Brexit minister Lord Frost posted on social media warning that the EU was using its 'standard playbook' to get concessions. 'If Labour falls for this they will be a weak position right from the start,' he said. 'It's the standard Commission playbook: 'we can't talk about subject B till you have satisfied us on subject A'. 'You then only satisfy them on A by a series of concessions, which the British side is all too willing to make anyway to 'win goodwill'. 'Of course it's all too likely Labour don't mind being in a weak position because they already intend to make concessions.' Labour insists its focus is on improving security, energy and trade ties, but there have been concerns that Sir Keir could be forced into compromises on issues such as free movement. After the meeting on July 15, Mr Sefcovic said: 'A constructive meeting with Minister @NickTorfaen. 'Discussed how we can advance our joint agenda. Referred to the implementation of our existing agreements, the cornerstone of (EU-UK)relations. Keir Starmer has made renegotiating the relationship a key priority for his government, although he insists there is no question of rejoining the bloc 'We're allies, sharing both values and challenges. Looking forward to our cooperation.' The Cabinet Office told the FT: 'We've had very positive engagement in our early conversations and are committed to implementing the Withdrawal Agreement, including the Windsor framework in good faith protecting the UK internal market.' The EU commission said: 'The EU is committed to a positive agenda with the UK, based on the full respect, and the faithful and timely implementation of the withdrawal agreement, including the Windsor framework, and the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, which are the cornerstone for the EU-UK relationship.' A British mother has shared her horrifying ordeal after a man crept into her unlocked hotel suite in the middle of the night while on holiday with her family. Rachel Brown, 42, said she was falling asleep on the last night of a week-long break in Vilamoura, Portugal, with her son, Jaxon, seven, when she saw the curtain twitch. A man snuck into her second floor room at five-star Epic Sana hotel, forcing her to wrestle him out and onto the balcony, she says. Rachel, from Halifax, West Yorkshire, said he climbed across two neighbours' balconies then jumped around 13ft to the ground below and ran off - after stealing her Apple watch in the fight. The man has not been caught and wasn't seen on CCTV and Rachel wants to warn holidaymakers to always lock the balcony door. Rachel Brown shared her horrifying ordeal and is urging holidaymakers to take precautions She and her son, Jaxon, were on holiday in Portugal when a man snuck in through the balcony A room in the luxury five-star Epic Sana hotel in Portugal Rachel had to fight the man out of the room (pictured) at the five star hotel in Vilamoura Rachel, a managing director, said: 'When I first saw the curtains twitching I thought a bird flew in - then a man appeared out of the curtains. 'It was terrifying. I had a young child in the room, so my instinct was to get that person out the room. 'I started pushing him and hitting him until he backed out of the room onto the balcony - then I began shouting for help. 'After he ran off, I was so scared for the rest of the night that I blocked my door with a sun lounger.' Rachel said she shut the balcony door but not locked it before the man crept in around 10.20PM on July 22. She wrongly assumed she would be safe because she was high up and they had a private balcony. The single mum said: 'He was in his mid-twenties and about 5ft 8in, and was tanned with curly dark hair. 'I instantly shouted him to "f**k off" and began hitting and pushing him back out the room. 'Before he climbed off my balcony he grabbed my arm and pulled off my Apple Watch.' Rachel said security were sent up to her room but there was no CCTV and hotel staff didn't call police. Her Apple Watch was returned to her after it was found in the bushes nearby. She was unable to report the incident to police herself until she returned to the UK, as her flight home was that morning. She has since reported the incident to the Guardia Civil via email, and lodged a complaint with the hotel, because she said they failed to call the police on the night. She has asked for compensation from the hotel as she feels the incident 'ruined the holiday' but an email from the hotel manager declined her request. Rachel says her son is 'traumatised' - as his bedroom back at home also has a balcony. 'Now I'm home my son makes me go into every room and onto the balcony before he can go in,' she said. 'I've been more cautious at home with making sure all the doors are fully locked and the alarms set. 'But I'm disappointed with how the hotel has handled it - it could happen again to someone else.' Rachel now wants to warn other travellers to ensure all doors are locked and to take reasonable precautions to stay safe. She said: 'If you have to get someone out the room, be loud, and get people's attention. 'If you're on the balcony, if you're loud, they will be more focused on trying to escape than re-enter the room, or harm you.' The General Manager of EPIC SANA Algarve, Andre Romeiro, said: 'We confirm that Mrs. Brown was a guest at our Hotel and an incident occurred on July 22, 2024, of an attempted intrusion by a stranger into the client's room, through the balcony, which was opened at that time. No damage resulted from that attempt. 'Immediately after becoming aware of the situation, the hotel activated the internal security procedures, namely mobilising the security guard to inspect the property in search of the suspect and checking the video surveillance cameras. 'The hotel also filed a complaint with the police authorities and handed over the video surveillance images for this purpose. Rachel said she was disappointed with how the hotel had handled the situation Rachel said a man crept into her room via the balcony doors (pictured) 'Our immediate concern was to assist Mrs. Brown and guarantee her and her son's safety. In fact, the following day I personally expressed Mrs. Brown my deep regret at what happened and offered to accompany her to the police station to file the criminal complaint as offended, but she declined, since it was her last day. 'Nevertheless, when the complaint was filed, the hotel provided the client's contact details to the police authorities, so that Mrs. Brown could be contacted and provide the necessary assistance for the investigation. 'We also assured Mrs. Brown's transfer to the airport, at the hotel's expense. 'After her departure, Mrs. Brown contacted the hotel by email, requesting a monetary compensation for the traumatic experience. 'Since we consider that there is no basis for the payment of any compensation by the hotel and the hotel does not follow that type of practice, we declined its payment.' A former jailer is set to plead guilty to a criminal charge in the death of a mentally ill man who froze to death in police custody after being left naked and covered in faeces for a fortnight. Joshua Conner Jones, an ex-corrections officer at the Walker County Jail, Alabama, has entered into a plea deal according to court documents, over the treatment of two inmates, including Tony Mitchell. Mitchell, 33, died on January 26, 2023, after being dashed from his cell to a hospital emergency room with a body temperature of 72 degrees, according to a lawsuit filed in February against the jail by his mother. The plea agreement stated that Mitchell 'was almost always naked, wet, cold, and covered in feces while lying on the cement floor without a mat or blanket'. By the second week of his incarceration, he was 'largely listless and mostly unresponsive to questions from officers,' but no measures were put in place to reduce his suffering. Tony Mitchell died on January 26 after being held at the Walker county Jail in Alabama. A former jailer, Joshua Conner Jones, is set to plead guilty to a criminal charge relating to his death Mitchell was was initially arrested on January 13, 2023 after his family members called the police, reporting his erratic behaviour Mitchell's family alleges he was kept naked and locked in a concrete cell while he was at the Walker County Jail for two weeks after his arrest Jones has now agreed to plead guilty to the count of depriving the inmate of his rights, while also pleading guilty to a separate rights-deprivation count related to the assault of another inmate. The plea agreement suggested there were five individuals involved in the abuse of rights that led to the Mitchell's death. Prosecutors wrote in the plea agreement that the former jailer had admitted that 'collectively we did it. We killed him'. Mitchell was initially arrested on January 13, 2023 after his family members called the police, reporting his erratic behaviour. When deputies arrived, they found Mitchell in the front yard and said he immediately pulled out a handgun and fired at least one shot at them. The man ran off into nearby woods and was hiding in a shed when they tracked him down. Prosecutors wrote in the plea agreement that when Mitchell's deteriorating condition would be mentioned, the co-conspirators would reply that ' 'he gets what he gets since he shot at cops' or words to that effect.' Mitchell was then booked into the Walker County Jail on charges of attempted murder. On the day he was arrested, Mitchell was brought before a judge and was listed as 'unable to sign' paperwork, according to court records. Earlier this year, a family member said they had believed jail would be a safe place for the man. 'We knew he was in jail, and we thought that was the safest place for him at the time,' a family member said. 'But it turned out to be the worst place for him.' The distraught family in February filed a lawsuit against the jail. This is a grab from a video inside the Walker County Jail, showing a naked inmate, purportedly Mitchell The video shows Mitchell being dragged and lifted into a patrol car before he was taken to the hospital where he was later pronounced dead The man's body appeared limp in video released by one local media outlet Mitchell was booked into the Walker County Jail on charges of attempted murder on January 13, 2023 'This is one of the most appalling cases of jail abuse the country has seen,' the 37-page federal lawsuit filed by the family alleges. Shocking video of Mitchell being carried out of the jail on January 26 shows the man being dragged and placed into a patrol vehicle before he was later declared dead. The video allegedly contradicts the sheriff's original statement that Mitchell was having a medical issue but had been 'alert and responsive' when he was taken to the hospital. The complaint filed by the family alleges hospital staff at Walker Baptist Medical Center spent three hours attempting to resuscitate him before he was declared dead. According to the physician's statements, the Mitchell's cause of death was believed to have been hypothermia. 'I am not sure what circumstances the patient was held in incarceration but it is difficult to understand a rectal temperature of 72 degrees F, 22 degrees centigrade while someone is incarcerated in jail,' the suit stated. 'The cause of his hypothermia is not clear. I do not know if he could have been exposed to a cold environment. I do believe hypothermia was the ultimate cause of death,' it continued. In their suit, Mitchell's family claimed he had been stripped naked and placed in a concrete isolation cell for the time he was there. They also claimed five hours went by between Mitchell being removed from the 'frigid environment' to him being taken to the hospital. 'The cell lacked a bed or other furnishing,' the suit stated. Pictured: Walker County Jail and Walker County Sheriff's Office where Mitchell 'froze to death' 'There was only a drain in the floor that could be used as a toilet. The cell was bare cement, the equivalent of a dog kennel. But unlike a dog, Tony was not even given a mat to sleep on.' In a statement after his death, the Walker County Sheriff's Office released a statement detailing the death of Mitchell in the law enforcement agency's custody. 'On Thursday, January 27th, an inmate in the Walker County Jail was provided a routine medical check by jail medical staff,' the statement begins. 'Medical staff determined the inmate needed to be transported to the hospital for further evaluation. 'The inmate was alert and conscious when he left the facility and arrived at the hospital. Shortly after arrival at the hospital, the inmate suffered a medical emergency and became unresponsive. 'Life saving efforts were performed by hospital staff and the inmate was ultimately revived. Unfortunately, a short time later, the inmate passed away,' the statement ended. Following Jones' plea agreement, Jon C. Goldfarb, an attorney representing the family in the civil litigation, said 'the family is shocked to see in writing what they knew happened to Tony Mitchell.' David Lammy has pleaded for Iran and Israel to 'avoid miscalculation' as he visited Lebanon. The Foreign Secretary urged calm heads amid escalating tensions over the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. Along with Defence Secretary John Healey, Mr Lammy met Lebanese PM Najib Mikati last night. Earlier in the week the Foreign Office advised all British citizens to leave Lebanon as clashes on the border mount, Mr Lammy warning they risk 'becoming trapped in a warzone' if they stay in the country. Along with Defence Secretary John Healey (left), Foreign Secretary David Lammy (right) met Lebanese PM Najib Mikati (centre) in Beirut last night Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei leads a prayer yesterday over the coffins of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and his bodyguard Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei prayed over Mr Haniyeh's coffin during his funeral at Tehran University on Thursday while Iran's new president Masoud Pezeshkian stood next to him. State television later showed the coffins placed in a truck and moved on the street toward Azadi Square in Tehran, and people throwing flowers at them. Israel had pledged to kill Mr Haniyeh and other Hamas leaders over the group's October 7 attack on southern Israel that sparked the war in Gaza. Iran supports Hamas, as well as Hezbollah and other Palestinian militant groups fighting Israel in Gaza. Meanwhile, the Israelis have claimed responsibility for a strike on a suburb of Beirut targeting the Hezbollah commander allegedly behind the deaths of 12 children and teenagers in a rocket attack on the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights over the weekend. Following his meeting with Lebanese officials, Mr Lammy posted to X: 'We must prevent further escalation in the Middle East and avoid miscalculation.' He added: 'It is in no-one's interest for others to be drawn into this conflict.' Mr Lammy and Mr Healey also visited Qatar on Wednesday to call for de-escalation of the fighting and to press for an end to the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said 'all parties' in the Middle East must avoid escalatory actions that could plunge the region into further conflict. READ MORE: Police officer stood down for allegedly punching elderly woman Two men in their 20s arrested over incident A 'friendly' elderly man is in hospital with serious injuries after allegedly being viciously bashed by two men in a Hungry Jack's car park. Two men, aged 21 and 22, have been arrested over the shocking incident, which was captured on CCTV. The brutal scenes unfolded outside the Hungry Jacks restaurant in the northern Perth suburb of Jindalee at about 3.15am on Friday. The injured man, who is in his 70s and had been sleeping on the streets, was rushed to hospital following the attack. The man remains in Royal Perth Hospital with serious injuries. He is currently in a stable condition in the trauma unit. The alleged attackers, who were reportedly not known to their victim, fled the scene in a silver sedan from the Cockleshell Brace area. Police revealed they had arrested two suspects at a home in the nearby suburb of Butler on Friday afternoon. The alleged bashing of an elderly man in a Hungry Jack's car park was caught on CCTV The brutal scenes happened outside the Hungry Jacks restaurant in the northern Perth suburb of Jindalee about 3.15am on Friday Locals described the bashing victim as a friendly gentleman who walks around the area collecting cans. While police gathered evidence, the Hungry Jacks ca rpark was cordoned off. The investigation is continuing, Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers. A waitress has won a 4,000 payout after her boss at a high-end Soho restaurant told her to wear makeup because she looked 'tired.' Jahnayde Henry was working as a waitress at the swanky Chinese restaurant Tattu in 2022 when her 'draconian' manager told her she looked 'tired and unpleasant.' A judge at an employment tribunal ruled that being instructed to apply cosmetics is a 'sex-specific' comment that would not ordinarily be made to a man and created a 'humiliating environment' for Ms Henry. The employment tribunal heard that Ms Henry's self-esteem was 'undermined' by the comment from the 'almost military' Joanna Huang - who was the deputy manager of Tattu. Ms Henry has now been awarded 4,703 in damages including 4,000 for 'injury to feelings'. Joanna Huang (pictured) was the deputy manager at Tattu at the time when she told Jahnayde Henry to wear makeup because she looked 'tired and unpleasant' The instagram friendly restaurant opened in 2022 and serves dishes including green pepper lobster for 79 and Japanese wagyu beef for 105. Ms Henry accepted a job at Tattu in March 2022 and endured two weeks of training ahead of its grand opening The instagram friendly restaurant opened in 2022 and serves dishes including green pepper lobster for 79 and Japanese wagyu beef for 105. Ms Henry accepted a job at Tattu in March 2022 and endured two weeks of training ahead of its grand opening. The panel heard the 'very strict' and 'draconian' Ms Huang was 'almost military' in her approach to running the restaurant, and was someone who 'likes discipline' and 'always wants 100 per cent'. She was referred to as 'scrupulously fair' but would 'annoy you every day until you get better'. On the first night of the restaurant's opening, Ms Huang told Ms Henry her voice sounded 'bland or boring' and that she should try to 'liven it up' while serving customers. In the following shift she worked, Ms Henry was then 'criticised' about how effectively she was working and she would have to do better 'if she was going to make it as a server at Tattu'. Ms Henry told the tribunal she was 'checked and criticised every three minutes' of her 12 hour shifts - although the tribunal ruled this was a 'figure of speech' rather than a literal description of the number of times she was admonished. Ms Henry only worked five shifts at Tattu before she quit claiming she was being 'bullied' by Ms Huang who also told her she sounded 'bland or boring' and that she should try to 'liven it up' while serving customers However, the panel found Ms Huang would have still 'frequently' checked on Ms Henry in order to 'maintain high standards' she demanded of her staff. At her next shift, the tribunal heard that Ms Huang told Ms Henry she looked 'tired and unpresentable' and that she 'should wear make-up'. Although Ms Huang denied this, the panel found she had made such a comment, after hearing 'observations about make-up were not unknown amongst [Tattu]'s managers.' After just five shifts, Ms Henry resigned from her role in April 2022, claiming she had been left in tears after being 'bullied' by a manager at work. She wrote: 'I honestly just think that at this time Tattu is not a place that I want to continue working.'. Ms Henry - who is black - then unsuccessfully sued the restaurant for race discrimination and harassment. However, her claim of sex harassment regarding the makeup comment was upheld. Employment Judge Andrew Glennie said: 'Having found that Ms Huang made the comment alleged by [Ms Henry], we accepted that this was unwanted by her,' he said. 'We then considered whether this amounted to conduct related to sex. 'We concluded that saying that an individual looked 'tired and unpresentable' was not related to sex, as that could equally be said to a man. 'In the Tribunal's judgement, saying that next time, the individual should wear some make-up, is a sex-specific comment, in that (although it is not unknown for men to wear make-up) it is not a comment that would ordinarily be made to a man. 'As to its effect, we found that [Ms Henry] perceived the comment as creating a humiliating environment for her, in that it meant that she should try to 'improve' her appearance with the use of make-up. 'We also found that it was reasonable that the comment had this effect: it would tend to undermine her self-esteem.' According to its website Tattu - which has branches in Manchester and Birmingham - offers customers an 'elevated dining experience' in 'opulent surroundings'. 'Tattu London has been designed with the utmost respect for superb craftsmanship and in pursuit of providing the finest experiential dining. 'Classic artistry is reunited with cutting edge techniques, giving way to a venue that is equally as elegant as it is elevated.' MailOnline have approached Tattu for a comment. This is the moment two luxury yachts and a tourist boat were destroyed in an inferno at a Greek port. Shocking footage shows dark smoke billowing into the night sky late last night as flames engulfed the vessels at Marina Zea in Pireaus. Explosions could be heard when the flames were raging on the ships, which included one 139ft-long superyacht costing nearly 70,000 a week to charter, one 108ft superyacht worth more than 6.5million, as well as the tourist boat, according to local media reports. Ten vehicles with 26 firefighters were called in to tackle the raging inferno, working desperately through the night to control the spread by the early hours of this morning. Fire crews were seen spraying water over the wreckage of one of the vessels late on Thursday - as the coast guard picked up ten people trapped in the heavy smoke from the nearby pier and brought them to safety. This is the terrifying moment two luxury yachts and a tourist boat went up in flames as a huge inferno spread through a fleet at a Greek port last night Shocking video footage shows dark smoke billowing into the night sky late Thursday as flames engulfed the vessels at Marina Zea in Pireaus The fire is believed to have started on the tourist ship before jumping over to the two yachts, though authorities have not yet been able to identify the cause. Authorities reported that there were no individuals onboard the vessels when the fire broke out. One firefighter had to be hospitalised with breathing problems after tackling the blaze, but no one else was injured in the large fire. Ten emergency vehicles belonging to the fire service, three coast guard boats, a floating fire engine as well as private divers were needed to tame the fire through Thursday night. A spokesperson for the Greek coast guard told local media that the fire was successfully put out in the early hours of Friday morning, shortly after 1am. By this morning, the port had been blocked off with a floating barrier to prevent marine pollution from fuel and debris still in the water. Firefighters successfully prevented the fire from spreading to more vessels, with the fire service and the coast guard remaining on scene throughout today to monitor the situation. Footage from the scene at night shows the water being covered in foam used to extinguish the flames while floating fire engines were throwing water at the still-smoking wrecks. Footage from the scene at night shows the water being covered in foam used to extinguish the flames while floating fire engines were throwing water at the still-smoking wrecks Footage shows the yachts engulfed by flames, with clouds of black smoke billowing into the sky The boats that went up in flames are the motor yachts 'O'Riana', which is 108ft long, and the 'Libra Y', which is 139ft long, and both have now sunk, according to reports. The O'Riana superyacht, which was built by Golden Yachts in 2024, features stunning, brand-new interior and exterior spread over three floors and can host ten guests in five cabins. Built by Picchiotti in 1977, the Italian Libra Y superyacht can accommodate up to ten guests and features accommodation for eight crew members. The third yacht is believed to be a commercial tourist boat and the fire is thought to have started on it, according to reports. This comes just a few hours after a stunning Italian superyacht sank off an idyllic Greek holiday island after a member of the crew left a side door open. The 150ft megayacht 'Ethos', setting renters back a whopping 180,000-a-week, was seen taking in water off the coast of Kefalonia while in the Paleokaravo Bay. A diver was called in to scout local reefs as guards continue to monitor efforts to recover the yacht after it ran aground in Evretis Bay, where it was anchored. But it was later revealed the inflow came after one of the crew left a side door open - and did not have time to close it once the weather 'turned', local media reports. The five tourists aboard have safely disembarked with the five crew on board, belonging to yacht's hotel staff, Protothema reported yesterday. Astonishing scenes showed the moment the ship started taking on water in the Ionian Sea Crew had left a door open and did not have time to close it when the weather 'turned' The award-winning Maltese-flagged yacht is rented out to up to 12 guests looking for a 'relaxed' charter experience. It boasts five cabins, an onboard gym, deck jacuzzi and jet skis, promising guests 'exceptional comfort levels at anchor or when underway'. Shocking footage showed the vessel off balance on the blue waters around Kefalonia, a popular island in the Ionian Sea known as the setting for Captain Corelli's Mandolin. A private boat, shown in the footage, was reported to be at the scene as harbour guards monitored the situation. The cause of the incident is yet to be determined, local outlet Protothema reports. Slovakian athlete Tamara Potocka collapsed after completing a swim at the Olympic Games this morning, leaving spectators at the Paris Aquatics Centre shocked as she was hurriedly carried away on a stretcher. The 21-year-old competed in a heat of the women's 200-metre individual medley at 10:30am BST this morning and clambered out of the pool having come in seventh, missing out on qualification for the later rounds. She was seen sitting poolside for a few seconds in clear distress, even as another eight swimmers lined up for the next heat, before slumping backwards. Organisers realised something was wrong and postponed the next swim as medical staff descended on the scene. Medics quickly placed an oxygen mask over the face of the young Slovak, who was lying motionless, before carefully loading her onto a stretcher and rushing her out of the La Defense arena as her British rival Abbie Wood watched on in horror. It comes as two other competitors suffered what appeared to be serious injuries in Paris' Stade de France today as the athletics got underway in the French capital. Slovakia's Tamara Potocka is taken on stretcher from the pool deck after collapsing following a heat of the women's 200-meter individual medley at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024 Potocka was seen moments after her heat sitting on the side of the pool, visible top left, as the other swimmers left the arena Potocka is seen being treated on the side of the pool in footage broadcast today Slovakian athlete Tamara Potocka collapsed after completing a swim at the Olympic Games this morning After a tense 30 minutes, the venue's media manager confirmed Potocka was conscious and under medical assessment Slovakia's Olympic team later confirmed to The Athletic that the swimmer had suffered an asthma attack and was recovering having received oxygen therapy For a few moments following Potocka's swim, nobody realised the Slovak athlete was experiencing some difficulty. The live broadcast showed how eight new competitors had taken to the starting blocks and were stripping off, seemingly seconds away from leaping into the water as commentators began previewing the next heat. But the camera then pulled back to reveal how Potocka, wearing a blue skinsuit, had not left the venue and was sitting mere feet from the poolside, clearly experiencing considerable fatigue. She was still there as the swimmers for the next heat took their marks, and seconds later she slumped backwards and was seen lying prone on the tiles. Commentators clocked that something wasn't right as the next heat was delayed and medical staff rushed poolside. 'This doesn't look good... 15,000 people are now watching an athlete surrounded by medical staff and I can assure you it's absolutely silent in here,' one broadcaster said as they witnessed medical staff crowding around the swimmer. 'They've got a stretcher out, they've got an oxygen mask on the athlete, and I'm going to say... this looks very serious,' he said. Potocka is seen on the left lining up moments before the start of her 200IM heat She came home in seventh place, losing out on qualification for the semi finals Potocka is seen bottom-right getting treatment from medics on the side of the pool Members of the medical team carry Slovakia's Tamara Potocka during a women's 200-meter individual medley heat at the Summer Olympics in Nanterre, France, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024 'They've got the neck brace around so I can only imagine that someone has hit their head and has some kind of trauma - they want to immobilise the athlete. 'We hope that there's nothing more than that...' After a tense 30 minutes, the venue's media manager confirmed Potocka was conscious and under medical assessment, but gave no further update on her condition. Slovakia's Olympic team later confirmed to The Athletic that the swimmer had suffered an asthma attack and was recovering having received oxygen therapy. Potocka finished seventh in her heat in a time of 2 minutes, 14.20 seconds. After a tense 30 minutes, the venue's media manager confirmed Potocka was conscious and under medical assessment, but gave no further update on her condition Potocka finished seventh in her heat in a time of 2 minutes, 14.20 seconds, before collapsing poolside Medical staff carry Slovakia's Tamara Potocka on a stretcher after she collapsed following a heat of the women's 200m individual medley swimming event The time was not fast enough to advance her to the semifinals of the event and she was eliminated from the competition. Her British rival Abbie Wood finished fourth in a time of 2:10.95, just behind Australia's Ella Ramsay in third with a time of 2:10.75. Potocka's shocking collapse came minutes after South Sudanese athlete Lucia Moris was also carried off the track at the Stade de France having suffered what looked like a serious leg injury during the preliminary round of the women's 100-metre sprint. Moris appeared to sustain an explosive tear mid-way through the race, with the 23-year-old stumbling and falling to the ground in agony about 30 metres shy of the finish line. She had started the race brightly on the inside lane but clearly suffered intense pain after one particular step which caused her to pull up and fall over. Medical staff rushed on to the track to assist her after the race concluded. South Sudan's Lucia Moris collapsed to the floor during the women's 100m preliminary round Moris (on inside lane) had started the race brightly and was in a good position with 30m to go Moris appeared to tweak something in her leg and stumbled before collapsing in agony Airine Palsyte of Team Lithuania hurt her leg during qualification for the high jump Tatiana Gusin, of Greece, right, tries to comfort Airine Palsyte, of Lithuania, after she got injured injured during the women's high jump qualification Airine Palsyte, of Lithuania, receives medical assistance after getting injured during the women's high jump qualification at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024 Airine Palsyte of Team Lithuania reacts as she receives medical attention during the Women's High Jump Qualification on day seven of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Stade de France on August 02, 2024 in Paris, France The South Sudanese athlete was left writhing on the floor in pain, clutching her leg. She remained on the floor several minutes after the race before she was stretchered off the track by medics. Congo's Natacha Ngoye went on to win the heat with a time of 11.34 seconds, but several of Moris' fellow competitors were quick to check on her condition. Many fans also expressed their sympathies towards Moris after the heartbreaking moment, given she looked to be flying high in second place following a positive start. One said: 'Prayers up for Lucia Moris hope shell be okay,' before another added: 'Never want to see that.' Meanwhile, Lithuanian athlete Airine Palsyte appeared to suffer a significant knee injury while attempting to qualify for the women's high jump. Palsyte screamed in pain as she took off, with heavy strapping on her knee suggesting she was already nursing a pre-existing injury. Upsetting images showed how she sat on the turf, clutching her leg and crying inconsolably as her fellow athletes rushed to her side. She was also subsequently stretchered away, with her Olympic campaign cruelly cut short. Concerns are mounting about a 'lethargic' dolphin which has been spotted swimming in the Thames. A dolphin has been spotted swimming in the Thames near Bermondsey in southeast London and a further dolphin sighting was reported near Putney in the southwest of the city. Whilst it remains unclear if both sightings are of the same dolphin, experts have voiced concerns that the marine animal spotted in Putney looked 'disoriented and lethargic.' In a video, shared on social media, a dolphin can be seen swimming along the river near the Angel Pub in Bermondsey. The dolphin's fin can be seen cutting through the waves of the River Thames before it comes up for air giving passersby a clear view of the animal before it disappears under the water once again. In a video, shared on social media, a dolphin can be seen swimming along the river near the Angel Pub in Bermondsey The dolphin's fin can be seen cutting through the waves of the River Thames before it comes up for air giving passersby a clear view of the animal before it disappears under the water once again The dolphin that has been spotted in west London. Concerns have been mounting that the dolphin looks 'lethargic' The passerby who filmed the creature on Wednesday evening said: My friend turned to me and said "I can see a fin". 'It was quite exciting - everyone was looking over at the river and everyone was in pure shock.' Yesterday, there were further sightings of a dolphin further up the Thames. The marine animal, which has been nicknamed Jo Jo was spotted breaching the water just west of Putney Bridge at around midday yesterday by a group of rowers. Marine mammal medics from the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) are monitoring the dolphin in case it becomes stranded at any point. Mary Tester, Thames Area Coordinator at the BDMLR in a video posted to X, said: 'Its on its own, which is extremely rare, and it looks extremely disoriented and pretty lethargic. 'So its potentially swam up the river, maybe gotten lost, and doesnt have the energy to swim back where it needs to go.' She added that this year three dolphins have travelled up the Thames and into London and tragically all of them have died. Mike Benson, head of rowing at Barn Elms Boat House, opposite Fulham's Craven Cottage stadium, spied the common dolphin from his office and rushed out on the water to get a closer look. WATCH: A dolphin named "Jo Jo" by watching children caused a stir in London this morning. Sightings of the mammals are on the up, though experts say it's a "red flag" for them to be spotted this far inland. : Alexander Nicoloau for Climate Centre pic.twitter.com/5XDwQg6Zji Climate Centre (@ClimateCentreUK) August 1, 2024 Whilst it remains unclear if both sightings are of the same dolphin, experts have now voiced concerns that the marine animal spotted in Putney looked 'disoriented and lethargic' Mary Tester, Thames Area Coordinator at the BDMLR in a video posted to X, said: 'Its on its own, which is extremely rare, and it looks extremely disoriented and pretty lethargic' The sighting of the common dolphin comes during the 2024 National Whale and Dolphin Watch event, organised by the Sea Watch Foundation (SWF), which involves thousands of volunteers around the UK between July 26 and August 4 The 31-year-old, who lives in Bloomsbury in central London, said: 'I could hear some of the kids saying, "What's that?". 'When I went outside I realised it was a dolphin. We were trying to slow everyone down when passing it so it wouldn't become too distressed, but at that point everyone was more interested to see what was going on. 'It isn't every day you see a dolphin in the Thames. 'It would surface every few seconds, but I'm not sure if that's normal because I rarely see dolphins here. 'It went downriver towards Putney for a bit and came back around 4pm. 'We think it must be lost and must be having a horrible time.' It is unclear if both sightings are of the same dolphin but, conservationists say seeing the dolphin as far up the Thames as Putney was a 'worrying' sign. Though he frequently sees seals on the river, Mr Benson added that the last time he saw a dolphin back in 2018, the animal didn't survive. 'We quite often get seals up this far,' he said. Common Dolphin (I think) at Hammersmith Bridge on the Thames just now pic.twitter.com/olsF7mYZ9k Steve Ormerod (@SteveOrmerod) August 1, 2024 The dolphin was spotted spotted breaching the water just west of Putney Bridge at around midday yesterday by a group of rowers 'In 2018 another dolphin swam right under our boat, which was amazing. 'But it was found dead a week later so I'm a bit pessimistic about this one's chances.' The sighting of the common dolphin comes during the 2024 National Whale and Dolphin Watch event, organised by the Sea Watch Foundation (SWF), which involves thousands of volunteers around the UK between July 26 and August 4. The event has already revealed a striking biodiversity of Britain's whales, dolphins, and porpoises. Common dolphins are identified by an hourglass shape along the side of the body and their yellow and grey colouring. They are typically seen in open water in large numbers, are one of the UK's most sociable dolphins and are often seen performing acrobatics - leaping out of the water and breaching at high speeds. Although an offshore species, the mammals will venture into shallower coastal waters to feed; working together as a pod to herd prey into a 'bait-ball'. SWF outreach officer Claudia Afeltra explained: 'Over the last week, we have had many common dolphin sightings - however none quite like this. 'These animals are open water, offshore marine mammals, rarely seen close to the shore. 'Reports of dolphins in the River Thames are becoming more prevalent, and although exciting to onlookers, this is very worrying. 'With this concerning sighting, we encourage all to submit any marine mammal sightings through our app, so we can better understand UK populations and can hopefully protect our species more to prevent unusual cases like this happening again. 'This dolphin will continue to be monitored, and, hopefully, will find its' way back to the open water.' The heroic director who tackled the Southport attacker to protect young children said he is lucky to be alive as the blade narrowly missed his femoral artery. Speaking from his hospital bed, John Hayes said he feels 'lucky' that he will recover while 'others are not so fortunate'. The 63-year-old praised the emergency services as the 'real heroes' of the tragic attack which killed Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine. But the local man narrowly escaped death, as if the femoral artery is cut, a person could bleed out and die within two and five minutes. Mr Hayes is the director of a company based in the same building as the Hart Space, which was being used for the Taylor Swift-themed dance and yoga class where the attack happened on Monday. He heard the harrowing screams of children at the dance studio and ran to protect them, bravely trying to disarm the attacker but was stabbed in the leg. He was taken to hospital in a critical condition and underwent surgery, and is expected to make a full recovery. Speaking from his hospital bed, John Hayes said he feels 'lucky' that he will recover Rudakubana (pictured as a child) is charged with murdering three little girls and harming 10 others at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport with a 'curved kitchen knife' Floral tributes are left for those who were attacked at the Taylor Swift-themed workshop Elsie Dot Stancombe, aged seven, was fatally wounded in the attack which shocked the nation Bebe King, aged six, was also killed in the attack on Monday morning Alice Dasilva Aguiar, aged nine, was one of three children killed in Southport His wife Helen, 57, previously said he regrets not being able to do more to stop the 'ferocious attack' that left two children dead. Yesterday, 17-year-old suspect Axel Rudakubana was able to be named for the first time after a reporting restriction was lifted. He was born to Rwandan parents in Cardiff in 2006 before moving to the village of Banks in Lancashire in 2013. Speaking to The Guardian, Mr Hayes said he puts his 'faith and trust in the judiciary in the hope this man never gets the opportunity to do something similar again'. He added selflessly that he doesn't consider himself to be a hero and expressed his 'heartfelt sympathy' for those caught up in the 'tragedy'. His wife told The Telegraph that her husband put himself between the knife-wielding attacker and the children, adding: 'Our office is in the same building as the dance studio, he heard screams and went outside, saw the attacker, saw that he had hurt a child and tried to take the knife off him and got stabbed in the leg. Mourners leave floral tributes near the scene in Hart Street, where the three children died Floral tributes, balloons and soft toys covered the street near the police cordon in Southport Friendship bracelets reading 'Beautiful Swifties' are seen next to electric tea lights amid floral tributes for the victims of a deadly knife attack at the Atkinson in Southport Leanne Lucas, who organised the Taylor Swift-themed holiday club, has had life-saving surgery and is now awake, her family said on Wednesday 'The dance studio is tucked away down a little alley, you wouldn't know that there was a children's dance studio there just by walking past you would have to have known it was there. 'I've been with him all afternoon at the hospital. He's very upset that he wasn't able to be more help. Physically he will be okay, mentally I don't know.' Rudakubana appeared in court yesterday accused of carrying out the attack that killed Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine. Rudakubana is also accused of the attempted murders of eight more children, along with dance teacher Leanne Lucas, 35, and Mr Hayes. The teenager, who refused to speak at his court appearance in Liverpool, had been diagnosed with autism and was 'unwilling to leave the house' and talk to his family 'for a period of time', the court heard. Neighbours claimed they could often hear the teen, from Cardiff, singing inside his family home in the village of Banks, according to the Mirror. One local told the Liverpool Echo how they would often 'hear singing' from the 'quiet choirboy' at the terraced home where he lived with his parents and 20-year-old brother. 'It's a massive, massive shock,' the neighbour said. A man is held back by police as a prison van escorted by police leaves Liverpool Crown Court Court artist drawing of Rudakubana covering his face as he appeared in the dock Prosecutor Deanna Heer KC described his medical condition, saying: 'He has a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. We understand he has been unwilling to leave the house and communicate with his family for a period of time.' Judge Andrew Menary condemned the 'idiotic rioting' which has broken out since the attack and said he named Rudakubana to fill the information vacuum exploited by 'others who are up to mischief'. He said: 'The idiotic rioting going on at the moment is, in part, fed by the nonsense online that feeds on the vacuum.' Judge Menary explained what he described as an 'exceptional' decision against imposing reporting restrictions sought by both prosecution and defence, which would have granted the defendant anonymity until he turns 18 next Wednesday. He said he had to balance a risk to the defendant's family and initial risk to him while settling into custody with the public interest in accurately reporting his identity. The Southport mass stabbings have led to riots on the streets. Pictured: Southport on Tuesday A street near a mosque goes up in flames as violent thugs took to the streets on Tuesday night Police officers with people attending the 'Enough is Enough' protest in Westminster on Wednesday as chaos erupted throughout the country A homemade poster saying 'Leave our town' on a bridge near the mosque on Sussex Road in Southport that was targeted during Tuesday night riots Granting the Daily Mail's request not to impose restrictions, he said: 'By continuing to prevent full reporting at this stage has the disadvantage of allowing others who are up to mischief to continue to spread misinformation in a vacuum and runs the risk that when the information becomes publicly available in six days' time, that will provide an additional excuse for a fresh round of public disorder. 'Allowing full reporting will undoubtedly remove some of the misreporting as to the identity of the defendant.' The judge added: 'The defendant Axel Rudakubana appears before me having been sent to this court earlier this morning by the Youth Court in respect of multiple charges of murder and attempted murder. 'The alleged offending in his case is shocking and could hardly be more serious, involving as it does the killing and serious wounding of multiple victims, most of whom were young children, in an incident in Southport on Monday 29 July 2024.' Tourist numbers in Spain jumped 13 per cent in the first half of this year, putting the country on track for another record year for foreign visitor numbers despite a wave of anti-tourism protests lamenting the impact on communities. For the six months to the end of June, 42.5 million international visitors arrived in Spain, with June alone recording a 12% rise to 9 million as the busier summer period picks up, Spain's data agency INE reported on Friday. That means 2024 is shaping up to be another record year for Spain, already the world's second most visited country behind France, making it likely it will beat last year's high of 85 million tourists, when numbers exceeded pre-pandemic levels. But for some Spaniards in the most popular destinations including Mallorca, Barcelona and the Canary Islands, there is increasing unease about the influx of tourists and their impact on housing costs and locals have staged protests. In July, a small group of anti-tourism campaigners in Barcelona squirted water pistols at foreign visitors, chanting 'tourists go home', a demonstration that created headlines around the world. Protestors squirted water guns at tourists eating in popular spots in the city earlier this month Tourists sharing paella can only watch on, bemused, as the rally moves past A woman carries a sign that reads 'neighbours in danger of extinction' through Barcelona A shocking message scrawled on a wall in Majorca amid growing discontent in Spain An England supporter stands in a protest against anti-tourism in Alicante in July Hundreds of protestors rallied in Alicante last month in the first major demo in the city Data showed that tourists spent 12.3 billion euros in Spain in June, 17% more than the same month last year, helping drive economic growth, but highlighting the challenge for a government trying to find the right balance between tourism and local interests. A lack of affordable housing in Spain has been partly blamed on a boom in holiday lets on platforms such as Airbnb and Booking.com. According to the data released on Friday, tourists are increasingly opting to stay in rented apartments. The number of visitors in the first-half of the year staying in that type of accommodation was up 30%, while those staying in hotels was up 11%. Anti-tourism sentiment has mostly been peaceful, with the notable exceptions of the water-gun attacks on diners in La Rambla, in Barcelona, last month. Under the banner 'Enough! Let's put limits on tourism', some 2,800 people - according to police - marched along a waterfront district of Barcelona to demand a new economic model that would reduce the millions of tourists that visit every year. Protesters carried signs reading 'Barcelona is not for sale,' and, 'Tourists go home,' before some used water guns on tourists eating outdoors at restaurants in popular tourist hotspots. Chants of 'Tourists out of our neighbourhood' rang out as some stopped in front of the entrances to hotels. Barcelona's rising cost of housing, up 68 percent in the past decade, is one of the main issues for the movement, along with the effects of tourism on local commerce and working conditions in the city of 1.6 million inhabitants. Rents rose by 18% in June from a year earlier in tourist cities such as Barcelona and Madrid, according to the property website Idealista. For years, the city has worn anti-tourist graffiti with messages such as 'tourists go home' aimed at visitors some blame for the rising prices and shaping of the economy around tourists. Barcelona's local authorities have since responded by saying they would introduce a tourist tax for short-stay cruise passengers in a bid to alleviate the strain. Alasdair, an English teacher from Scotland who has lived in Barcelona since 2017, told MailOnline: 'Lots of people still recognise the need for tourism here Barcelona lives off a hell of a lot of tourism. 'I think it's gotten better in the sense that there are fewer drunks around but the main protests are against mass tourism. 'If you look at the targets - the streets they went on - it's the hyper touristic spots. In a sense it's a little anti-capitalistic. 'That's the impression I got from it: tourism is not bad in itself, it's the mass tourism and the loss of character and the loss of space for locals to hang around in.' The mood took a sour turn as 'Kill a Tourist', written in English, appeared across several locations in the town of Manacor on Majorca in recent days. The centre-right Partido Popular party condemned the act of vandalism and has urged Manacor Town Hall to 'collaborate in cleaning it all up immediately'. Leaders of the Cruise Lines International Association went so far as to say liners might even boycott Spanish destinations if 'violent attitudes' continue. In Menorca, some 20,000 people gathered last week to express genuine concerns about the impact of over-tourism, and the undiversified economy. Hundreds of activists filled a car park by Cala Turqueta with 'residents' cars' on Saturday, at the height of the summer season, to block the area to tourists. They then used towels and their own bodies to shape the message 'SOS Menorca' on the sand by the waterline. More than 3,000 people turned out to protest over-tourism in Barcelona in early July Demonstrators put symbolic cordon on a bar-restaurant window during a protest against mass tourism on Barcelona's Las Ramblas alley, on July 6 People hold a placard which reads as "Tourism yes, but not like this" during a demonstration in Mallorca on July 21 A protester holds a sign reading 'Take back your drunks, give back our homes' during last night's demonstration in Palma on July 21 Hundreds of protestors have impeded tourist access to a picture-postcard Menorcan beach called Cala Turqueta Earlier this month, hundreds of residents in Alicante massed for the first time to demonstrate through areas of the Spanish city popular with tourists to 'demand that limits be placed on the tourism industry'. Salva, a spokesperson for the organising 'Alicante donde vas?' group, told MailOnline: 'It is the administrations (city council, autonomous community, central government) that must take measures to put the needs of the people who live in the city at the forefront, compared to the wishes of those who visit the city. 'We hope that the demonstration is the first step so that more people feel that it is legitimate to claim the right to live with dignity in our city, and to be able to join together to build a neighbourhood movement that says that Alicante is not for sale.' Ahead of the event, posters appeared across the city branded 'Alicante is not for sale' and urging 'limits' on 'mass tourism'. Streets were closed by local police as crowds gathered around the demonstration, protestors venting their frustrations towards the effects of tourism on local neighbourhoods. Local media filmed as organisers with megaphones chanted into the crowds in dramatic scenes apparently unprecedented in Alicante. One British tourist waving the St George's Cross waded into the rally chanting 'England, England, England' before locals guided him away. Salva assured that the organisers 'understand' the concern of British tourists who might feel 'uncomfortable' with the rallies and said their criticism was 'focused mainly on the tourism industry and institutions, whose profit motive condemns residents to defencelessness in the face of the harm caused by tourism'. 'We are all tourists, or potential tourists we have all travelled, we travel and we will travel [but] we understand that the discomfort with touristification results in some people showing antipathy or rejection towards tourists. 'The fatigue of many people in Mallorca, the Canary Islands, Barcelona, or Alicante, is enormous; the anxiety and stress of having difficulty renting a house; or for suffering horrible working conditions; or not being able to sleep well because there is a tourist apartment in your community ends up causing pain and suffering that can fuel hostile reactions towards tourists.' Anti-riot forces gesture as protestors put march through Las Ramblas at the start of July A banner is held up during a march against overtourism in Alicante last month Another said 'F*** AirBnB', expressing locals' frustration with the holiday home rental company Some demonstrators held signs called for a different type of tourism on Mallorca As thousands of people took to the streets, one held a sign saying: 'We are dying from tourism' A demonstrator holds a sign which reads 'it's not tourismphobia, it's Mallorquinicide', July 21 Violent clashes broke out in Venice in April over a contentious new 'tourist tax' aimed at reducing numbers to the historical Italian city. Demonstrators armed with signs and banners lined the historic canals and narrow alleyways of the Italian city to show their contempt for the unique new policy aimed at clamping down on overtourism in busy periods. Critics have claimed that the 5 (4.30) fee, to be implemented in the busy summer months, is unlikely to put a significant dent in the circa 30 million trips made to Venice each year - and could backfire by tarnishing the city's public image. Under the new rules, a fee will be charged to tourists passing through the city without staying overnight. Authorities hope this might help manage the flow of some 30 million tourists drawn in by the city's history and romantic canals each year. Venice has had a long wait to see the plan come to fruition, with initial proposals brought in 2019 set back by the pandemic. The city also dropped plans to charge day-trippers 10 a day last year, citing 'resistance'. This is the heartstopping moment a little girl is left dangling 330ft above the cliffs after coming to a grinding halt on a zipline in Bali. Shocking footage shows the girl trying to rock back and forth to move along the zipline cable, with her inching forward very slowly on the Flying Fox zipline on Nusa Penida, a small island located near the southeastern Indonesian island of Bali. Meanwhile the girl's terrified and reportedly crying mother, alongside several British tourists, watched on in horror from below as the girl is hanging 330ft over the ocean in the video from July. Nusa Penida's police chief told local media that the 'foreign child' was stuck on the zipline for about three minutes before she managed to rock herself to the other side. The girl was not injured. 'The opposing wind direction and light body [didn't] make the roller move,' he added. Shocking footage shows the girl trying to rock back and forth to move along the zipline cable, with her inching forward very slowly on the Flying Fox zipline on Nusa Penida, a small island located near the southeastern Indonesian island of Bali The girl's terrified and reportedly crying mother, alongside several British tourists, watched on in horror from below as the girl is hanging 330ft over the ocean in the video from July Nusa Penida's police chief told local media that the 'foreign child' was stuck on the zipline for about three minutes, telling reporters that an opposition wind direction and the girl's low weight stopped the roll on the cable from working The incident raised questions over the safety of the nearly 600ft-long zipline in Nusa Penida, which has since been closed, according to local media. Local police revealed that while the owner had permission to establish a 'beach attraction' near the island's popular Diamond Beach, he did not have a permit for building a zipline, according to local media. The head of the local fire service told reporters that Flying Fox zipline the owner built was 'not suitable'. Local newspapers are now asking why it took more than a week to close down the zipline after it started operating on July 2 - and why it only happened after a child got stuck on it. This comes after an Italian woman plunged 60ft to her death on a zipline in Italy's Bitto Valley when she slipped from her safety harness earlier this year. Ghizlane Moutahir, 41, died in May after she fell to the ground at the Fly Emotion park in Alpi Orobie at Bema, close to Lake Como, in Italy. She was approaching the end of the mile-long, high-wire thrill when witnesses said she began to 'struggle' and then slipped out of her harness. Paramedics raced to the scene but there was nothing that could be done and she was pronounced dead. Police and prosecutors have since opened an investigation for 'negligent homicide by persons unknown'. Moutahir's two nieces, who had just completed their flight on the zipline, watched their aunt take her turn on the 60mph ride and were filming when tragedy struck. Investigators are examining the footage taken by the girls. Her death comes nearly two years after a 39-year-old man was killed while ziplining in northeastern Brazil of Ceara. Sergio Lima was filming himself sliding down the zip line cable at Canoa Quebra beach in the municipality of Aracati in October 2022 when one of the wood beams collapsed and sent him plunging as his girlfriend watched in horror. Sergio Lima was filming himself sliding down the zip line cable at Canoa Quebra beach in the municipality of Aracati in October 2022 when one of the wood beams collapsed and sent him plunging as his girlfriend watched in horror Harrowing footage showed a smiling Lima wowing at the camera when he suddenly plummeted to the sand dunes 15 seconds into the ride. A second video of the tragic accident that was recorded by his girlfriend at the end of the platform reveals the horrifying moment the zipline cable snapped. His lawyer accused the operator of the zipline of not burying the wooden support beams properly and therefore causing Lima's accident. In 2019, an Australian father-of-three was ticking off a bucket list item when his ziplining adventure in Brisbane went horribly wrong, killing him and seriously injuring his wife. Dean Sanderson, 50, from Adelaide, had been on holiday with his wife Shannon, then 48, to visit their son at the army academy, when the pair signed up to go ziplining at the Jungle Surfing Canopy in Cape Tribulation, northeast Queensland. The pair was on the zipline when a cable snapped, sending husband and wife plummeting about 52ft into the rainforest below. Witness Mardi Liebelt told MailOnline at the time that she and her husband had been next to jump on the zipline when the cable snapped, and said she has been unable to shake the shocking scene from her mind. 'It was quick,' she said. 'They got to the middle of the line and the cable literally snapped clean off, then it twanged back up into the air. 'There was silence, deadly silence, and then the poor lady just started screaming - it's a scream I never hope to hear again.' A Piccolino restaurant manager who stole 21,610 from the till has been spared jail after claiming he gave half the money to staff when the luxury eaterie chain began taking a share of their tips. Mario D'Agostino, 61, exploited a customer loyalty scheme to skim money off the profits when bosses introduced a new policy of allowing diners to pay 'optional surcharges' on card payments instead of cash. The father of three, who also has 12 grandchildren, said as a result the firm began taking a third share of the 10 per cent gratuities which should have gone to the waiters and chefs. He claimed that it was to keep up morale that he fiddled the loyalty scheme, allowing him to take money out of the till to give to staff at the end of each week. D'Agostino, who had worked at the Chester branch of the Italian restaurant chain since 2015, was reported to police after investigators from The Iceland Food Group - which owns the firm - were assigned to check an 'unusually high' level of success with the customer loyalty scheme. Mario D'Agostino, 61, exploited a customer loyalty scheme to skim money off the profits while working at the Piccolino restaurant in Cheshire D'Agostino had worked at the company's Chester branch (pictured) since 2015 He claimed that it was to keep up morale that he fiddled the loyalty scheme, allowing him to take money out of the till to give to staff at the Chester restaurant (pictured) each week It emerged that over the course of 10 months the manager had been creating fake customer accounts on the loyalty scheme then taking the 20 'welcome' rewards which would normally be offered to diners who signed up. When quizzed, D'Agostino insisted almost 11,000 of the missing money had been shared amongst the staff and claimed the rest had been spent on equipment at the eaterie. He confessed: 'I created a monster I could not stop. I feel relieved that I do not have to do it anymore. I do not have to keep looking over my shoulder.' The company, which set up its first restaurant in Knutsford in Cheshire in 2000 and has 21 branches in its portfolio, admitted initially taking a two per cent cut of the 10 per cent optional service charge to cover 'admin costs' but subsequently dropped the administration fee altogether. D'Agostino, from Buckley in Flintshire, North Wales, had potentially faced up to four years in jail after he admitted fraud by abuse of position at Chester Crown Court. He has now been sentenced to 21 months in prison, suspended for two years along with 100 hours of unpaid work. There was no order for compensation but a judge said the opportunity for civil recovery was open to his former employer. The investigation began after bosses noticed the Chester restaurant appeared to have an exceptionally high take-up of customers signing up for the loyalty scheme between June 2021 and April 2022. Jayne Morris prosecuting said: 'Piccolino introduced the loyalty card scheme which gives customers an opportunity to collect points against their bills at any individual restaurants. 'Customers sign up by email address to the loyalty scheme and receive a one-off 20 reward off their next visit. 'But an inspection was carried out at Chester by a loss prevention officer from the Iceland Food Company. 'Having looked at the data, he became convinced that a staff member or staff members created disposable emails to allow them to generate multiple club members loyalty cards.' When quizzed, D'Agostino insisted almost 11,000 of the missing money had been shared amongst the staff working at the restaurant in Pepper Street, Chester (pictured) The investigation found that as well as the 20 reward scheme being abused, additional points were added to the fake cards to 'disguise' their fraudulent use. A cash equivalent to the 20 credit applied to a customer's bill was taken from the till. Miss Morris added: 'When staff were searched a number of restaurant gift cards were found in the defendant's safe. 'When he was interviewed during an internal investigation, he admitted the offence saying he was under pressure to reach targets and while it was not an excuse he said the whole thing was totally wrong.' In his basis of plea outlined to the court, D'Agostino said that when the company started offering diners the chance to pay a 10 per cent 'optional surcharge' in place of a tip, it also encouraged them to sign up to the membership scheme and staff were given targets to reach. He claimed the company was initially taking one third of the surcharge meant for staff and that he decided to use the scheme to recoup some of the money that was being taken by the company and share it out among staff. He also said he was not the only member of staff involved as he said fraudulent transactions were carried out when he was not on site. The money accrued by the fraud was put into a safe until the end of the week, before being put in envelopes and shared among staff. D'Agostino said he kept a record sheet of the tips he gave staff and claimed he did not take for himself anywhere near the 21,610 that the company lost as the money was split between wokers. He also said there were times when he would purchase expensive items for the store out of his own money due to delivery issues and he would reimburse himself from the company's petty cash. Miss Morris said: 'Despite the defendant saying that he did not receive all of the money himself, he was the general manager, therefore the ringleader of the fraud. 'It was abuse of a position of power and trust and responsibility. The fraud was 21,610 irrespective of who received the full benefit. An investigation found that as well as the 20 reward scheme being abused, additional points were added to the fake cards to 'disguise' their fraudulent use at the Chester venue (pictured) D'Agostino was sentenced to 21 months in prison, suspended for two years along with 100 hours of unpaid work, at his trial at Chester Crown Court (pictured) 'His own bank account had 11,000 in cash deposits over the relevant period of time. The whole scheme was initiated and thought of by the defendant.' D'Agostino had 26 dishonesty offences on his record, with the most recent being fro 1997. His lawyer Eve Salter said: 'Ultimately he was trying to keep the team together due to the impact on the tips provided to staff. 'He was trying to keep up morale but ultimately recognises that what he did was wrong and that he should not have engaged in such behaviour. 'He originally worked in a restaurant but now works full-time six days a week as a delivery driver. He accepts that all of what has happened since this offence is all his fault. 'He recognises that he brought it on himself. He has been punished by not being able to work in the industry that he loves. This brought shame on his family, although he does say that his wife is extremely supportive of him and he is extremely grateful for that.' In sentencing D'Agostino, the judge Mr Recorder Eric Lamb told him: 'You created false memberships through a number of email addresses knowing perfectly well what it was you were doing. 'But you have demonstrated by your behaviour your ability to resume the straight and narrow path because since 2022 you have not only seen sought out employment for yourself but there has not been any further offending. 'Your means and responsibilities are such that it would be inappropriate to make an order for compensation - but that does not preclude your former employers from taking civil action against you.' Speaking after the sentencing, Detective Constable Joe Duckworth from the Cheshire Police Economic Crime Unit said: 'D'Agostino held a position of trust, and he abused that trust for his own financial gain. 'Through his actions, he exploited more than 21,000 from the loyalty scheme, causing a significant loss to the restaurant. 'I welcome the fact that he has now been held accountable for his actions, and I hope that his conviction will act as a warning to others that Cheshire Police will continue to pursue those involved in fraud.' When he stepped into the role less than four years ago, Tim Davie may have foreseen that he was taking over an institution that could face further troubles - especially after the appalling acts of once-stars like Jimmy Savile. But the incoming Director-General could scarcely have imagined in his darkest dreams that by taking on the title at the BBC in September 2020 he would one day be facing the living nightmare of the Huw Edwards child sex images scandal. Edwards - one of the most trusted faces in public life - had been hiding a secret lust that saw him twice sent a video of a boy under nine among scores of other vile indecent pictures. But while it is by far the worst, it is just one of many disasters the Director-General has been forced to tackle on his watch. From revelations that the corporation had covered up Martin Bashir's 'deceitful behaviour' in securing his 1995 Panorama interview with Princess Diana, to Strictly's ongoing bullying scandal, he has been tasked again and again with trying to save the national broadcaster's fraying reputation. Director-general Tim Davie has had to tackle a number of disasters that have plagued the BBC in the last four years Huw Edwards arriving at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London this week as police clear the way The corporation, and Mr Davie specifically, have come under fire after it emerged they knew Edwards had been arrested in November over the most serious category of indecent images of children, and yet continued to employ him for five months. Now, as Mr Davie rushes to save the broadcaster's image a little too late, there are growing calls for him to step down. Top English lawyer Nick Freeman today led calls for the Director-General to be fired for his 'mishandling of the situation'. He wrote on X: 'Just as Huw Edwards should have been sacked, so should Tim Davie for his mishandling of the situation. And is he now prepared to reimburse the taxpayer for his appalling ineptitude?' From having to do damage-control over Gary Lineker's constant controversial tweets, to dealing with the Strictly abuse revelations, this is not the first time the former marketing head has had to deal with scandal. And PR guru Mark Borkowski says he feels for Mr Davie's unfortunate position in what he calls an 'unforgiving job'. 'The problem with the brand is institutional. It is very hard for them to pivot in the face of controversy and just make a statement, they are bound by things like employer's laws. A lot of it is to do with HR. Calls have begun for Mr Davie to step down following his handling of the Huw Edwards scandal Tim Davie arriving for work in November 2012 when he was the BBC's Acting Director-General 'To a certain extent, Tim Davie sits at the head of the corporation. But it's a difficult situation because it involved such iconic personalities that everyone knows. 'This latest scandal is an extremely upsetting incident, but Tim is governed by procedure. 'They had to wait for a judgement, but of course, social media does not wait.' Speaking of what Mr Davie and his team need to do to save the corporation's reputation, he said: 'Telegraphing how the BBC have to operate in scenarios like this in a transparent way might help people to understand how it works and how hard it is. 'It has always been a challenge for anyone sitting at the top of the BBC. So empathy goes to Tim who doesn't decide it all. 'They've got to get more rigour in letting people know how it works. Let people know there are strict processes governed by human resources that doesn't allow them to pivot and react instantly. They are lumbered by various levels of procedure. 'It's about regaining trust, instead of making a short statement and then running off and hiding. 'Ultimately, it's an unforgiving job. It's never been easy to be a Director-General at the BBC, and continues to be one of most difficult jobs in British media and TV.' The disgraced BBC anchorman pleaded guilty earlier this week to receiving 41 indecent images of children, which included two sexual videos of a boy under nine The text messages said to have been sent to a junior colleague Just last week, the Director-General was forced to apologise to Strictly Come Dancing contestants following complaints of abusive behaviour taking place on the show. The show has been engulfed by drama since Giovanni Pernice was suspended after his celebrity partner Amanda Abbington accused him of abusive behaviour, saying he was 'cruel and mean' - claims which he denies. It is part of a string of abuse allegations on the show, with dancer Graziano Di Prima sacked last month over reports he verbally and physically abused Zara McDermott during rehearsals. Graziano has since apologised for kicking his former partner and added other allegations do not align with 'how he remembers it'. On Monday, the BBC show was thrown into further crises after backstage staff branded it 'toxic and cruel'. It's been said that 'talented co-workers were treated with cruelty', while the environment was described as 'tense, toxic, uncomfortable'. As the BBC boss broke silence on the scandal last week, he said 'I'm sorry'. Chaperones will now be introduced to rehearsals in an attempt to protect similar incidents from occurring. Addressing the controversy, Mr Davie said: 'I'm very sorry that anyone has had a experience on Strictly that hasn't been wholly positive. 'There are limits and the line should never be crossed. We will never tolerate unacceptable behaviour of any kind.' Strictly Come Dancing has been engulfed by drama since Giovanni Pernice was suspended after his celebrity partner Amanda Abbington accused him of abusive behaviour, saying he was 'cruel and mean.' He denies the claims It was followed by Graziano Di Prima's sacking last month over reports he verbally and physically abused Zara McDermott during rehearsals. Graziano has apologised for kicking his former partner and added other allegations do not align with 'how he remembers it' Strictly Come Dancing was thrown into more crisis on Monday as backstage staff branded the scandal-plagued show 'toxic and cruel' Following the two major controversies that have taken headlines in recent months, BBC staff have been handed dossiers full of guidelines on how to report 'potential grooming' and 'rumours or evidence of a potential relationship involving an imbalance of power'. But Mr Davie's first big scandal at the BBC to take on came when the corporation was accused of covering up thousands of emails over Martin Bashirs Princess Diana interview. When the Bashir scandal erupted in 2020, the BBC repeatedly said that it could not ask the former Panorama reporter questions because he was seriously unwell. His medical condition allegedly provided bosses with a legal loophole not to disclose more than 3,200 emails relevant to the case under freedom of information laws. But a tranche of emails revealed during a hearing in 2023 that managers were in regular discussion behind the scenes with the disgraced reporter. BBC chiefs were grilled for arrogantly misleading the public over Bashirs health to avoid tricky questions. It came after in autumn 2020 the Mail had been revealing details of how Bashir had lied and forged his way to clinch his 1995 interview with the princess, in which she famously said there were three of us in this marriage. Tim Davie apologised for 'multiple series failures' in how Bashir secured the interview after an inquiry in 2021 criticised the BBC for falling short of 'high standards of integrity and transparency'. The BBC was also plunged into crisis when it came under criticism for covering up Martin Bashir's 'deceitful' behaviour in obtaining the 1995 interview with Princess Diana Yet another scandal Mr Davie has been plagued by is the sex abuse allegations against ex Radio 1 DJ Tim Westwood. Last month, the BBC said it hopes findings of the independent inquiry into Mr Westwood's conduct at the BBC will be published by the autumn - around two years after being commissioned. Barrister Gemma White KC was appointed in August 2022 to look at the veteran hip hop DJ's work at the BBC in the wake of sexual assault allegations against him going back four decades. He has denied the claims. The BBC has spent more than 3million on the two-year investigation into alleged misconduct by the DJ. The corporation is working with the Metropolitan Police to see that the report does not have an 'negative impact on any ongoing police investigation'. The BBC revealed its target date for a report into sex abuse allegations against ex Radio 1 DJ Tim Westwood (pictured) last month Tim Davie has on multiple occasions had to deal with controversy following Gary Lineker's very outspoken tweets that critics say breach the broadcaster's impartiality guidelines Among other BBC presenters that caused controversy during Mr Davie's time as boss is outspoken Match of the Day star Gary Lineker. BBC chiefs were forced to talk to the commentator last year after he compared the Tory government's policy on immigration to that of Nazi Germany and then ridiculed MPs who criticised him for 'flouting impartiality rules'. In a tweet in March last year, he called Suella Braverman's measures to stop the small boats 'beyond awful' and 'an immeasurably cruel policy directed at the most vulnerable people in language that is not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s'. The Director-General was forced to suspend Lineker, though it triggered a walkout by BBC stars as the crisis deepened. A pipeline worker explained how Kamala Harris will affect his livelihood if she's elected president - claiming she would force him to pull from his 401(k) early to pay the bills. 'She is a left-wing, liberal [from] San Francisco with the highest taxes. And why would anybody with any common horse-sense that's a blue-collar worker want to even look at this woman?' Texas pipeline worker Bugsy Allen told Fox's America's Newsroom. 'I can tell you right now when that lady's lips are moving, she's lying,' he added. Allen's outburst came as the vice president changed her position on fracking, the drilling process used to pull natural gas and oil from the ground. Harris, who is expected to become the Democratic nominee, has said she won't seek to ban fracking if she's elected - a turnaround from the 2020 election campaign when she said at a CNN climate town hall that 'there's no question I'm in favor of banning fracking.' She has reportedly backed away from that stance, adopting Joe Biden's position on the issue after becoming his running mate in 2020. 'She is a left-wing, liberal [from] San Francisco with the highest taxes. And why would anybody with any common horse-sense that's a blue-collar worker want to even look at this woman?' said Texas pipeline worker Bugsy Allen Your browser does not support iframes. 'These people are not going to keep fracking, because they're pushing electric cars, they're pushing their green ideology deal. And it's not going to work. It never will work,' Allen said. 'Oil and gas is going to be the driver of the United States of America.' Allen said he and his fellow pipeline workers are 'thinking about jerking [from] our 401(k)s just to try to live.' 'People, I'm telling you, are hurting,' he continued. 'And they see these prices going up. And it's simply because they have pushed this ideology about all kinds of electric cars and green energy. It's not going to work.' Harris' campaign commented on fracking after the Republican nominee, Donald Trump, called out the Californian on her position during a rally in Charlotte, North Carolina. Kamala Harris has said she won't seek to ban fracking if she's elected - a turnaround from the 2020 election campaign Her team told The Hill: 'Trump's false claims about fracking bans are an obvious attempt to distract from his own plans to enrich oil and gas executives at the expense of the middle class. 'The Biden-Harris Administration passed the largest ever climate change legislation and under their leadership, America now has the highest ever domestic energy production,' a Harris spokesperson said. 'This Administration created 300,000 energy jobs, while Trump lost nearly a million and his Project 2025 would undo the enormous progress weve made the past four years.' The issue is key in many fracking-heavy states, like Pennsylvania, Ohio, North Dakota, and Texas. Harris' position change comes as she's considering Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro to be her running mate. Shapiro has sought the middle ground in the debate Harris' position change comes as she's considering Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro to be her running mate. Shapiro has sought the middle ground in the debate. 'Governor Shapiro is an all-of-the-above energy Governor and he is taking action to invest in affordable and reliable renewable energy while continuing to support the key energy resources that have helped Pennsylvania become the leader it is today,' a Shapiro spokesperson told Politico's E&E News. Harris is expected to announce her running mate on Tuesday at a Philadelphia rally. A teenager accused of murdering a pensioner who died in a house fire after a firework was thrown into his home has appeared in court. Robert Price, 76, was found after the blaze in Dagenham, east London, last Saturday. Now a 17-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has today appeared at the Old Bailey charged with murder and arson with intent to endanger life. Paramedics and firefighters attended shortly after 5.40pm and forced entry to the home to find Mr Prices body. A post-mortem later gave the cause of death as inhalation of smoke and burns. Paramedics and firefighters attended the fire in Dagenham, east London, last Saturday shortly after 5.40pm and forced entry before discovering Robert Price's body Officers are treating the blaze as suspicious and a male teenager aged 17 today appeared in court at the Old Bailey charged with murder The Metropolitan Police named the victim found dead as 76-year-old Robert Price (pictured) The teenager appeared in court today via video link from Vinney Green youth detention centre in Bristol and spoke to confirm his name and date of birth. Judge Sarah Whitehouse remanded him in youth detention accommodation ahead of a plea and trial preparation hearing scheduled for October 18. She said the prosecution alleged the fire was 'deliberately started at the home of a vulnerable adult' after a firework was thrown inside. A provisional trial date was set for May 12 next year. Mr Prices family have been informed and are being supported by specialist officers. Another male who was arrested in connection with the investigation, was later released on bail pending further enquiries. The Metropolitan Police previously said: 'The cause of the fire is under investigation but is being treated as suspicious. 'Enquiries are ongoing to establish whether the fire in Oval Road North may be linked to any other incidents.' Police were called to reports of a fire at a property on Oval Road North in Dagenham A post-mortem later gave the cause of death as inhalation of smoke and burns They have appealed for anyone in the area of Oval Road North between last Saturday between 5pm and 6pm and witnessed anything to get in touch. Scotland Yard said: 'Any drivers who were passing through the area around that time and may have captured anything on dash cam are also urged to contact police. 'If you have information that could assist then please contact officers on 101 or message @MetCC on X and quote CAD5619/27Jul. 'You can also provide information anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.' Newly released footage shows the moment a burglar leaves a bizarre note on a checkout counter while stealing from a restaurant in California. Security footage from the eatery in San Fernando shows the suspect scurrying across the floor as he makes his way behind the checkout counter. The thief is later seen picking up a sticky note sitting on the counter. The next day, the victims found the note, which read: 'Sorry! Need $ for drugs, won't come back.' Security footage from a San Fernando eatery shows a burglar picking up a sticky note and scrawling a bizarre apology Police told ABC7 that all of the businesses were located around the Maclay corridor and San Fernando Mall. Three were burglarized, six were vandalized and another was targeted in a grand theft. Officials are working to determine whether the same person may be involved in the crime spree. No suspect has been identified. Before writing the note, the suspect was seen behind the checkout counter The next day, the victimized owners recovered the note, which read: 'Sorry! Need $ for drugs, won't come back' The business was one of ten to be hit in San Fernando in just two days The incidents come a few months after thieves stole $30 million from a Los Angeles money storage facility in one of the largest cash heists in the city's history. The raid was carried out under the cover of darkness at the cash vaults held at the GardaWorld facility in the Sylmar area of the San Fernando Valley, on the northeastern edge of L.A., where cash from businesses across the region is handled and stored, police said. It is thought the gang broke in through a hatch on the roof and some how circumnavigated the security systems to access the vaults and escape without raising the alarm. It is thought the gang broke in through a hatch on the roof and some how circumnavigated the security systems to access the vaults and escape without raising the alarm, before escaping through a hole on the southeastern side of the building While there did not appear to be any damage done to the roof, local news footage showed a patched up hole on the southeastern side of the building. Debris lay around it, though it is unclear what this may have been used for or if it was related to the theft. The break-in is among the largest cash burglaries in Los Angeles history. This is the shocking moment a brawl broke out on a jetty after passengers got into a row over who got first dibs on the next ferry home from an idyllic Italian beach. Dozens of sunseekers were spotted at the Lido Schiacchetiello, in Bacoli, Naples, fighting across the pier and on board a boat. Witnesses who captured footage of the chaos told local media the mass argument was sparked after passengers began disagreeing on who had priority to enter the boat first. A shocking clip of the drama shows a rowdy group of people in swimming gear smacking and hitting each other in a small boat bobbing in the water. One man can be seen repeatedly slapping another traveller in his face before pounding his fists into his back. Chaotic footage captured the moment a man was thrown off a pier and on to a boat during a jetty brawl in Italy Dozens of men could be seen throwing punches at each other as they argued over who would take the next ferry home, according to witnesses The fight quickly extended from the boat to the pier as the men in swimming gear threw kicks and punches at one another The fight then escalates as the men in the boat begin attacking another group of men standing on the pier as they yell at each other and wave their arms around. As they push and shove each other across the wooden bridge, one unfortunate beachgoer gets violently thrown off the pier before landing in the boat packed with furious fighters. Despite this, the scrap continues between the men as one man climbs off the pier into the boat while another continues his beating on land. The pier quickly becomes filled with battling individuals while several onlookers stand in the pristine waters and watch on in shock. According to the witness, there were also some Neapolitan TikTokers among the brawlers. Finally the fighting comes to a standstill and several men can be seen piling on to the rocking vessel before it takes off. The viral clip from July 22 was shared by MP Francesco Emilio Borrelli on Instagram, where he spoke of his disappointment around the unnecessary violence. He wrote: 'In Varcaturo, women had been fighting over a sunbed in the front row. The scenario, the genre and the motivations have changed, but not the violence that is returning to the beaches'. Just two weeks ago, raging sunseekers got into a brawl on an Italian beach after they were denied loungers in a prime spot near the shoreline. Lifeguards refused the requests and a vicious fight broke out between the women and members of the public, with footage showing them wrestling and yanking each other's hair. The men stumbled over one another as the fighting continued The small vessel could be seen rocking and tipping in the water as several men attempted to climb on Witnesses said the women then turned on beach lifeguards who had been trying to pull them away, and that the fight went on for 'more than half an hour'. The violent scenes took place in the coastal resort of Varcaturo, near Naples, where families had been enjoying a day out. Continuing on about last Monday's violent brawl, Borrelli said: 'A merciless scene under the undaunted eyes of many tourists and children. 'Any excuse becomes good for giving vent to violence, to one's barbaric instincts, to degradation, to sub-criminal ways. In reality, we cannot speak of triggers, they themselves are the reason for the violence that is intrinsic to their being. 'These individuals cannot be together with others, they cannot transform beaches and public places into rings, saloons, territories of conquest. 'For this reason, some time ago we proposed the introduction of the Metropolitan Tourist Police force that can guarantee safety and order in these crowded places frequented by many citizens and visitors, keeping away those scoundrels who must be reported and severely punished'. The Mayor of Bacoli, Josi Della Ragione, also echoed Borrelli's concerns and said in a social media post: 'Get out of Bacoli! I have started the procedures to order the urban daspo against the group of thugs who yesterday, in the waters of Bacoli, gave rise to an unworthy brawl. 'We will also report them for the damage to the image caused to our city. A physical clash that mortifies the thousands of good people who live here. 'Whoever does not care about Bacoli, as well as the most basic rules of civil life, must never set foot there again. 'We will do everything we can to identify those responsible for the outrage immortalised in so many videos, spread on social media'. Police have revealed more photos of suspects they want to track down after a riot erupted outside a Holiday Inn in Manchester housing asylum seekers. A man has been charged with attacking an officer during the disorder which broke out on Wednesday evening, amid similar clashes in other towns and cities following the Southport stabbings on Monday which left three young girls dead. About 100 demonstrators gathered on Wednesday outside the Holiday Inn hotel on Oldham Road in Newton Heath, Manchester. Greater Manchester Police have today issued an appeal for 'information and footage' while also sharing pictures of people they wish to speak to - while the hunt also goes on for thugs involved in another protest in Aldershot, Hampshire. Joshua Stokes, 26, of Ten Acres Lane, Manchester, has been charged with violent disorder and attempted ABH of a police officer, the force also said, before he was remanded into custody to appear at Manchester and Salford Magistrates Court. Greater Manchester Police today issued pictures of people they want to trace following violent disorder which broke out outside a Holiday Inn in Manchester on Wednesday evening The force urged people to come forward with information after 100 demonstrators gathered on Wednesday outside the Holiday Inn hotel on Oldham Road in Newton Heath, Manchester Greater Manchester Police urged anyone with information to contact the force on 101 or the via the website gmp.police.uk, quoting log 1369 of July 31 2024 Two members of the public were hurt during the unrest, including a bus driver who was forced to stop by the crowd, and a man who was hit by a projectile, though police said neither sustained serious injuries. Objects, including beer bottles, were thrown at officers, but the force said no injuries had been reported by officers. There were riots in Southport on Tuesday and in London, Hartlepool and Aldershot on Wednesday. Esrlier today Hampshire Police released pictures of people they want to speak to over violent scenes outside the Potters International Hotel in Aldershot which also houses asylum seekers. Speaking at a press conference yesterday, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the riots were 'not protest' and 'not legitimate' as he vowed not to permit a "breakdown of law and order". Greater Manchester Police, issuing today's appeal for information and images of people they wish to speak to, urged anyone with information to contact police on 101 or the force's website at gmp.police.uk, quoting log 1369 of July 31 2024. Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, six-year-old Bebe King and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, were killed when a knifeman attacked them during a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on Monday. Eight other children were injured along with two adults - yoga instructor Leanne Lucas and businessman John Hayes - as tributes to the victims have continued. Axel Rudakubana, 17, from Banks in Lancashire, has been charged with their murders and attempted murders and was publicly identified for the first time yesterday as he appeared in court. When Rudakubana appeared before court yesterday, a provisional trial date at Liverpool Crown Court, set to last six weeks, was scheduled for January 20 next year. MANCHESTER: Riot police are seen outside a Holiday Inn in Newton Heath where protesters targeted in response to social media messages stating the venue was 'housing illegal immigrants at the taxpayers expense' MANCHESTER: Video shows protesters clashing with riot police with parts of the UK at boiling point MANCHESTER: Protesters were seen launching glass bottles at a police van He is next due to appear at Liverpool Crown Court on October 25 for a plea and trial preparation hearing and will be remanded in youth accommodation detention in the meantime. Monday's knife attack has sparked violent disorder in some towns and cities in England, including the capital London on Wednesday evening. Home Office minister Lord Hanson today told would-be rioters to 'be prepared to face the full force of the law on this criminal activity', as the prospect of more than a dozen more protests in the coming days looms. He said forces have the powers under intelligence-led policing to track 'people who may be travelling to cause trouble and to cause conspiracy' and to use facial recognition technology and other evidence to bring prosecutions. Asked how concerned the Government was about fresh unrest this weekend, Lord Hanson told LBC Radio: 'There is that potential. 'But I always say to anybody who's organising this, we will be watching you. If you are organising this now, we will be watching you. 'We have powers under existing legislation to stop you organising this now and to take action accordingly, and if you do take action and are not part of any organised group, be prepared to face the full force of the law on this criminal activity.' Asked whether those involved are from the far right, he said: 'Some individuals will have far-right opinions, in my view, some might be caught up in the summer madness. Some might be people who've got genuine concerns.' He urged them to protest peacefully and raise issues with their MP, adding: 'What they can't do is throw rocks at police officers, break windows in mosques and attack people in the streets and undertake street robbery as happened in some of the shops in the in Southport. That is simply not acceptable.' LONDON: Violence erupted on the streets of the capital as flag-waving protesters clashed with police on Wednesday evening near Whitehall LONDON: Protesters were seen wearing t-shirts with the faces of the three Southport victims on - despite families of the victims calling for the violence to stop LONDON: Protesters hold a Union Jack banner which says: 'Enough is enough. Stop the boats' LONDON: A protester draped in a Union Jack flag was seen mounting a traffic light in front of an army of riot police officers LONDON: Police officers detain a demonstrator during a protest against illegal immigration outside of Downing Street The PA news agency found evidence of at least 15 protests advertised online, some calling for participants to take England flags and containing phrases such as 'enough is enough', 'save our kids' and 'stop the boats'. The protests are being planned for areas such as Southport, Leeds and Bristol, while two counter-demonstrations are also being advertised online. Liverpool City Region mayor Steve Rotheram said he was 'concerned' that there could be a 'repeat of violence somewhere in the Liverpool City Region'. But he added: 'We know exactly what we'd need to do to ensure that these things are nipped in the bud.' Meanwhile, Cleveland Police have charged seven men with violent disorder offences after riots broke out in Hartlepool and have made more arrests - including an 11-year-old boy detained for allegedly setting fire to a patrol car. A lone Asian man was also punched in the face in footage which was captured on a live stream and police are continuing to hunt for the man who carried out that attack. Cleveland Police said all seven men who have now been charged face counts of violent disorder. A 42-year-old man was also charged with assault by beating of an emergency worker, while a 28-year-old man was charged with violent disorder and possession of an offensive weapon in a public place as well as violent disorder. Cleveland Police said 11 other people were arrested on Wednesday evening in connection with the disorder during which officers were attacked with missiles, glass bottles and eggs in the County Durham town. The Southport mass stabbings have led to riots on the streets. Pictured: A police van is torched in Southport on Tuesday night SOUTHPORT: Locals have called on rioters to leave their town after Tuesday night's violence HARTLEPOOL: An angry mob burnt down a police car which was left to perish in the flames HARTLEPOOL: Rioters break down a fence as violence erupted in Britain for the second night running Speaking outside Hartlepool Police Station yesterday afternoon, Chief Constable Mark Webster said the events in the town were 'mindless thuggery' and that experienced officers had never seen such disorder there before. Asked what the motivation was for the disorder, he said: 'There is an opportunity to go out and damage things, and just exhibit a bit of violence. 'I don't think there is a principle at stake, this was not a legitimate protest or demonstration. 'I think there is some mindless thuggery and that's why we are being really proactive to go out and arrest people. There's no excuse for last night.' Also yesterday, Sir Keir Starmer condemned 'far-right hatred' in the wake of the Southport stabbings and today announced a new 'national' response to the violent disorder linking police forces across the country. The Prime Minister said 'thugs' involved in the scenes of unrest should not 'pretend they are speaking' for the grieving families of the three young girls killed in the initial attack. At a press conference following riots in which bricks were hurled at police officers and a local mosque targeted, Sir Keir warned: 'The far right are showing who they are - we have to show who we are in response to that.' In a televised address from Downing Street after the disorder in London, Hartlepool, Manchester and Southport, he announced a new 'national capability' to tackle the disorder across police forces in England. This will involve sharing intelligence, wider deployment of facial recognition technology and criminal behaviour orders to restrict the movement of those involved, Sir Keir said. Floral and written tributes are left alongside balloons and teddy bears at the scene of the stabbings on Hart Street, Southport Pictured for the first time: Southport stabbing suspect Axel Rudakubana, now 17, pictured as a child, is charged with murdering three little girls and harming 10 others Rudakubana (pictured as a child) is charged with murdering three little girls and harming 10 others at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport with a 'curved kitchen knife' Court artist drawing of Rudakubana covering his face as he appeared in the dock at Liverpool Crown Court He said: 'These thugs are mobile, they move from community to community. We must have a policing response that can do the same.' The Prime Minister also sounded a note of caution to social media companies after misinformation spread online about the identity of the 17-year-old suspect, including false claims that he was an asylum seeker. 'Let me also say to large social media companies and those who run them: violent disorder, clearly whipped up online, that is also a crime, it's happening on your premises, and the law must be upheld everywhere,' he said. 'That is the single most important duty of government, service rests on security. We will take all necessary action to keep our streets safe.' House Republicans are opening an investigation into President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris' role in the controversial plea deal offered to three of the 9/11 masterminds. On Wednesday three of the five men who allegedly played pivotal roles in the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 Americans on September 11, 2001 reached an agreement that would see them detained for life but avoid the death penalty. The White House said it had no role in the pre-trial agreements and just learned of the deal as it was made public. 'That White House officials and you, as President and Commander in Chief, would seek to distance your Administration from this decision is understandable given how absurd it is, but it is far from believable or appropriate,' Oversight Chairman James Comer wrote in a letter to Biden. Lead 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in a photo dated 2009 Comer, R-Ky., said his committee was also concerned about the 'lack of transparency' around the deal given that much of it has not yet been disclosed. Comer demanded a complete copy of the plea deal, all documents between the White House and Defense Department related to it and all discussions of avoiding the death penalty by August 16. Sixteen years after prosecution began, the three men will be able to avoid the death penalty in a plea deal reached with military prosecutors. Top mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, and two co-conspirators Walid bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi reached the deal after 27 months of negotiations with prosecutors and it was approved on Wednesday by a senior Pentagon official. Their sentencing will not occur before summer 2025. Two of the five defendants were not included in the deal. One, Ramzi bin al-Shibh, was deemed not fit for trial due to mental illness. Another, Ammar al-Baluchi, could stand trial alone. The men have been in custody without convictions since 2003 but the case was bogged down in pretrial proceedings over whether evidence obtained by their torture in secret C.I.A. prisons would be admissible in court. Five terrorists allegedly involved in 9/11 remain detained at Guantanamo Bay without convictions The White House said it had no role in the pre-trial agreements and just learned of the deal as it was made public Last year Biden rejected a deal that would have spared all five suspects from the death penalty, according to a New York Times report. The prisoners had proposed a deal that would guarantee they would not serve solitary confinement, that they would be allowed to eat and pray with other prisoners, as they do now at Guantanamo. They also wanted guarantees of a civilian-run program to treat sleep disorders, brain injuries, gastrointestinal damage and other injuries they say they've sustained from U.S. torture. Back in 2009 then-Attorney General Holder tried to put Mohammed and four others on trial in a federal court in Manhattan and promised to seek the death penalty. But bringing the terrorists onto U.S. soil drew opposition from Republicans and some Democrats. So instead of the federal court system, the case went through the military commissions process. It is yet unclear where the terrorists will serve their sentences. Joe Biden has been wanting to close Guantanamo Bay, where they are detained, since he came into office. If the detention facility on the military base, known as Camp Delta, is shut down, the detainees could be moved to ADX Florence in Colorado, the only supermax prison in the U.S. that already houses 9/11 terrorists. A black soldier who was the British Army poster girl for diversity has received an apology and a 'substantial' payout after being subjected to racist and sexist abuse by her 'Hitler-praising' colleagues. Kerry-Ann Knight, 33, was a representative of the Army's Black and Minority Ethnic Network and featured on posters for a 1.5m military recruitment campaign. But she went to an employment tribunal and accepted a substantial settlement from the Ministry of Defence (MoD) last month. She secretly recorded conversations with colleagues who joked about lynching her. Kerry-Ann Knight (pictured) suffered racist and sexist abuse at the hands of her colleagues Kerry-Ann Knight, 33, was a representative of the Army's Black and Minority Ethnic Network and featured on posters for a 1.5m military recruitment campaign In one recording, laughter can be heard after a male soldier says: 'Just **** tar and feather her, it's what they used to do in the old days.' At the tribunal, Ms Knight described how colleagues directed slurs about slavery at her. She also claimed her colleagues praised Hitler and repeatedly targeted offensive racial language and stereotypes around her, such as shouting 'watermelon' when she walked into a room. Ms Knight claims she had to serve alongside soldiers who claimed to support the Ku Klux Klan, Britain First and the English Defence League. She also faced sexist abuse and harassment, such as being shown pictures of a colleague's penis at a work event and being asked to comment on it. Male soldiers reportedly shouted racially offensive insults followed by 'I'd still shag you though'. It is alleged that despite Ms Knight regularly raising complaints about the abuse she experienced to her superiors, no action was ever taken. She claims her experiences left her feeling that the Army was 'institutionally racist'. Ms Knight and the MoD settled before a final judgement was made after the Army agreed to make a public apology. The MoD said it 'accepts that Mrs Knight had to work in an unacceptable organisational environment where she experienced racist and sexist harassment'. But the MoD said this week it settled the claim with no admission of liability. Ms Knight grew up in Nottingham and served in the Army for more than a decade. She left as a corporal earlier this year, after launching an official service complaint. Speaking to the BBC, she said: 'I'd never encourage any woman, especially of colour, to join, because it's not going to benefit your life in the long run.' The racist and sexist abuse is said to have begun around 2012. Ms Knight told the BBC that during one of her first postings to Germany, she was told to avoid a certain corridor as soldiers were openly displaying swastikas, Confederate flags and other racist symbols. Also, a senior female solder reportedly reprimanded Ms Knight for the way she wore her hair in braids to go swimming during training, being told, 'this isn't the ghetto'. A senior colleague physically assaulted her in 2013, motivated by racism, Ms Knight alleges. In 2021, Ms Knight began working as the only black female instructor at the Army Foundation College in Harrogate. This is where the Army trains 16 and 17-year-old junior soldiers. But she claims several fellow white male instructors made it apparent that she wasn't welcome. People would shout 'watermelon' when she approached the office and she claims people would also play Django Unchained, a film about slavery, loudly in the office. When she offered to make a round of hot drinks, one colleague replied he wanted his coffee 'black and bitter - like my women'. Images of Hitler and a photo of a man's genitals were openly posted on a Whatsapp group for the instructors, of which she was a member. In 2021, at a dinner in the officers' mess, Ms Knight claims a fellow instructor aggressively shouted abuse in her face. She said she raised concerns about racist and sexist incidents earlier in her career but she decided to launch an official service complaint instead. This is when she started secretly recording some of the conversations taking place behind her back. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) provided funding and assistance to Kerry-Ann Knight, as part of its legal support scheme for race discrimination cases. The Equality and Human Rights Commission has announced that tackling discrimination, harassment and victimisation in the armed forces is a strategic priority for 2024-25. The programme of work, which will also focus on police and fire services, aims to support change in these workplaces through guidance, training and enforcement action. Baroness Kishwer Falkner, Chairwoman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, said: 'As one of the UK's largest employers, and a public authority under the Equality Act, the British Army should be a standard-bearer when it comes to protecting their employees from discrimination. Cpl Kerry Ann Knight on the front cover of The Locker magazine, printed on behalf of the British Army 'Former Cpl Knight dedicated more than a decade of her life to serving her country, and was an inspiration to young soldiers in her roles as an instructor and a diversity group representative. It is such a shame that the Army has lost a talent like hers. 'Many of the most recent recruits in the Army today will have joined after seeing Ms Knight's face in a recruitment campaign. Like everyone else in the country, they have the legal right to be treated fairly regardless of who they are or what they look like. 'The British Army workplace is unique, but that doesn't lessen its responsibility to follow equality law. Employers should take note that permitting discrimination such as that faced by Ms Knight is never acceptable, and this case demonstrates our commitment to tackling it head-on wherever we find it. 'I hope the settlement will allow Kerry-Ann to move on from this experience. As Britain's equality watchdog, we will continue to use our unique powers to prevent discrimination in the workplace.' Kerry-Ann Knight said: 'I have been absolutely devastated by my treatment by the British Army. 'I was so determined to make it work and help make the British Army a better place for women and black people, and so for everyone. But my experience eventually showed me that no matter what I did, I would never be accepted. Emma Norton, solicitor for Kerry-Ann Knight, said: 'The way the Army conducted itself throughout its internal complaints process and throughout this litigation is nothing short of shameful. 'For the Army, it was not the racists that needed to be dealt with it, it was Kerry-Ann, because she'd had the audacity to complain about racism and misogyny. 'It is all dreadfully familiar and shows that, in the British Army, it's worse to accuse someone of racism than it is to be racist.' Major General SL Humphris MBE, on behalf of the British Army, said in an apology sent to Kerry-Ann Knight: 'As Director Personnel (Army) and a member of the Army Board, I sincerely apologise on behalf of the Ministry of Defence. 'The Army accepts that you had to work in an unacceptable organisational environment where you experienced racist and sexist harassment. There was a failure within the Army in not responding properly to that environment or your complaints about it. 'The Army wishes to apologise for the treatment you received. Your loss is a matter of regret.' Schools in Oklahoma are tearing themselves apart over a new directive ordering teachers to incorporate the Bible into their lessons. In June, Republican State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters decreed that every classroom from grade five through 12 must contain a copy of the holy book. Walters stated the Bible is 'an indispensable historical and cultural touchstone,' which is necessary to 'properly contextualize the foundation of our nation'. However, at least four districts have pushed back on the orders, stating they will not be complying. 'As a public school system, it is crucial that we maintain neutrality and objectivity in our curriculum and instructional practices,' Owasso Public Schools Superintendent Margaret Coates said. Schools in Oklahoma are tearing themselves apart over a new directive from state superintendent Ryan Walters, who has ordered teachers to incorporate the Bible into lessons and keep a copy of the book in every classroom She added that Oklahoma law requires adoption of subject matter standards on a six-year cycle with the current set not up for renewal until 2025. 'The curriculum currently used by Owasso Public Schools is fully aligned with the approved Oklahoma Academic Standards and we will continue to adhere to the curriculum and instructional materials previously adopted by the district,' she said. 'The Oklahoma Attorney General has stated that the state superintendent does not have legal authority to decide the content of curriculum and that Oklahoma law clearly established local control of curriculum,' Stillwater Superintendent Uwe Gordon said. He confirmed his district will not be purchasing class copies of Bibles or any other religious text. 'SPS prides itself on being respectful of the myriad religions, cultures, traditions, worldviews, and belief systems inherent in our community,' he said. 'The district also holds itself to adherence with the state's established academic standards and the laws of the land.' Bixby Public Schools Superintendent Rob Miller and Moore Public Schools Public Superintendent Robert Romines both said they understand the importance of teaching the role of religion in historical and cultural contexts. However, both districts have declined to adopt the new curriculum. Owasso Public Schools Superintendent Margaret Coates has rejected the directive stating it is 'is crucial that we maintain neutrality and objectivity' Stillwater Superintendent Uwe Gordon, like several other education bosses, questioned the legality of bringing in the new measures before the official deadline for reviewing Oklahoma's curriculum 'Our goal is to continue providing a respectful environment that acknowledges various perspectives while adhering to the set and approved Oklahoma educational standards,' Romines said. The Oklahoma Education Association, a group of education professionals, also hit back at the directive, stating it infringes on freedom of religion principles. The head of the Oklahoma chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations slammed the directive as a clear violation of the Constitution's Establishment Clause, which prohibits the government from 'establishing' a religion. The current guidelines on religious education in Oklahoma schools state that it should be taught in relation to its historical role and world cultures. Teachers should educate students on the, 'origins, major beliefs, spread and lasting impact of the world's major religions and philosophies, including Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Confucianism, and Sikhism', per the 2019 guidelines. Walters new edict requires educators to incorporate the Bible by examining its 'historical, literary and secular benefits'. The holy book is ' not to be used for religious purposes such as preaching, proselytizing or indoctrination' and 'maintaining neutrality and objectivity is crucial'. The directive states all Oklahoma schools will have to use the Bible, which includes the Ten Commandments, as an instructional support into the curriculum for grade levels 5 through 12 But Walters has insisted he will 'use every means' to make sure his educators follow the edict Oklahoma law already explicitly allows Bibles in the classroom and lets teachers use them in instruction, said Phil Bacharach, a spokesman for state Attorney General Gentner Drummond. But Walters has doubled down on his commitment, insinuating there could be consequences for those who do not. 'Some Oklahoma educators have indicated they wont follow the law and Oklahoma standards, so let me be clear: they will comply, and I will use every means to make sure of it,' he told ABC News. Knife-wielding attackers filmed their teenage victim as he lay bleeding on the ground unconscious while a heroic, blood-soaked good Samaritan tried to save his life. The boy, aged 17, was ambushed in a car park behind a Coles supermarket at the CS Square shopping centre in the western Melbourne suburb of Caroline Springs on Thursday evening. He suffered wounds to his upper-body in the brutal attack. An ambulance rushed the boy to Royal Melbourne Hospital and on Friday he remained there in a serious condition. The man who came to the stabbed boy's aid said the attackers callously stood and watched the victim bleed on the concrete, with some filming the horrific scene on their phones and only one offering help to the fallen teen. The man told the Herald Sun he feared the boy would die as he desperately held his head off the ground. 'He was in and out of consciousness throughout the process, I was just trying to keep him awake and keep him alive,' the man said. 'From the wounds I witnessed, (the weapon) was something large, it wasn't a kitchen knife or a home knife, it was definitely something like a machete. A boy, reported to be 17, was stabbed by a group of around 10 blade wielding attackers in a western Melbourne shopping centre carpark (pictured: blood stained clothes at the scene) 'There was blood everywhere, all over me.' 'I saw so many people standing around, there were so many not helping besides one person.' He described the victim and most of the teenagers who attacked him as being black. The attackers are believed to have fled the scene in a car through the loading bay of Coles. Uniformed police and detectives remained at the scene until late into the evening. Police and ambulance were called to the CS Square shopping centre on Thursday at around 5.15pm Uniformed and plains clothes officers remained at the scene until late in the night collecting evidence 'Investigators are still trying to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident and the investigation is ongoing but it is believed the offenders have left the area,' a Victoria Police statement said. Officers sought witnesses to the bloodshed and talked to local business operators and shoppers. It is understood CCTV captured the incident and police will be using that footage as part of their investigation. Anyone with information can call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. A police officer who appeared on the Channel 4 show Call the Cops will stand trial over alleged sex offences against women and children. Matthew Tregale, of Devon and Cornwall Police, pleaded not guilty to two counts of sexually touching a 15-year-old girl. He faces 12 other charges between 2005 and 2021, including four counts of sexual assault by penetration and two of false imprisonment by another woman. He is also accused of attempted rape and two counts of sexual assault by the same woman. On top of that, the 35-year-old is charged with coercive and controlling behaviour against two other women and putting a person in fear of violence by harassment. Devon and Cornwall police constable Matthew Tregale (pictured) denies all charges He was also suspended from a cosplay charity in which he attended children's parties dressed as Superman While dressed as Superman, Tregale along with a Super Team member dressed as Batman helped arrest a shoplifter on the run from a supermarket as part of his work The officer - who appeared in the Channel 4 mini-series in 2019 - 'vehemently denies' all charges. Tregale, of Exeter, Devon, was suspended from duty and will face trial in September. He was charged in 2022 with the offences against the three women and he was charged with the child sex offences last year. He was also a trustee of Devon Super Team - an Exeter based volunteer Superhero Cosplay Group raising funds to help Children in Devon with disabilities. Last year, the group issued a statement about his charges saying: 'It has been recently brought to our attention that one of our cherished heroes has been highlighted in the local news and on social media platforms regarding charges brought against them. 'We understand that this may be a shock to the public just as it is a shock to our Charity's volunteers. 'In protection of the Charity and of this individual and their mental health, we are writing this statement to display our actions. 'This individual has been responsibly asked to step away from further charitable events, visits and Charity work until the court verdict has been decided. Tregale is pictured leaving Plymouth Magistrates' Court in 2022 'As a Charity, we are currently configuring our roles, members, and responsibilities out in this time. 'However, we will not take further action until we receive further information.' In April 2023, the presiding judge, Judge Michael Cullum, said the trial was expected to last up to five weeks and would take place in February 2023. But this was vacated at that time and attempts were made to list it at the next available date. The new trial date has now been listed for September 25 this year and the four-week trial will be held at Bristol Crown Court. The judge told Tregale last year: 'This effectively was a catch-up hearing for the new charges which you were aware about and your lawyers were aware about. 'The overwhelming likelihood is that there will be one trial. At the moment, that case will start on February 12. 'The matters will formally be joined at the pre-trial review which is on December 8. 'That is the next date that you have to attend court. 'You are fully aware of your bail conditions. Thank you very much, you may leave the dock.' Devon and Cornwall Police previously confirmed that Tregale is currently suspended from duty. A tourist who cheated death after he was attacked by a brown bear in Italy has expressed his 'guilt' after the animal was put down. Vivien Triffaux, 43, suffered injuries to his arms and legs after he was surprised by the female bear, which is thought to have been protecting her cubs, while he was on an early morning run last month. The animal known as KJ1 was later captured in woods near the village of Dro in the northern Trentino region of Italy and on Tuesday controversially put down after a two week legal battle. In an interview with Italian media French psychiatric worker Mr Triffaux said: 'I'm truly pained that our encounter cost her life. I feel guilty, she was only protecting her cubs. 'When I heard on Tuesday she had been put down, I felt really sad, I know that deciding her fate had nothing to do with me but I still felt sad when I found out the news and I felt responsible. Vivien Triffaux (pictured), 43, suffered injuries to his arms and legs after he was surprised by the female bear, which is thought to have been protecting her cubs, while he was on an early morning run last month In an interview with Italian media French psychiatric worker Mr Triffaux said:'I'm truly pained that our encounter cost her life. I feel guilty, she was only protecting her cubs' (stock image of brown bear with three cubs) 'I had the feeling the bear was protecting her cubs but on the other hand I know that an attack of this sort could have had tragic consequences for me or for anyone else, but I knew how to react.' Mr Triffaux, who was on holiday with his family and spent several days in hospital following the July 16 attack before being discharged, added:'I am saddened that it's ended this way, I have a strong sense of responsibility.' The decision to put down KJ1 was signed off by Trentino governor Maurizio Fugatti, and it comes a year after a jogger was attacked and killed by a brown bear in the same mountainous region of northern Italy. However, the culling of the bear was condemned by politicians, conservationists and animal rights groups with many expressing fears on how KJ1's cubs would fend for themselves in the wild. Mr Triffaux, who says he has got over the 'physical scars but not the mental ones', also expressed his hope that the death of KJ1 could have been avoided with an alternative solution found. He said:'I would have hoped that compromises could be found that would guarantee the safety of people, without putting the preservation of biodiversity at risk. 'The protection of nature and ecosystems is a fundamental priority for me. The animal known as KJ1 was later captured in woods near the village of Dro in the northern Trentino region of Italy and on Tuesday controversially put down after a two week legal battle 'I would like the debate to take place in a calm climate, to find a fair coexistence between humans and animal species, and that preventive measures are adopted to reduce encounters between humans and wild animals. 'And then, what I think is really important, is that information is provided on the behaviours to adopt when these encounters occur, even if it is difficult to maintain control in certain situations.' Vittoria Brambilla, a former Italian government minister turned animal rights campaigner, was among those who had expressed anger at the death of the bear. She described how the order had been signed late on Monday night meaning there could be no further legal challenged and accused the governor of 'arrogance and authoritarianism'. Ms Brambilla added:' He did it at night when the courts could not intervene. He signed the order at 9.35pm...decreeing the bear must die, no ifs and no buts. 'Instead of dispatching rangers to close hiking trails and dissuade walkers from the area, he sent them to kill a 22-year-old bear which for two thirds of its life had done nothing to cause any trouble and which was simply defending its cubs.' In a Facebook post Mr Fugatti said the bear had to die because it had become 'dangerous to humans' and added there had been an urgent need to 'remove' it from the wild as soon as possible. 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Formally launching his campaign in his Newark constituency, the former minister said he was going to tell 'hard truths' about the need for a change in direction. He said the 'primary reason' for the election defeat was 'broken promises' on tackling immigration, suggesting there could be a cap of 10,000 a year. Mr Jenrick - speaking without notes in an echo of David Cameron's 2005 leadership tilt - also insisted the NHS must be treated like a 'public service not a religion', and attacked Labour for sacrificing jobs on the 'altar of Net Zero'. After being introduced by ex-Cabinet colleague Esther McVey, Mr Jenrick told activists he would not 'shirk difficult decisions' if he becomes leader. He acknowledged there were 'many reasons' Keir Starmer secured his huge majority last month. 'But the principal one, the primary one, is that we broke our promise to the British public to deliver controlled and reduced migration and the secure border that the public rightfully demand,' he said. 'We allowed the cycle of broken promises to continue. 'And as a minister, when I concluded that I couldn't secure any more changes to our legal migration system, I resigned from Cabinet last year because I for one was not willing to be just another minister who makes and breaks promises on immigration.' Formally launching his campaign in his Newark constituency, Robert Jenrick said he was going to tell 'hard truths' about the need for a change in direction After being introduced by ex-Cabinet colleague Esther McVey (pictured), Mr Jenrick told activists he would not 'shirk difficult decisions' if he becomes leader Bookmakers have Mr Jenrick as second favourite in the race behind shadow communities secretary Kemi Badenoch (left). James Cleverly (right) is also a contender 'We have a mountain to climb. Shadow security minister Tom Tugendhat is a candidate from the One Nation wing of the party Former home secretary Priti Patel has also thrown her hat into the ring to lead the Tories Mr Jenrick is among six candidates trying to succeed Rishi Sunak , with the One Nation and right-wing factions struggling for control. But the contest is set to be an attritional one, with the winner not due to be announced until November 2 - three days after Labour's first Budget. There have already been complaints about 'dirty tricks' between rival camps.Bookmakers have Mr Jenrick as second favourite in the race behind shadow communities secretary Kemi Badenoch. The two rivals from the right of the party are up against shadow work and pensions secretary Mel Stride, shadow security minister Tom Tugendhat, shadow home secretary James Cleverly and former home secretary Dame Priti Patel. The field will be whittled down to four in time for the Tory conference in Birmingham in the autumn before MPs vote for a final two who will face a ballot of Conservative members. At his launch, Mr Jenrick complained that the British political system has appeared 'either unwilling or unable' to do the 'basic duty' to 'secure our borders.' He said: 'I saw the British state finding it difficult to build united and cohesive communities, I saw intercommunal violence, I saw extremism, I saw challenges of diminishing public trust, I saw an economic model that was fundamentally failing'. If 'mass migration' was 'rocket fuel for our economy,' the UK would have 'just lived through the greatest age of economic growth,' he claimed. Mr Jenrick told the audience: 'I fought relentlessly for solutions to these problems and yet our political system was either unwilling or unable to affect the change that this country needs.' Mr Jenrick said he would be 'open to' a cap restricting immigration to less than 10,000 people a year. Asked to put a number on his proposed immigration cap, Mr Jenrick said: 'I said that it would be in the tens of thousands. I'm open to it being less. 'But the key thing is that Parliament decides the cap and every Member of Parliament votes for it, so you can hold them to account. 'Do they believe in lower migration or not? And we can finally begin to restore public trust and confidence in our legal migration system.' He added that he would 'hope' to bring back the Rwanda scheme scrapped by the new Government, but this would be 'four or five years away'. He claimed he had reached the conclusion that 'the system that I had been part of, that I had upheld, was completely broken and was contributing to our national decline'. Mr Jenrick said: 'Despite spending more money than ever before, too much of the British state simply wasn't working. Nowhere exemplifies this challenge more than the NHS.' The leader hopeful took aim at spending and quangos in the health service, adding: 'We allowed the lions on the frontline of the NHS to be let down by the donkeys in the back offices.' Hitting out at the new Government, he said Labour were guilty of 'too many delusions,' adding: 'If anyone tells you the grown-ups are in charge, just look at Ed Miliband.' The party has 'lied about the state of our public finances' and already 'begun to break their promises' by hinting at tax rises in the Budget, Mr Jenrick claimed. Mr Jenrick is centring his pitch on a tough immigration stance and pulling out of the European Convention on Human Rights. Shadow work and pensions secretary Mel Stride is another hopeful in the contest In a campaign video this week, he said Mr Sunak's party had been 'unable or unwilling' to do what was required to reduce the number of people coming to the UK. Hundreds of thousands of people 'we didn't need' had arrived legally while 'dangerous' immigrants could not be deported, he said. Mr Jenrick resigned from Mr Sunak's government last year, claiming that the plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda did not go far enough. He said the party must respond to the threat from Nigel Farage's Reform UK on the Right, as well as winning back former heartlands in southern England which were lost to the Liberal Democrats. Suella Braverman, who bowed out of the race last week, warned the Tories have 'no chance of winning the next general election' as long as Mr Farage's outfit 'is a viable alternative'. The former home secretary denied speculation she might defect unless she was 'driven out to Reform by my colleagues'. Arguing that Tory-to-Reform defector Lee Anderson 'should be a Conservative MP', Ms Braverman told GB News: 'We should not be hounding out Conservatives, right-wingers, Eurosceptics, people who want to stand up for our flag and our faith as if they are somehow swivel-eyed loons.' She cautioned any Tory leader against 'complacency' over the threat from the right, saying 'Reform can do better' and 'young people are voting more for Reform than they are for the Conservatives'. Swaths of the US are set to bake in 'dangerously hot' conditions of up to 118 degrees, the National Weather Service has warned. An intense heatwave is due to sweep across the country starting today, sparking fears of yet more heat-related deaths and illnesses. The NWS and the the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has produced an alarming map showing the impact of the high temperatures across the lower 48 contiguous states over the next week. It shows huge parts of Washington state, southern Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, as well as small areas of Virginia, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Mexico, and Texas face an 'extreme' heat risk. The East Coast, Gulf Coast, Northwest and Great Plains states are experiencing 'major' heat risks. Swathes of the US are set to bake in 'dangerously hot' conditions of up to 118 degrees, the National Weather Service has warned As the week progresses the major risk for the East Coast will dissipate, but heat is due to ramp up across California and Arizona. Yellow areas on the map denote a minor risk, orange is moderate, red is major and purple areas face extreme heat risks. The red and purple areas are due to move southeast throughout the week, weakening as they cross Colorado, Nebraska and Kansas before heating up again over Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi. 'There is a high risk for dangerous heat illness for anyone, especially for the very young, the very old, those without air conditioning, and those active outdoors,' the NWS cautioned. The NWS combines weather, climate and CDC data to determine the severity of the impact of heat. The warnings come after scores of heat-related deaths across the country, including that of four-month-old Tanna Rae Wroblewski. An intense heatwave is due to sweep across the country starting today, sparking fears of yet more heat-related deaths and illnesses As the week progresses the major risk for the East Coast will dissipate, but heat is due to ramp up across California and Arizona The baby is thought to have died of heat exhaustion, after her parents took her out boating on an Arizona lake amid a 120-degree extreme heat warning. Detectives are now probing the death. A six-year-old Florida girl also died after she was left 'locked mom's boyfriend's sweltering hot car' while he was at work. Nine-year-old Cortinez Logan also perished on a trail walk with his family at the South Mountain Park and Preserve near Phoenix as temperatures soared to 113F last month. 'Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors,' The NWS advised. 'Do not leave young children and pets in unattended vehicles. Car interiors will reach lethal temperatures in a matter of minutes.' Meanwhile, firefighters battling Californias largest wildfire of the year are preparing for treacherous conditions entering the weekend. Detectives are probing the parents of a baby girl who died after they took her boating on an Arizona lake during 120-degree heat A helicopter drops water on the Park Fire near Butte Meadows, California, on Tuesday The Park Fire, which has destroyed at least 480 structures and damaged 47, is one of almost 100 large fires burning across the western U.S. Expected thunderstorms may unleash fire-starting lightning and erratic winds that could erode progress made over the past week. Dry, hot conditions posed similar threats across the fire-stricken West. MISSING: India Burrell A 13-year-old girl has been missing for a week and police are desperately trying to track her down. India Burrell was last seen at The Entrance on the New South Wales Central Coast at about 2pm on July 26. Police are worried about her welfare because of her young age. She is white, about 150cm tall and of medium build with brown hair. India is known to visit areas of the Central Coast, Newcastle and the Hunter Valley. Anyone with information should call Wyong Police Station or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have not been invited to the Royal Family's summer gathering at Balmoral Castle this year, sources claimed today. King Charles III has continued his late mother Queen Elizabeth II's tradition of travelling to the estate in the Scottish Highlands towards the end of summer. But the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and their children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet have not been given an invite for years, according to People magazine. The news has not yet been confirmed by either party, and MailOnline has contacted representatives for Buckingham Palace and the Sussexes for comment today. Other royals expected at Balmoral this year include Prince William and his wife Kate with their three children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. A source told Express.co.uk that the Waleses would be there, adding: 'It will be a rather low-key affair this year where everyone will meet to just relax and unwind.' Prince Harry and Meghan at the 2024 ESPY Awards at Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on July 11 Balmoral Castle in the Scottish Highlands is much loved by members of the Royal Family Princess Anne and her husband Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence are also anticipated to join the family at the gathering which is set to take place in mid-August. But they are not expected to be joined by Harry, who has previously spoken about his love of Balmoral having spent much of his childhood at the retreat. The Duke wrote in his memoir Spare: 'To me, Balmoral was always simply Paradise. A cross between Disney World and some sacred Druid grove. 'I was always too busy fishing, shooting, running up and down 'the hill' to notice anything off about the Feng Shui of the old castle. 'What I'm trying to say is, I was happy there.' However, Balmoral also has many sad memories for the Royal Family given it is where Elizabeth II died aged 96 in September 2022. Prince Harry on the Balmoral estate with his father Charles and brother William in 1997 Queen Elizabeth II at Balmoral on September 6, 2022, two days before her death aged 96 Harry had been in the UK at the time with Meghan when he received a phone call from Charles to say that his grandmother's health was worsening. The Duke then made plans to fly to the estate on a charter flight from London Luton Airport, but was asked by his father not to bring Meghan. By the time his plane landed in Scotland though, he learned that the Queen had died by looking at the BBC News website on his phone. Balmoral is currently open to the public for the summer before Charles and Queen Camilla arrive for their break. Tickets for the guided tours, priced at 100 or 150 with afternoon tea, sold out withing 24 hours of going on sale with 40 people each day allowed to visit the royal residence from July 1 to August 4. It comes amid a flurry of news about Harry and Meghan, who are set to visit Colombia for a tour later this year after accepting an invitation from the country's vice president Francia Marquez - although the dates have not yet been confirmed. Yesterday, CBS released a clip of Harry and Meghan in an interview about the safety of children online, which will be broadcast on the US channel's Sunday Morning show THIS SUNDAY: The Duke and Duchess of Sussex talk with Jane Pauley this Sunday about a new program supporting parents of children affected by online harm. Jane also interviews parents in the pilot program about its impact on their healing. pic.twitter.com/YNRMA86I65 CBS Sunday Morning (@CBSSunday) August 1, 2024 Around the same time as the Colombia announcement yesterday, CBS released a clip of an upcoming interview with Harry and Meghan this Sunday about cyber safety for children, with the Duke saying parents have to be 'first responders'. And People magazine has run a number of articles this week using quotes from sources close to the Sussexes. One of them saw friends of Harry claim the King is no longer answering his estranged son's calls or responding to his letters as their rift deepens. The Duke and Charles last saw each other in person in February when they met for 45 minutes in London following the monarch's cancer diagnosis. But sources close to Harry said their communication has worsened since amid growing tensions over the Duke's battle for his security when in Britain. The Duke is said to be 'frightened' about the safety of his wife Meghan and children Archie and Lilibet - and believes the King has the power to intervene in his ongoing court case with the Home Office . King Charles III and Prince Harry, pictured at the Natural History Museum in December 2019 William, Harry, Meghan and Charles speak at Westminster Abbey in London in March 2019 Sources told People that the issue of security began as a point of frustration between father and son but has now developed into 'complete silence'. A friend of Harry's said: 'He gets 'unavailable right now'. His calls go unanswered. He has tried to reach out about the King's health, but those calls go unanswered too.' Decisions over the Duke's security are made independently of the King by the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec), which is part of the Home Office. Harry last visited the UK in May to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games, but could not meet his father during this recent trip. The Duke's spokesman said at the time that this was due to the King's 'full programme'. The US magazine also quoted sources claiming Meghan wishes Harry 'could let go of these lawsuits' over their security because she wants the Duke to be 'free' and 'live in the moment'. The People report quoted a former employee of the Archewell Foundation, who said: '[Meghan] wants him to be free of all of this, but she also knows that because of everything he's been through and his love for [her and their children], he can't. She wants him to live in a world where he is not burdened by this.' Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will tell Indigenous leaders at the Garma Festival he is committed to Makarrata, one of the three pillars of the Uluru Statement from the Heart. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese arrived at the ceremonial site in northeast Arnhem Land on Friday afternoon, led through the grounds by members of the Dhalwangu Clan. The prime minister joined the newly sworn-in Indigenous Australians Minister Malarndirri McCarthy at the Gulkula site. Once Garma attendees gathered at the bunggul (dance) grounds, members of the Gumatj clan presented Mr Albanese with a Ganiny - an instrument used to take the bark off certain trees found in the region. 'I look forward to once again spending a couple of wonderful days with you, celebrating language, culture, dance, and hoping for the creation of a better future as we walk forward together,' Mr Albanese said after receiving the gift. The prime minister on Saturday will tell the audience in Arnhem Land: 'We remain committed to Makarrata, that powerful Yolu word gifted to the nation, for a coming together after a struggle' he will say. 'And we will continue to engage in good faith with leaders and communities to decide what the next steps should be at a national level.' Senator McCarthy said the festival was a chance to hold discussions about what the future might look like for First Nations Australians. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese arrived at the ceremonial site in northeast Arnhem Land on Friday afternoon and was greeted by ceremonial dancers Mr Albanese will spend Saturday at the festival, the first held since the Voice referendum 'It's really quite a special place,' she said. 'You do feel the strength in the country here at Gulkula. 'It's an important opportunity for people to talk, to listen and to reset where we might be going.' Taking pride in her appointment as Indigenous Australians Minister, Senator McCarthy said she would continue the work of her predecessor Linda Burney. 'I'm certainly deeply proud to represent the people of the Northern Territory at the cabinet table,' she said. 'As a First Nations woman from the Gulf region, that holds a special sort of pride too.' Senator McCarthy said she would like to see political leaders walk with her on Closing the Gap targets after the Productivity Commission's Annual Data Compilation Report, released on Wednesday, showed only five out of 19 of the targets were on track. 'Those figures are deeply troubling,' she said. 'I know that in my role I can reach out to political leaders across the aisle and say that there is something we can do together in closing the gaps.' Outgoing Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney (left) and the new appointee Malarndirri McCarthy (right) Garma, which is Australia's largest Indigenous cultural festival, showcases Yolngu culture through traditional miny'tji (art), manikay (song), bunggul (dance) and storytelling. Gurtha-Wuma Worrk-gu - Fire, Strength and Renewal is the theme for this year's 24th annual festival. This year's event is the first Garma Festival since the defeat of the referendum for an Indigenous voice to parliament, with a strong focus on the way forward after the rejection in October. Gurtha (fire) is an important concept for the Yolngu people, with Yothu Yindi Foundation chair Djawa Yunupingu saying it is the foundation of life. 'My totem is the tongue of the fire, Gurtha, and Gurtha-Wuma Worrk-gu is deeply connected to the ceremonies of the land,' he said. 'Following fire, the land and all that is in it renews and comes back to life - and with it the people. 'This is the Yolngu circle of life.' A South Carolina elementary school has been slammed for two of its staff dressing up as Border Patrol agents to represent Mexico as part of an 'Olympic parade' event. Royall Elementary School in Florence has been forced to apologize over the 'insensitive' stunt, which prompted a backlash after it was shared on social media. On Wednesday, staff dressed up in the 'offensive' garb as part of celebrations for the first week back at school. Images from the event showed two staff members sporting T-shirts that read 'US Border Patrol' and posing in front of a fake brick wall. Royall Elementary School in Florence parked outrage after two of its staff dressed up as Border Patrol agents to represent Mexico as part of an 'Olympic parade' event Others were seen wearing sombreros and posing in front of a sign that read 'Royall Cantina,' which is the Spanish word for a bar. A Mexican American parent who saw the display was among the first to sound the alarm over the 'disheartening' presentation. Her post online alerted other parents who were left in disbelief after spotting the images on the school's official Facebook page. 'As a Mexican American, as an Hispanic woman, as a mother of biracial Hispanic children in the Florence 1 School district. I'm highly offended, highly offended,' Mom Annette Fling told ABC4 News. 'These are educators with degrees that should have known better. Out of all the things they could have done to the culture, community, country of Mexico, they chose to use the US Border Patrol. 'And Royal Cantina, which is a Spanish word for bar. Inappropriate, racial. Just all around flat out a disgrace.' Staff dressed up in the 'offensive' garb as part of celebrations for the first week back at school on Wednesday Local parent Annette Fling, who is Mexican American, slammed the 'offensive' and 'racist' display Another anonymous parent took to Facebook to share her thoughts on the matter. 'There were so many other ways to represent Mexico in the 'Olympic Parade' Neither Border Patrol actually has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with 'Back to School' or the 'Olympics' in case y'all did not know,' she fumed. 'And a 'Cantina' is also an inappropriate representation of the Mexican culture. The staff and principals at Royall Elementary should be explaining themselves immediately. There is absolutely NO way they thought this was OK. 'Those teachers should have studied the Mexican culture and thought this through more thoroughly.' Royall has around 40 Hispanic and Latino students out of 462, according to US News demographic data. The school is composed entirely of economically disadvantaged pupils and is ranked 124th out of around 600 South Carolina elementary schools. 'It is with regret that we acknowledge that a picture that was posted on our Facebook page yesterday showed an insensitive disregard for the current challenges our Hispanic population faces,' the school said in a statement. Royall has around 40 Hispanic and Latino students out of 462, according to US News demographic data The school issued a groveling apology following backlash from parents 'At Royall, we take great pride in our long-standing tradition of embracing and supporting every student who walks through the doors of our building. 'Our staff is unanimously committed to celebrating the diversity of our families and ensuring that each and every student at Royall is successful, happy, and recognized for his or her unique culture and abilities. 'We apologize for our insensitivity but look forward to fostering relationships as we begin a new school year.' Florence Schools Superintendent Dr. Richard O'Malley also addressed the 'inappropriate' post. 'Today this matter has been thoroughly investigated and those who contributed to this event have been held accountable for their decision-making and actions,' he said. 'There is no room for anything of this nature in our schools and I will not tolerate it in our school district.' A woman who waited five years for a gross misconduct hearing after being 'groomed' by a Met Police officer who worked in the same unit as Wayne Couzens has told MailOnline she 'totally condemns' the misconduct process. Former PC Phil Hunter, 60, was today found to have committed gross misconduct after pursuing inappropriate relationships with two vulnerable women who he met during welfare checks. He resigned before he could ever be fired and today the second woman said her long fight for justice did her more harm than he ever did. He previously worked in the Diplomatic Protection unit, the same unit where murderer Wayne Couzens and serial rapist David Carrick were also employed. Hunter had sex with the first woman, who he met when she was suicidal, and sent her an explicit photograph days after she threatened to hang herself - before asking her for a naked picture. The panel heard she tried to kill herself as a result of Hunter's actions. The second woman, who MailOnline interviewed under the pseudonym Lorraine, was also highly vulnerable when he gave her his personal phone number and pursued an inappropriate relationship the panel ruled was for sexual gain. Lorraine (not pictured) said the process to get a misconduct hearing treated her more badly than PC Hunter did Ex-soldier Phil Hunter, 60, displayed 'predatory sexual behaviour' towards two vulnerable women, a hearing heard Having had to wait five years since she first reported her concerns to a senior officer - around 1,800 days - Lorraine has now told MailOnline the process was more damaging than Hunter's actions themselves. Lorraine said she 'totally condemns' the police misconduct process and was left upset after the hearing panel refused to watch her video interview to ascertain the harm the ex PC's actions had on her. In a letter to the panel, shared with MailOnline, Lorraine wrote: 'I appreciate the panel's findings but condemn the process that didnt allow my words to be heard on the day. 'I know that you (the panel) had been provided with all the facts and they obviously spoke for themselves, but it was important for me, as the victim of this predator, to be heard and for you to understand the impact both at the time and now, that his behaviour has had on me.' She added: 'On reflection I want to totally condemn a process that has taken this long and at times treated me worse that FPC Hunter ever did.' Lorraine accused the Met of accessing her personal health records without her permission, which she believes was 'a concerted effort to make my allegations disappear'. MailOnline previously reported how the Met initially refused to hold a hearing for Lorraine's claims, but the IOPC later ruled they had broken policing guidance, which states all cases of potential gross misconduct must be put before a panel. Lorraine added: 'So many times, I have thought I couldnt proceed with this constant battle. 'I am glad that this is over, but my thoughts today are with other women who couldnt face what I have faced in the last five years. 'I only made it through thanks to the support of my friends, other women, the media, the IOPC and lastly Baroness Casey who has supported me when so many others did not.' Hunter met both women on welfare checks and pursued them for sexual gratification, the hearing was told (stock image) Ex-soldier Hunter resigned from the force prior to a misconduct hearing in 2020 when a panel found he had slept with the first woman. Eight days after meeting her, he was called out to another welfare check which he used to give a second woman his personal phone number, called her a 'lovely lady' and invited her out for coffee and to call him 'any time', the hearing was told. 'He preyed on my vulnerabilities and controlled me whilst wielding his warrant card,' Lorraine said. The hearing heard Hunter was had inappropriate communications with Lorraine with the express purpose of 'forming a sexual relationship with her or to have inappropriate sexual contact with her.' Thom Dyke, for the Met, told the panel the pair had exchanged text messages and emails that were 'wholly inappropriate', especially given her 'vulnerable' state. Barrister Dyke said his previous relationship with X 'shows a pattern of predatory sexual behaviour towards vulnerable members of the public.' The panel was told it was important to have the second gross misconduct hearing so that if found to be in breach of his obligations, Hunter will not be able to reapply to be a police officer in the future. He added Hunter's behaviour was 'deliberate and pre-meditated' and that he had 'abused [his] position for sexual purpose'. He said the bundle of evidence contained more than 70 pages of messages between the pair, which were sent between August 2017 and summer 2019. Mr Dyke read out some of the messages Y sent to Hunter to highlight her level of vulnerability. In one message Y told Hunter 'it doesn't matter anymore' and added she had stopped eating and sleeping. Another saw her tell him: 'I'm not doing well... not sleeping at the moment and cried constantly since [last week]'. She also described herself as 'stressed' and 'upset'. In one message she asked him: 'Will someone help me now? I'm so upset today.' Mr Dyke said Hunter had failed his duty of care to Y and instead repeatedly flirted with her and encouraged her to see him as her only confidant. Hunter previously worked in the same unit as the killer of Sarah Everard, Wayne Couzens (pictured) and serial rapist David Carrick Hunter, Carrick (pictured) and Couzens all worked in the Met's diplomatic and parliamentary protection unit Other messages seen by MailOnline include one exchange in which Hunter told her: 'I have to behave. I'll keep you smiling,' adding: 'You have a lovely smile.' Lorraine replied: 'How would you know that? Not sure you would recognise me if you feel over me in the street.' Hunter said: 'Want a bet on that? Tall and extremely beautiful.' Shortly after, Hunter wrote: 'I'll stop now as my texts could be read wrongly. You are a beautiful person.' But then he wrote: 'Are you in bed yet?' He later said: 'Just on 3% and you can be as naughty as you like with me.' Hunter, who was able to leave the force and be hired as a black cab driver after the first hearing was held in private, chose not to attend the hearing or send anyone to represent him. After Lorraine came forward with further allegations, Hunter was fired from his taxi cab role. Barrister Dyke told the hearing: 'From at least the middle of 2017 up until the point he tended his resignation he was engaged in a pattern of sexually predatory behaviour targeting two vulnerable female members of the public with whom he had contact with during his duties. 'The first of those incidents has already been the subject of misconduct proceedings and relates to X and started on 14 August 2017. 'He was tasked with attending her home address to conduct a welfare check but used that encounter to initiate a sexual relationship with X and as a result she made attempts to take her own life. 'He tendered his resignation prior to proceedings and left the police as of July 2019. 'The misconduct hearing took place just under a year later in June 2020 when the allegations made by X were found to be proven and the decision of that panel were that if Hunter were still employed he would have been dismissed and he was placed on the barred list.' Turning to Lorraine, the barrister said she had told Hunter she had been referred to mental health services. Some messages sought to isolate Y from her friends and family, the tribunal heard, before persuading her to submit a witness statement in his favour ahead of the 2020 misconduct hearing. Mr Dyke said: 'However the position changed in June 2020. 'She explained how she had come to realise that Hunter's behaviour had been wholly inappropriate, controlling and coercive towards her. 'A further statement was then provided which sets out the reasons for her vulnerability specifically during that period together with the persistent predatory behaviour of Hunter including his attempts to isolate her from her friends and family.' In a statement Hunter 'flatly' denied any wrongdoing and said the contact he had with Y was 'nothing more than supportive or friendly communication.' The 2020 hearing heard Hunter sent X a sexually explicit image just a week after she threatened to hang herself, before asking her to send him a naked picture. She refused, but the couple had regular sex in her home after his shifts. She was left so traumatised by the relationship that she tried to kill herself multiple times. The three-person panel, led by Dale Simon, found Hunter had committed gross misconduct that was so serious, had he still been serving he would have been dismissed without notice. A cryptocurrency executive found it 'hilariously funny' that the Democratic Party of Oregon reported his donation under another name, nearly leading to federal criminal charges. While Nishad Singh was working as an engineer for the now-disgraced FTX at its Bahamas headquarters, he was told by a colleague he hardly knew to send $500,000 to the Party to make Singh and the company look good, according to Oregon Live. Singh signed off on sending the half-million dollars via his account with Nevada-based Prime Trust, which specializes in wiring cryptocurrency to ordinary bank accounts. The Oregon Democrats scrambled to figure out how to credit the massive contribution after receiving it on October 4, 2022, trying to meet the deadline to report it to state campaign finance regulators. While Nishad Singh was working as an engineer for the now-disgraced FTX, he was told by a colleague he hardly knew to send $500,000 to the Party to make Singh and the company look good Records show they emailed Singh and others connected with the transfer, discussed the matter internally and researched Prime Trust, Oregon Live reported, noting that Singh was never actually contacted about the donation. The Party also ignored multiple warnings that Prime Trust was not the source of the cash. Singh's name appeared on the wire transfer paperwork, identifying him as the 'donor of record.' Prime Trust was ultimately listed as the donor after an FTX contractor who helped arrange the payment told the Oregon Democrats: 'Nishad prefers Prime Trust (though not strongly) so go [with] that. Thx!' Singh signed off on sending the half-million dollars via his account with Nevada-based Prime Trust, which specializes in wiring cryptocurrency to ordinary bank accounts While Singh told investigators he had no reason to hide his name from the donation, the Party did just that, wrongly citing Singh's wishes to shield his identity. Singh had no idea about the misrepresentation until an Oregon Live reporter questioned officials about the donation in October 2022, the outlet said. He found out through an FTX Signal group chat. The Oregon Democrats scrambled to figure out how to credit the massive contribution after receiving it on October 4, 2022, trying to meet the deadline to report it to state campaign finance regulators 'Singh dismissed it at the time as a clerical error and thought it was "hilariously funny," ' an official with the Oregon Department of Justice wrote, according to Oregon Live. The error led to the Secretary of State's Office, which is overseen by Democrats, proposing to fine the Party $35,000 for the misrepresentation, which was later lowered to $15,000 with the promise of not pursuing a criminal case. The Oregon Department of Justice closed their investigation last month, citing insufficient evidence that the Oregon Democrats knew they were providing false information. The family of a decorated US Air Force solider shot dead by cops three months ago suffered another horrific tragedy when another member was killed this week. Chantemekki 'Meka' Fortson's 16-year-old son, Andre Fortson was shot dead Tuesday night just before 10pm in an apartment complex in DeKalb County, Georgia, less than 90 days after her oldest son US Airman Roger Fortson, 23, was mistakenly shot dead by police. DeKalb County Police said two groups were shooting at each other, according to a preliminary report. The motive is unknown and is still under investigation, Fox 5 Atlanta reported. The shooter, Quintavious Zellner, 20, was arrested and charged with aggravated assault. He is being held in the DeKalb County Jail. The authorities said more arrests are expected. The child's heartbroken mother, shared that she and her 10-year-old daughter Harmoni leaned on Andre for support after her US Airman son's death, and called her younger child her 'comfort.' Through tears she uttered, 'What kind of Mama am I that I have to lose two children within a 90-day period?' The Atlanta-Journal Constitution reported. Through tears, she said, 'What kind of Mama am I that I have to lose two children within a 90-day period?. Her son Andre Forston, 16, (pictured right) was fatally shot on Tuesday night Senior Airman Andre Fortson, 23, was fatally shot by police in May The grief-stricken mother, shared that she and her 10-year-old daughter Harmoni leaned on Andre(pictured left) for support after her older son's death Meka told the news outlet after Roger died, Andre had stayed in her bed and held her until she fell asleep. 'He was trying to be strong for me. He was trying to make sure I was OK,' she said. The teen was entering his senior year of high school, and was planning to enlist in the Air Force after graduation, like his late brother, his mother explained. The Fortson family had recently moved to Stonecrest, an area in DeKalb, Georgia, roughly 20-miles away from, Summit Hill Apartments at 1500 block of Bouldercrest Road, where the family previously lived. Recalling the gut-wrenching events, Meka said that her son's friend called her hysterically telling her, 'You need to get here. Your baby got shot.' When she arrived, her 16-year-old son was lying on a stairwell in the breezeway of the apartment building. EMS and police were on the scene, but she was told her child was gone. The DeKalb County Police Department said Andre Fortson, was found with an apparent gunshot wound. Medics had pronounced him deceased at the scene, as per Fox 5 News. Meka and her daughter are now the only surviving members of their tight-knit family - tore apart by rampant gun violence in the city. She said, in part, 'This is not normal. He was 16. There has to be change.' Chantemekki Fortson the mother of slain airman Roger Fortson, right, along with family watch Fortson's casket as they leave for a cemetery during his funeral at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, on May 17, 2024 in Stonecrest, Ga Last month, nonprofit Every Town cited Georgia for having the 9th highest rate of gun violence in the country - with gun-related murders in Georgia at a startling 47 percent, WSAV News reported. In the last decade, gun deaths in Georgia have increased to 25 percent 8 percent higher than the national average. On May 3, Airman Roger Fortson was on Facetime at his apartment in Fort Walton Beach, Florida when he was shot six times by Deputy Eddie Duran of the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office. Police were called to the apartment complex after a neighbor reported hearing someone being slapped. When officers arrived she told the officers which apartment the disturbance was happening in. The woman responded '1401.' The law enforcement officer confirmed with the woman that he was going to the fourth floor before riding the elevator up to Fortson's off-base residence at an apartment complex on 319 Racetrack Road in Okaloosa County. Upon arriving at the the door of the apartment, the officer knocked once - and then again, saying 'Sheriff's office. Open the door' twice. As the door opened, the sheriff ordered 'step back' and 'do not move.' The officer then fired six rapid shots that sent the young soldier stumbling to the ground. The officers bodycam footage that shows the fatal officer-involved-shooting of the young soldier The mother posed with her child, who was tragically ripped away from her Civil Rights Attorney Ben Crump is pictured alongside a tearful Chantemekki while holding a photo of her beloved son A witness, who was on FaceTime with Fortson during the time of the shooting, claimed Fortson heard a knock at the door and asked who was there. According to the witness, when he did not receive a response but heard another 'very aggressive knock,' Fortson peered through the peephole - but did not see anyone and grew concerned. Out of concern, Fortson retrieved a gun - which he owned legally, according to the witness. When he returned to his living room with the gun, authorities allegedly pushed through his door and shot him six times. The traumatized witness, who remained on the FaceTime call for the duration of the horrifying shooting, recalled that Fortson said 'I can't breathe,' after the shots were fired. Fortson later died at the hospital. The deputy involved in the incident has since been placed on administrative leave while the investigation into the shooting continues. The young soldier was based at the Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Field, Florida. He entered active duty on Nov. 19, 2019 He was assigned to the 4th Special Operations Squadron as a special missions aviator, where one of his roles as a member of the squadron's AC-130J Ghostrider aircrew was to load the gunship's 30mm and 105mm cannons during mission. After the horrific tragedy, the Air Force's 1st Special Operations Wing said its priorities are 'providing casualty affairs service to the family, supporting the squadron during this tragic time, and ensuring resources are available for all who are impacted.' Meka said that it had always been a dream of her son to service his country and that he had wanted to become a pilot. 'It's a disbelief. Every day, I try to go to sleep early to wake up like it's a dream,' she told Military.com. 'He just came back from deployment from fighting for us. With everything we got going on in our country, he's fighting for us and he came back to be murdered, slain like that so violently.' 'He was my gift, and they took my gift away,' Roger's mother said. 'And they didn't give it to me. God gave me that gift... and they took my gift away.' A coroner has warned the Metropolitan Police and the Probation Service that the failures that led to the sexual assault and murder of aspiring lawyer Zara Aleena could happen again. The area coroner for east London, who oversaw Ms Aleena's inquest in June, Nadia Persaud, has instructed the Probation Service and Metropolitan Police to improve their services after sexual predator Jordan McSweeney was able to stalk and kill Zara Aleena just days after his release from prison. Future deaths could occur unless action is taken, she warned. McSweeney killed the 35-year-old law graduate as she walked home from a night out in Ilford in the early hours of June 26, 2022, nine days after he was released from prison. Low staffing levels, poor understanding around risk assessment and a 'lack of professional curiosity' within the Probation Service were all listed as matters of concern, as was a lack of 'rigour, detail and independence' of a Met investigation into the case, the coroner concluded. Ms Persaud has sent a copy of her report to the chief probation officer, the Justice Secretary, the commissioner of the Met, the head of Redbridge Council and the Home Secretary. Law graduate Zara Aleena was 35-year-old when she was stalked, sexually assaulted and murdered by Jordan McSweeney in Ilford in the early hours of June 26, 2022 Sexual predator Jordan McSweeney had been released from prison just nine days before he murdered Ms Aleena They must respond to the prevention of future deaths report by September 20, outlining what actions they will take to improve. Farah Naz, Ms Aleena's aunt, said 'her brutal murder could and should have been prevented' following the conclusion of an inquest which found failures by multiple agencies contributed to her death. The inquest's jury found 'Zara's death was contributed to by the failure of multiple state agencies to act in accordance to policies and procedures - to share intelligence, accurately assess risk of serious harm, (and) act and plan in response to the risk in a sufficient, timely and co-ordinated way'. Damning findings by the chief inspector of probation, published last year, set out a catalogue of errors by probation officers before McSweeney carried out the brutal attack on the aspiring lawyer. In her prevention of future deaths report published on Friday, Ms Persaud said the probation delivery unit responsible for managing McSweeney had been 'understaffed'. Staffing levels were at 61% in 2022, and 58% at the time of the inquest in June 2024, she said. 'The inquest heard that this is a national problem and that there are other probation delivery units that have even lower levels of staffing,' the coroner said. 'The low staffing level had an impact upon quality and depth of assessments; quality of supervision of junior staff; excessively high workloads for probation officers and senior probation officers; lack of cover during annual leave for probation officers, and poor record keeping.' Farah Naz, Ms Aleena's aunt, said 'her brutal murder could and should have been prevented' following the conclusion of an inquest which found failures by multiple agencies contributed to her death The inquest's jury found 'Zara's death was contributed to by the failure of multiple state agencies to act in accordance to policies and procedures' Understanding around risk assessment was 'poor' within the service, Ms Persaud's report added. 'There was a lack of professional curiosity and a lack of sufficient probing into information relevant to risk,' she said. 'A restraining order had been put in place against the offender, but this was not highlighted, as it should have been. 'Key staff involved in assessing and managing the offender were unaware of the restraining order.' Ms Persaud also questioned the lack of 'rigour, detail and independence' of a Met police investigation of its own handling of the case. The coroner said: 'An independent, rapid investigation was carried out by the Directorate of Professional Standards. 'Despite the very limited time to complete the review, the DPS officer reached clear and valuable findings. The findings of the DPS investigator were however rejected by more senior officers within the Met. 'The officers who rejected the findings were not independent. This lack of independence is of concern.' Family and friends take part in a silent vigil on June 25, 2023, to mark the one year anniversary of the death of Zara Aleena A still image taken from Metropolitan Police body worn camera footage of McSweeney being arrested at 15.45 on 27 June, roughly 36 hours after he attacked on Ms Aleena Ms Persaud also raised concerns around a possible 'societal acceptance' of stalking behaviour. At least two other members of the public were followed by McSweeney before he attacked Ms Aleena, but this was not brought to the attention of the emergency services. 'The members of the public appear to have seen the offender and appear to be aware that he was following them,' she said. 'I am concerned that there is a societal acceptance that such conduct does not need to be reported.' Copies of the report have also been sent to the chief coroner, to the family of Ms Aleena, and to the local director of public health, the coroner said. In a statement released in June, Ms Aleena's aunt said her family remain 'devastated by our enormous loss'. Ms Naz added: 'Zara should be alive today. 'Her brutal murder could and should have been prevented. It is clear from the evidence we have heard that there are significant issues of under-resourcing across the system.' Responding to the report, a Probation Service spokesperson said: 'We apologise for the unacceptable failings in this case. 'We have taken significant steps to address the failings previously identified, including mandatory training to improve risk assessments and implementing new processes to ensure the swift recall of offenders. 'We are also recruiting 1,000 new trainee probation officers to deliver robust supervision and protect the public. 'We will review this report carefully to identify any further actions which we need to take.' China's AS700 manned airship completes low-altitude demo flight Xinhua) 11:17, August 02, 2024 AS700 airship prepares for taking off from Zhanghe Airport in Jingmen, central China's Hubei Province, Aug. 1, 2024. (Aviation Industry Corporation of China/Handout via Xinhua) WUHAN, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Low-altitude tourism in China is embracing a new mode as the country's homegrown AS700 civil manned airship on Thursday successfully made its first demonstration flight. On Thursday morning, the AS700 airship took off from Zhanghe Airport in Jingmen, central China's Hubei Province, to show its performance and capabilities in serving low-altitude tourism, according to the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC). This demonstration flight lasted nearly two hours, simulating low-altitude tourism application scenarios via a planned route. The airship flew over local parks, an island in the river and other popular scenic spots across the city and then safely returned. It flew at a cruising speed of 60 kilometers per hour and an altitude of 500 meters during the flight, said the AVIC. In the low-altitude skies, passengers aboard the AS700 can enjoy aerial views through the large panoramic side windows. With its moderate speed and an ideal altitude for low-altitude sightseeing, the airship will provide tourists with an experience similar to "floating on clouds" during the stable and safe flight journey, the developer said. Developed by AVIC Special Vehicle Research Institute, AS700 is a type of single-capsule manned airship, which has a maximum capacity carrying 10 people, including a pilot. It has a maximum take-off weight of 4,150 kg, a maximum flight range of 700 km, and a maximum endurance of 10 hours, according to the AVIC. AS700 is a type of non-rigid near-equilibrium airship. It can conduct vertical take-off and landing in a narrow field, and it is more mobile and flexible than other types of airships, said the AVIC. The airship is capable of various applications, such as aerial tours, emergency rescue, urban security, and aerial geophysical surveys. Last December, the AS700 obtained the type certificate from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). China has a huge market and dense city clusters. The size of the country's low-altitude economy is estimated to have exceeded 500 billion yuan (70.1 billion U.S. dollars) in 2023, with its scale expected to rise to 2 trillion yuan by 2030, according to the CAAC. The AVIC Special Vehicle Research Institute has already signed the delivery contract for the first AS700 airship, and signed multiple contracts of intent. The AVIC disclosed that the institute is joining efforts with local governments to explore pilot applications of low-altitude scenarios of airships, and plans to build the country's first low-altitude airship tourism demonstration route. The AVIC said AS700 manned airships could also be used in the fields of logistics and intelligent surveying and mapping. AS700 airship conducts a low-altitude demo flight in Jingmen, central China's Hubei Province, Aug. 1, 2024. (Aviation Industry Corporation of China/Handout via Xinhua) AS700 airship conducts a low-altitude demo flight in Jingmen, central China's Hubei Province, Aug. 1, 2024. (Aviation Industry Corporation of China/Handout via Xinhua) (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) A man who caused his ex-girlfriend's death by pulling the handbrake of her car after an argument on a motorway has been jailed. Gary Toomey's 'selfish and reckless actions' caused Victoria Bell's new Black Audi A3 to crash into the central reservation of the M62 near St Helens, Merseyside, a court heard. They'd been to a music festival in Liverpool and were driving home when Victoria told Toomey she never wanted to speak to him again once she'd dropped him off. They both survived the initial crash, but Victoria, 34, was hit by a silver Mercedes SUV as she tried to flee the car to the safety of the hard shoulder and died instantly. Toomey, 37, was yesterday jailed for seven years after he pleaded guilty to manslaughter at an earlier hearing. Gary Toomey's 'selfish and reckless actions' caused Victoria Bell's new Black Audi A3 to crash into the central reservation of the M62 near St Helens, Merseyside, a court heard Liverpool Crown Court heard the pair were travelling on the motorway at 11.30pm on Friday evening, September 24, 2021, when he pulled the hand brake after a row Liverpool Crown Court heard the pair were travelling on the motorway at 11.30pm on Friday evening, September 24, 2021, when he pulled the hand brake after a row. She was driving her newly bought Audi in the third lane, the court heard. Toomey's action caused the car to spin out of control and plough into the central reservation between junctions seven and eight of the M62. Toomey, a professional HGV driver, then opened the door and left the car and stood along the grass verge 'screaming' for Victoria, the court heard. As Victoria tried to leave the car herself, she was hit by the oncoming Mercedes. The driver of the Mercedes said 'it was really hard to see until the last moment' and he suddenly could 'see a black car in view but that was all', the court heard. Victoria suffered fractures to her neck, back and a rupture to her heart. She was pronounced dead at the scene despite the best efforts of paramedics. Toomey was taken to Whiston Hospital to be checked over and was later arrested. During the police interview, he said he was taking medication for depression and anxiety. When asked about his relationship with the victim he said that it was 'great' until his mental health began to deteriorate. He said on the day of the crash, the couple had been arguing earlier on the way to Liverpool about directions. They stayed in Liverpool and both consumed alcohol and they left the festival to travel home at 10:45pm. During a heating argument on the way back home, the defendant said the driver had said once she had dropped him off she was 'never going to speak to him again'. Prosecutor Robert Dudley told the court Victoria lived with her mother in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, and was in a short-term relationship with Toomey. Mr Dudley said told the court the couple once went for a weekend away in Blackpool and Victoria returned with a black eye. It was heard that the relationship went downhill after six weeks and Toomey moved out of his Victoria's family home. Soon after, he sent an email to Victoria's work, alleging that she was a drug user before sending another admitting he was lying. The pair would occasionally meet up after they split, the court heard. In an emotional statement read out in court, Victoria's mum said: 'She was cruelly taken from me in a road crash. I don't have any quality of life anymore. 'I will never get to hear her ready for work or hear her say 'mum I am home'. 'I do not drive, and I used to rely on her to help me. Without her, my life has changed in more ways than you can imagine. 'Your actions have ruined my life forever. I am trapped in an ever-lasting nightmare. It breaks my heart to know I will never see her again.' In mitigation, David James said Toomey - who previously pleaded guilty to manslaughter - accepts full culpability for Victoria's death. He said: 'He does describe the spontaneous act of pulling the hand brake and it not being an action to cause harm. 'His remorse and sorrow is genuine. He does wish to publicly apologise for his behaviour. He was detained under the Mental Health Act after this collision.' Judge Andrew Menary KC said: 'She was driving her newly bought Audi A3 car at around 11.30pm. 'An argument which had been developing for some time had reached a peak. These were stupid arguments but at one point you acted in temper which caused her death. 'You are an experienced motorist, you are a HGV driver and know the consequences of doing such a thing. 'It is clear from all the statements that the victim was a loved and cherished person. It is clear that she will be forever deeply missed. 'There is frankly no sentence that I can pass that will begin to help the loss that this has caused.' Toomey, of Bolton, Gtr Manchester, was jailed for seven years and banned from driving for 82 months. Shocking CCTV footage shows a gang of masked thugs robbing a driver with a machete as he filled up at a petrol station. The male motorist had pulled into the Shell garage on Station Road, Stechford, Birmingham, on Wednesday night when he was attacked. Footage filmed from inside the shop shows the robbers dragging the man out of the white Toyota before appearing to search the back seat. The brave driver is seen trying to stop the robbers by slamming the passenger door shut before racing round to close the driver's door. Shocked customers who were queuing to pay outside watched in horror as the thugs circled the car. Shocking CCTV footage shows a gang of masked thugs robbing a driver with a machete as he stopped for fuel on Wednesday The driver had just pulled into the Shell petrol station on Station Road, Stechford, Birmingham, when he was attacked A shop worker is heard shouting at the men: 'Hey, stop, get away from here. I'm calling police!' At one point, one of the crooks appeared to pull out a huge machete from the waistband of his trousers before sprinting towards the man. Later footage shows police officers swarming over the forecourt. An eyewitness said: 'The gang came from nowhere and just dragged the driver out of his car. 'It is not clear if he was a taxi driver or just a driver filling up with petrol. 'He was very brave to try and stop the robbers especially as one of them was armed with a huge blade. 'It was shocking but Birmingham is a no-go zone at night now.' Footage filmed from inside the shop shows the thugs dragging the man out of the white Toyota The brave driver is seen trying to stop the robbers by slamming the passenger door shut before racing round to close the driver's door Shocked customers who were queuing to pay outside watched in horror President Joe Biden had welcomed home Americans freed from Russian prisons Thursday, and spoken and to the media about the dramatic swap - but he still had one more thing to attend to. The president, 81, slowly climbed the steps of the jet that had ferried the group of prisoners from captivity, leaving Vice President Kamala Harris waiting behind on the tarmac at the night-time event. The moment came after both Biden and Harris gave an emotional welcome to Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whalen, and Alsu Kurmasheva after their dramatic return from captivity. Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter, hugged each of them upon his return. The interlude for Biden lasted two minutes long after Biden left his VP behind. The president was out of view for about a minute and forty seconds while on board the plane. 'President Biden wanted to personally thank the flight crew who brought these brave individuals home to their families,' White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates told DailyMail.com when asked about what the president was doing on board the aircraft. Harris, who has been shadowing Biden during key moments, remained below and did not step on board. President Joe Biden boarded the aircraft that brought home Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva and Paul Whelan to Joint Base Andrews late Thursday Biden had earlier posted an image of the freed prisoners aboard the aircraft as they made their way home. When he was done, he slowly walked down the jetway, with one hand on each railing, to rejoin Harris, then walked over toward Whelan. Biden and Harris were on hand for the emotional nighttime arrival at Joint Base Andrews following their transatlantic flight, after Biden addressed reporters at the White House on the historic prisoner swap that freed them. 'It feels wonderful. A long time in coming, but I was absolutely convinced we would get it done,' Biden told reporters at the base, which he also uses when traveling aboard Air Force One. After exchanging some words with Harris, Biden, 81, slowly climbed the jetway that had brought the prisoners to U.S. soil. Harris, whose own role in the effort was being highlighted by White House officials, spoke to Biden's role in her own comments. U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris reacts as she meets Evan Gershkovich, who was released from detention in Russia Harris and Biden each hugged Gershkovich upon his arrival 'And I'm very thankful for our president and what he has done over his entire career but, in particular, as it relates to these families and these individuals; what he has been able to do to bring the allies together on many issues but, in particular, this one. Online users who watched Biden's trip to the aircraft online had their own theories, after Biden has been seen being guided by figures including Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and former President Barack Obama at public events. 'No one is talking about how Biden climbed onto the jet after the Americans already got off. Did he think he was getting on Air Force One?' asked one user. 'Maybe he was using the bathroom!' wrote another. Biden took the successful negotiations as a vindication for his belief in the diplomatic value of personal relationships. 'You've heard me kid with Barack -- hed kid me -- all politics is personal. It matters. Other leaders trust you, you trust them, you get things done. And thats how this got done: with a lot of -- a lot of help.' The RNC Research X account also posted the video of Biden and Harris. 'Kamala watches Biden shuffle aimlessly across the tarmac and nearly trip up the stairs of the plane (from which the passengers had long disembarked). This is the obvious decline Kamala covered up in her thirst for power the scandal of the century,' went the tweet. That prompted another 'weird' attack from Bates at the White House. '.@POTUS was personally thanking the flight crew who brought these brave individuals home to their families. Most Americans are putting partisanship aside to welcome this outstanding news for our country. Y'all should join them. Don't be weird,' he wrote. A family GP who desperately tried to save the life of a dying ME patient condemned other NHS staff for having a severe 'lack of understanding' when it came to treating the tragic 26-year-old's condition, despite warning them that if no immediate action was taken on her patient's malnutrition she would 'certainly' die, an inquest has heard. Maeve Boothby O'Neill, 27, was left bedridden and unable to eat in the final months of her life due to the severity of her myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). Her family believe her death in October 2021 exposed 'a major systemic failing' of the health service to both understand and treat severe cases of the condition. Now Dr Lucy Shenton - who had been too unwell to attend the inquest into the death of Maeve, which began this week - provided written answers to questions posed by the coroner. Significantly, she called for more research and funding into ME to provide better guidelines for clinicians to work from, a specialist unit to be set up and for patients' voices to be heard. Family GP Dr Lucy Shenton, who desperately tried to save the life of her dying ME patient Maeve Boothby O'Neill (pictured) has condemned other NHS staff for having a severe 'lack of understanding' when it came to treating the tragic 26-year-old's condition The inquest at Devon coroner's court in Exeter heard that there are no treatments and no specialist units anywhere in the country to help anyone with severe ME. WHAT IS ME? Some 250,000 people in Britain suffer from the condition, which comes with flu-like symptoms, extreme tiredness and mental lethargy that can last for years. Other symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), or myalgic encephalopathy (ME), include disturbed sleep, poor memory and reduced concentration. The cause of the illness is unclear, provoking the heated debate that has lasted for decades among the medical community. Some patients return to full health and others deteriorate progressively, however, most fluctuate between good and bad periods. There is no cure for CFS, with the majority of treatments to reduce symptoms being ineffective. Worldwide it is believed that 17 million people suffer with CFS, according to the ME Association. Advertisement In her answers, Dr Shenton said: 'I would like to acknowledge that there were many professionals involved in Maeve's care who were not doctors. 'In considering Maeve's case, I suspect their lack of understanding of severe ME was relevant. 'This is likely to have fed into the assessment of information available to the doctors making their decisions.' Dr Shenton said just days before Maeve died, she wrote in an e-mail about the nurses: 'This is so far out of their comfort zone...the first time people come across this case there is doubt and misunderstanding and it seems to take a variable amount of time for the penny to drop this is ME. 'It can take months/not at all.' She had said that several doctors did not accept that ME was a medical problem over the time she knew Maeve. But she said from April 2021 when she took over her care there was 'only one consultant that expressed doubt that ME was a medical problem (with a biological basis) and I cannot comment on how that may have affected the care provided'. Dr Shenton said she had wanted experienced medical professionals to 'take ownership of Maeve's case and ensure ongoing continuity of care when she was discharged, with a safety net if she deteriorated further'. She said Maeve stopped eating on August 20 2021 and on September 8 she noted that 'if nobody acted in respect of her nutrition she was certainly going to die'. Dr Shenton wrote: 'As a young woman in such a perilous condition she was potentially a candidate for every level of support, but I remained uncertain as to the medical plan. 'I was trying to balance this with helping Maeve control her symptoms and provide the holistic care to ensure a good death if she were to die. 'She was future focused. She had a lot of fight in her and wanted to get better. 'There was nothing to suggest a thought disorder, personality disorder or eating disorder. She was hungry and wanted to eat. Sean O'Neill, a journalist for The Times, pictured with his daughter Maeve who died in October 2021 'She was distressed by waking hungry at night and was concerned by her poor nutrition. 'She was intelligent and reflective and had thought deeply about the care she did and didn't want and was articulate enough to express this in few words. 'It was also my impression that these decisions were entirely Maeve's own decisions without coercion.' Dr Shenton said clinicians needed clearer guidelines on helping patients with ME. 'Although Maeve had severe ME some of the problems in her care would apply to any complex unwell patient with bespoke needs. 'Clear systems with appropriate safety nets ought to be in place for any patient who has a condition for which there is a lack of evidence and/or a lack of guidance about best practice.' The GP was also asked whether she had told Maeve's mother Sarah Boothy that she had 'never seen anyone so badly treated by the NHS'. Dr Shenton said she did not recall saying this, adding that if she did she apologised as it would 'not have been a helpful comment to make to a bereaved relative'. She said at the time she had been trying to manage Maeve's case as well as other complex cases and her normal GP workload. Dr Shenton called for more research and funding into ME to provide better guidelines for clinicians to work from, a specialist unit to be set up and for patients' voices to be heard. Pictured: Exeter Coroner's Court where the inquest is being heard Dr Shenton said Maeve felt by April 2021 she would rapidly deteriorate and die. In her hospital admission letter in May the GP wrote: 'The impression Maeve and Sarah seem to have is that NHS care is inadequate for ME and people with severe ME die unless they take it upon themselves to manage their own care. 'I was concerned that my earlier expressions of faith in the NHS could have been seen as another example of someone not listening or not believing Maeve. 'I had been genuinely optimistic earlier in the case. 'It was not that I previously thought the NHS was infallible, but that where systems failed or where the NHS didn't provide, I was used to marvellous clinicians stepping up to fill the gaps and somehow muddling through.' Earlier Sarah Boothby wept as she told how her pleas for help were ignored as her daughter was left 'completely paralysed' and 'embarrased and humiliated by her own presentation' by this 'terrible awful disease'. The inquest continues. A salon owner has been left 'exhausted' after being locked in a months-long 30,000 legal battle with L'Oreal over claims her products could be mistaken for their items. Rebecca Dowdeswell, 48, founder of waxing business nkd, had the name trademarked since she opened in Leicester city centre in 2009. However, after 10 years a trademark runs out and companies have six months to reapply, otherwise they have to submit a new application. The mother of two, from Radcliffe-on-Trent in Nottinghamshire, said reapplying for her trademark was 'on the list' of things to do but that it wasn't 'at the top', a move that she said was 'a big mistake'. The six month window she had to reapply fell as the pandemic struck with lockdown making the next two years 'particularly hard' on the beauty industry. Rebecca Dowdeswell, 48, founder of waxing business nkd, had the name trademarked since she opened in Leicester city centre in 2009 L'Oreal owns Urban Decay, within this company are a range of eyeshadow palettes called Naked Rebecca said: 'This is David versus Goliath and frankly it has been horrible, exhausting and really stressful' When she eventually reapplied for the trademark in 2022 her waxing business had progressed to include a line of after care products, so instead of applying for a trademark for the name of the salon she also had to apply for the trademark to put on her products. Rebecca was shocked when L'Oreal objected to her application to use her nkd branding on her products and her salons. Urban Decay, a cosmetics company owned by L'Oreal, has a popular range of trademarked products called Naked and told Rebecca that her nkd branding would cause 'consumer confusion', despite the fact she had already been trading under the name for 12 years. 'I was very surprised because we have never been Naked. We're spelled NKD, we are pronounced N, K, D.', she told the BBC. Rebecca says she has spent over 30,000 contesting L'Oreal's opposition to her trademark application and the pressure of the legal battle has been a factor in her downsizing her business and closing her other salon in Nottingham. She said: 'There has never been any evidence of consumer confusion. In 15 years of trading, no-one has ever said 'are you the same brand as Naked by Urban Decay?' 'I've spent two years negotiating with them trying to come to a co-existence agreement where they can carry on trading as Naked with their make-up and we can carry on as nkd in our very tight sphere of waxing and hair removal. 'This is David versus Goliath and frankly it has been horrible, exhausting and really stressful. The mother of two, from Radcliffe-on-Trent in Nottinghamshire, says she has spent over 30,000 contesting L'Oreal's opposition to her trademark application and the pressure of the legal battle has been a factor in her downsizing her business and closing her other salon in Nottingham 'I've now racked up over 30,000 plus VAT in legal costs defending myself. I don't know whether it was the right thing to do. 'What I do know is that I could not just have walked away from my brand when L'Oreal disputed it. I'd spent 13 years of my life pouring everything building up this brand.' Rebecca said if the dispute is not resolved it would be decided by a judgment from the government's Intellectual Property Office which she believes would happen in 2025. A spokesperson for L'Oreal said: 'We are wholly committed to resolving any misunderstanding there might have been with Rebecca Dowdeswell. 'From the beginning of our exchanges with her lawyers in 2022, we have communicated an offer that supports her business aspirations whilst respecting our longstanding trademark rights. 'We look forward to resolving this matter in a mutually agreeable way.' An intelligence officer at Britain's FBI who abused his access to the dark web to view hundreds of indecent images of children on his work computer has been jailed for 18 months. In June, Adam Taylor, of Waltham Abbey, Essex, admitted two counts of misconduct in a public office, three counts of making indecent photographs of children and one count of possessing an extreme pornographic image. Sentencing the 40-year-old former National Crime Agency (NCA) officer at Southwark Crown Court on Friday, Judge Justin Cole condemned Taylor for the 'gross abuse of trust' placed in him. The judge told Taylor 'because of people like you there's a market for this', saying interest in 'vile' indecent images has led to the 'rape and torture of innocent children'. In June, Adam Taylor, of Waltham Abbey, Essex, admitted two counts of misconduct in a public office, three counts of making indecent photographs of children and one count of possessing an extreme pornographic image Sentencing the 40-year-old former National Crime Agency (NCA) officer at Southwark Crown Court on Friday, Judge Justin Cole condemned Taylor for the 'gross abuse of trust' placed in him Taylor, who never moved out of his family home, was a grade five intelligence officer in the NCA, equivalent to a police constable. He had access to the dark web, although he was not required by his work to view such images because his focus was on offences involving drugs and firearms, the court heard. Taylor was arrested by officers from the NCA's anti-corruption unit after it was established that an IP address linked to his home was accessing illegal content. The defendant admitted committing misconduct by making indecent images of children on a work device between March 2019 and April 2022. He had 221 category A images - the highest category of seriousness - as well as 203 extreme images and hundreds of category B and C images on both work and home electronic devices between May 2012 and the time of his arrest. Prosecutor Amy Nicholson said Taylor 'sought to use his employment to gain further access to child sexual abuse material' in 'deliberate intentional acts' that caused a 'high level' of harm. She went on: 'The defendant's conduct will have undermined public trust and confidence in the NCA and its investigation of this sort of offending. 'Furthermore, the viewing and downloading of indecent photographs of children perpetuates the production of further indecent photographs, which requires the serious sexual abuse of young children.' Eddison Flint, defending, said Taylor was at a low risk of reoffending and was 'not a man who needs to add to the prison population'. Taylor has also been given a sexual harm prevention order and was made to sign the sex offenders register for 10 years. Former NCA officer Adam Taylor admitted two counts of misconduct in a public office, three counts of making indecent photographs of children and one count of possessing an extreme pornographic image. File photo Catrin Attwell, specialist prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said: 'Adam Taylor intentionally used his employment to obtain information to facilitate the viewing and downloading of indecent images of children and used NCA official devices for this purpose. 'The indecent images of children on the devices contained some of the most horrific sexual abuse of children. 'His actions were a gross breach of the trust placed in him as an officer and severely undermined the integrity and standards expected from those in his position. 'After collaborative work from the CPS and the NCA, Taylor was left with no option but to plead guilty and face the consequences of his actions.' NCA director general Rob Jones said: 'The NCA is committed to protecting children from sexual abuse, wherever in the world it is happening. 'We are determined to ensure there is no safe haven for perpetrators, including and especially within law enforcement. 'NCA officers from our anti-corruption unit carried out a meticulous, covert investigation which identified Taylor's offending and ultimately brought him to justice. 'The NCA will work tirelessly to tackle corruption and breaches of our standards of professional behaviour, without fear or favour, wherever they occur. 'We welcome this custodial sentence which recognises the gravity of Taylor's crimes.' The Biden administration has paused a controversial program that was flying hundreds of thousands of immigrants to the U.S. per year after massive fraud was discovered. Department of Homeland Security officials confirmed Friday that it temporarily halted the scheme that allows up to 30,000 nationals from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela (CHNV) to enter the country each month. The sudden freeze of the contentious plan comes after an internal DHS report revealed rampant fraud among the sponsors paying for the migrants to come to the country, a source familiar with the report told Fox News. It will give the agency time to investigate if fraud has occurred in their supporter applications - which are forms filled by individuals who 'agree to provide financial support to a beneficiary and undergo background checks.' Just 3,200 individual sponsors signed up to support roughly 101,000 migrants according to the report, prompting concerns at DHS that the system is being abused. The report indicating fraud also shockingly found that some of the names used to fill out sponsor forms belonged to dead people. Migrants board flights in Texas bound for Chicago. A Biden administration plan to allow migrants from Cuba, Nicaragua, Haiti and Venezuela to enter the U.S. aboard planes has been paused this week after major fraud was discovered internally by DHS Additionally, storage units were found to be the home address for some sponsor applications, while certain phone numbers were used on thousands of applications. Almost 3,000 sponsors applications were filled out using fake zip codes, the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) a conservative immigration nonprofit which first obtained the report, found. According to a DHS spokesperson the agency now has 'review mechanisms in place to detect and prevent fraud and abuse in our immigration processes. DHS takes any abuse of its processes very seriously,' a DHS spokesperson said. 'Where fraud is identified, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will investigate and litigate applicable cases in immigration court and make criminal referrals to the Department of Justice.' The spokesperson continued: 'Out of an abundance of caution, DHS has temporarily paused the issuance of advanced travel authorizations for new beneficiaries while it undertakes a review of supporter applications. DHS will restart application processing as quickly as possible, with appropriate safeguards.' 'Shut it down permanently,' Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said of the Biden plan. 'This program should have never existed in the first place.' 'It's just another way the Biden-Harris Administration has welcomed hundreds of thousands of aliens into our country, unchecked.' House Homeland Security Chair Mark Green, R-Tenn., told DailyMail.com, 'This admission by the Biden-Harris administration vindicates every warning we have ever issued about the unlawful CHNV mass-parole program.' 'It also exposes the lie by administration officials, like now-impeached DHS Secretary Mayorkas, about the quality and extent of the vetting processnot just for the inadmissible aliens seeking entry, but those attempting to sponsor them.' 'We issued a subpoena last year to compel documents regarding this program, and while DHS partially complied, the department remains delinquent in producing certain documents and communications relating to the program.' President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris at an airport to receive Americans released in a prison swap. Their program has allowed hundreds of thousands of immigrants to fly directly to the U.S., obtain work permits and live in the U.S. Green added: 'This is exactly what happens when you create an unlawful mass-parole program in order to spare your administration the political embarrassment and bad optics of overrun borders. The Biden-Harris administration should terminate the CHNV program immediately.' The flight program was started in October 2022 and was initially meant for Venezuelans who met certain conditions like they had not previously tried to enter the U.S. illegally, had a U.S.-based sponsor and passed biographical vetting. Notably, the migrants are responsible for their own travel, but the program allows them to fly to the U.S. The sponsors for the migrants also must undergo background checks, which makes the reported fraud among them even more concerning. Still, DHS emphasized that CHNV beneficiaries are 'thoroughly screened' prior to their arrival. 'The multi-layered screening and vetting for advanced travel authorizations is separate from the screening of U.S.-based supporters,' the spokesperson told Fox News. 'DHS has not identified issues of concern relating to the screening and vetting of beneficiaries.' As of October 2023, there were around 1.6 million applicants waiting for DHS approval to fly to the U.S. using Biden's parole program, the agency said this year. The project at the centre of Scotlands ferries fiasco is facing even more delays. Bosses at the nationalised Ferguson Marine shipyard have confirmed that the handover date for the first of two CalMac ferries being built at the yard has been pushed back once again. The Glen Sannoxs handover date has been moved back from August 19 to September 30, MSPs have been told. The state-owned shipyard has identified more areas which need work as it continues to face problems with the installation of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) fuel system. Both Glen Sannox and its sister ship, Glen Rosa, are designed to run on both traditional marine gas oil and LNG - becoming the first ferries built in the UK to do so. Going nowhere soon... Ferguson Marine has delayed the handover of the Glen Sannox yet again The latest delays come as CalMac prepares to retire one of its oldest vessels, MV Hebridean Isles, in November. Ferguson Marines interim chief executive John Petticrew wrote to the Scottish Parliaments Transport Committee yesterday (FRI) to confirm the latest delay. He said: We have, regrettably, identified an additional number of areas which require to be completed on the vessel before we can proceed to acceptance trials. The majority of these works will have to take place in relatively small engine spaces, which are already delayed by the prolonged installation of the LNG system, due to the complexity of installation and need to examine the integrity of the pipework. He said this would lead to increased workforce congestion on parts of the vessel, meaning a re-evaluation of health and safety standards is needed. Mr Petticrew continued: As Im sure youll agree, ensuring the safety and wellbeing of our team is our number one priority, especially in an industry like this, where there is simply no room for half measures or cutting corners. Following a review of these challenges, we are conscious of the risk associated with nearing completion of MV Glen Sannoxs first-in-class dual fuel design and we therefore signal an official handover deadline of September 30 2024. This date, which would allow us breathing space to consider any unknown issues during LNG/owners trials and post-trial inspections, could however be pulled forward should we prove the vessel with no issues raised at sea trials or during the final sign-off procedures. He said he would update the committee on the cost implications of the latest changes. Current cost estimates for Glen Sannox are between 145.5 million and 149.1 million and it is hoped the cost for Glen Rosa will be kept below 150 million. Now six years late, the total bill will be three times the original 97 million price tag. Scottish Conservatives transport spokesman Graham Simpson said: This beggars belief - or it would if this SNP scandal had not long gone beyond being a cruel joke. The new CalMac ferry, MV Glen Sannox, and its sister vessel Glen Rosa are massively behind schedule and vastly over budget Betrayed islanders have been waiting years for these vital lifeline ferries, and were only recently told that the Glen Sannox would miss the whole of the crucial summer season. 'Now it will not sail before the end of September at the earliest. This latest failure piles insult on injury for our island communities, who have been let down at every turn by SNP incompetence. This is a national embarrassment that has cost the Scottish taxpayer hundreds of millions of pounds, yet the delays continue. There can be no more excuses. Ministerial heads must roll. Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes said: News of further delay to the handover of Glen Sannox is deeply disappointing. We are working closely with Ferguson Marine to ensure the company is doing all it can to complete the handover as quickly as possible, and hopefully sooner than September 30. Health and safety is the overriding priority, especially with the yard under pressure to complete Glen Sannox. We have been assured that all necessary steps are being taken to protect the workforce and deliver rapid progress. A thug who nearly killed his one-month-old son by punching him in the face after downing a bottle of Jack Daniels has been jailed for ten years. David Tilici, 29, launched the appalling attack when his partner had left their hotel room in Liverpool city centre to go to McDonald's on December 11 last year. The child's mother watched on in horror when she saw his bloodied face in a video call before rushing to help him. Members of staff even feared that the baby had died due to the severity of his injuries. The four-week-old boy was rushed to Alder Hey Children's Hospital after sustaining 'significant blunt force head trauma', the trial at Liverpool Crown Court heard. This included 'substantial' bruising to the head and face and bleeding from the mouth, while a subsequent CT scan revealed that the baby had suffered multiple bleeds on the brain. David Tilici (pictured) nearly killed his one-month-old son by punching him in the face after downing a bottle of Jack Daniels Jamie Baxter, prosecuting, described how consultants concluded that these injuries were 'not accidental' and 'as a result of more than one impact'. Jurors were told that Tilici and his partner checked into the Campanile hotel on Queens Dock at around 6.30pm on the day of the attack. Staff reported that the baby 'appeared to be fine' and had no injuries at this stage. The defendant left in order to buy milk around an hour later and also returned with a bottle of honey-flavoured Jack Daniels and two cans of Red Bull. Tilici drank the entire the bottle of whisky during the course of the evening and began arguing with his girlfriend, accusing her of 'being unfaithful by looking at other men'. The 29-year-old, from Luton, then reportedly 'got really angry' at her and began hitting her in the head with the back of his palm and calling her names such as 'w****' and 'b****'. She later left her boyfriend and baby in the hotel in order to get food from McDonald's, telling him 'don't wake the baby up' as she left. Tilici gave her his mobile phone video and called her via Facebook Messenger from the hotel room using a tablet computer in order to 'keep tabs on her'. But, while waiting for her meal as she stood near to the counter, she began to hear the baby 'screaming' and 'two loud bangs'. She then asked the father, who was not visible on the camera at the time, 'what happened, why is he crying so bad and why is the baby awake?'. However, Tilici merely replied: 'Oh, he's just hungry.' When the mother pointed out that he had been fed immediately before she left the hotel, he added 'no, no, it's fine' then claimed: 'I just put my can on the table. That's the bangs, where it come from.' As the mother returned to the hotel, she demanded to see the baby on the video and was able to see that his 'face was blue and that he had blood coming out of his mouth'. She then ran back to their room before taking the child to the reception area. Tilici followed her downstairs and said in Romanian: 'You're gonna put me in jail. They're gonna come and get me.' Jurors were told that Tilici and his partner checked into the Campanile hotel on Queens Dock (pictured) at around 6.30pm on the day of the attack But he also continued to insist that 'nothing happened, I just fed him'. The baby's injuries were so stark that one hotel employee feared he may have died. Tilici then began 'behaving erratically', including shouting 'give me my baby' and falling to his knees and pretending to faint. His son meanwhile was described as being in a critical condition and 'falling in and out of consciousness'. Attending shortly before 10.30pm, one medic asked him 'whether he had dropped the baby by accident'. But Tilici, who 'smelled strongly of alcohol', replied 'no' and threw himself to the floor. Medical staff noted that the youngster had a 'purple face, was silent and had reduced consciousness'. On arrival at the hospital doctors found that there was an 'absence of a plausible accidental explanation'. The baby had no injuries to the sides of the head, ears, neck or below the neckline 'which might be expected if he had been dropped or fallen'. Tilici, who had one previous conviction for shoplifting in 2020, represented himself in court at his sentencing hearing today. Assisted by a Romanian interpreter, he told the judge: 'The child is growing and he has no fractures on his head, no injuries on his eyes and nothing wrong with him.. He is healthy. 'Your honour, I am 29 years old and I've not had any problems with violence - not in England, not in Romania or in any other country. I have to be punished for what happened. It didn't happen with my consent. 'It wouldn't happen if I wasn't so drunk. It isn't an excuse, but I don't think it would happen if I wasn't so drunk. When I get out, I will be a better parent and a better man.' Tilici was found guilty of inflicting grievous bodily harm and was jailed for 10 years and was handed restraining orders preventing him from contacting his former partner and baby indefinitely. Sentencing, Charlotte Crangle said: 'She told the police that you had assaulted her earlier in the relationship and been incredibly controlling. 'She felt that you isolated her from her family and friends and threatened her with extreme violence because of your jealousy over a previously relationship she had had. It was clear when she gave evidence that she was, at the time, in significant fear of you because of the control you exerted over her. 'He was a tiny baby. He was just over two-and-a-half kilos. It appears you became angry during the course of the day. You were accusing her of flirting with other males, even when she was crossing the road. 'You then consumed all of that whisky in a short space of time. This resulted in you becoming very drunk. You then became aggressive and abusive towards her. Pictured: Liverpool Crown Court where the trial was heard 'You were calling her names and beating her around the head while your son slept in the bed next to you. She managed to calm matters and left the hotel to get some food. 'She had fed, changed and settled the baby before she left and had no reason to be concerned about leaving him in the care of his father. You insisted that she remain on a video call to you, no doubt so you could keep an eye on her. 'She could not see what was going on in the room, but then heard two loud bangs and then her son screaming. It was clear that it was at this point that you, in drink, had lost your temper with your son, as you had earlier with your partner, and struck out at him. 'The doctors both agreed that there must have been significant blunt force trauma to cause those injuries. It was clear that there was something badly wrong with him. She thought her baby boy was dead, as did the hotel staff. 'He was silent. He was blue in the face. You came down to the reception and wanted to take your son from the staff, but they had to hide him in the kitchen area from you. 'Anybody looking at the photographs of the injuries you caused to your baby son cannot fail to be distressed. You denied causing the injuries under police interview and at trial and clearly made up a story that he had fallen off the bed. Thankfully, it seems that he will probably make a full recovery from his injuries.' A teenage driver who fell asleep at the wheel of her delivery van before fatally ploughing into an elderly couple while under the influence of cocaine has been jailed for three years and five months. Jessica Higgs, then 19, had cocaine in her system - 36 hours after taking the drug at a weekend party in May 2023. On Friday, Higgs, now 20, was jailed after she admitted causing death by careless driving while over the limit for a controlled drug. Taunton Crown Court heard that Higgs had driven from Salisbury, Wiltshire, to Axminster, Devon, taking two hours. She then had a nap and a break before setting off on her return journey. Jessica Higgs, 20, fell asleep at the wheel of her delivery van before fatally ploughing into an elderly couple while under the influence of cocaine Higgs was jailed after she admitted causing death by careless driving while over the limit for a controlled drug Higgs momentarily fell asleep at the wheel and drifted across the 50mph road carriageway into the westbound lane of Tony Mist and his partner Thelma Huse, who were both 69-years-old But as she drove her Mercedes van on the A303 at Camel Hill near Yeovilton, Somerset, she momentarily fell asleep at the wheel and drifted across the 50mph road carriageway into the westbound lane of Tony Mist and his partner Thelma Huse, who were both 69-years-old. The court heard Higgs, from Warminster, Wilts, had been driving well before she dozed off. After the crash, she was pulled from the van by another driver and she told him: 'I fell asleep.' Higgs, from Warminster, was found to be over the specified limit for benzoylecgonine - a metabolite of cocaine - when her blood was tested at 8pm that day. Father-of-two Mr Mist died at the scene and grandmother-of-five Ms Huse died the next day in hospital. The couple, both 69, from Mytchett, Surrey, were on their way to Charmouth, Dorset, for a glamping trip to celebrate Mr Mist's 70th birthday two days later. Their relatives were in court and gave victim personal statements to the judge. They said their deaths were 'entirely preventable' and they 'left this world in the most callous ways'. The electrical apprentice pleaded guilty to two counts of causing death by careless driving while under the influence of drugs. Judge Paul Cook jailed her and banned her from driving for five years from the time she is released from prison. Thelma Huse and Tony Mist, both 69, from Mytchett, Surrey, were on their way to Charmouth, Dorset, for a glamping trip to celebrate Mr Mist's 70th birthday two days later Defence barrister Malcolm Galloway told the court Higgs, who has no previous convictions, had only had her licence for nine months. He said she had taken cocaine at a party on the Saturday night and had left for work early on the Monday morning after an early night to bed. He told her: 'There was a catastrophic head-on collision which resulted in their deaths. You were also injured. 'What all the impact statements make clear is the heartbreaking devastation that has been suffered by the family members and those who loved them. 'They say these were two people with so much more life to live for and to give.' The judge said character statements provided for Higgs described her as caring, loving and thoughtful. He added: 'While physically you have recovered, you are consumed by guilt and remorse and described as a shell of the person you were.' The judge said Higgs, who wept throughout the court hearing, was driving within the speed limit and other motorists did not note anything unusual until the van drifted across the road. He told Higgs: 'I accept that you didn't know you had cocaine still in your blood, however nodding off as you did was a consequence of being overtired.' The court heard Higgs went to a party on May 13 and took cocaine, last consuming the drug in the early hours of May 14 - around 36 hours before the crash. She went to bed early that day and awoke at 6am before being collected for work at 6.25am. Later that morning, she was tasked with driving her work van from Salisbury to Axminster. The court heard Higgs went to a party on May 13 and took cocaine, last consuming the drug in the early hours of May 14 - around 36 hours before the crash Higgs picked up a water pump at Axminster and had an hour's rest before setting off to drive back to Salisbury at 2pm. Prosecuting, Rupert Russell, said Mr Mist would not have had the 'time or space to avoid the collision' once Higgs' van had crossed over the white line. He told the court Higgs had been 'up all night on the Saturday to Sunday taking cocaine' which had caused her to be tired. 'It is the tiredness which clearly led to this tragedy,' Mr Russell said. The court heard Mr Mist and Ms Huse had been together for 30 years and were both due to celebrate their milestone 70th birthdays shortly after the collision. Kate Cory, Ms Huse's daughter, described how they had been travelling to Charmouth 'for a much-anticipated glamping holiday' for Mr Mist's birthday before celebrating Ms Huse's birthday with a theatre trip. The electrical apprentice pleaded guilty to two counts of causing death by careless driving while under the influence of drugs at Taunton Crown Court She added: 'Their 30-year love story came to an abrupt end far too soon and that's something none of us will ever get over.' Malcolm Galloway, representing Higgs, said she was aged 19 at the time of the collision and had held her driving licence for just nine months. 'The remorse is genuine,' Mr Galloway said. 'Of course, if she could turn the clock back, she would.' Speaking outside court on behalf of the victims' families, Ms Huse's ex-husband Jim Huse said they had been 'devastated by the totally preventable actions of Jessica Higgs'. 'We hope that others will learn from this, as no journey is so important that it should take place when your brain is compromised by the effect of drugs,' he said. Tony Hall, an officer with Avon and Somerset Police, added: 'It is every motorist's responsibility to make sure they are in fit enough to drive before getting behind the wheel and it is clear Higgs was not. 'This is another painful and devastating reminder that driving while under the influence of drugs is a deadly decision that puts yourself and innocent road users at serious risk.' Vice President Kamala Harris secured enough delegates on Friday to become the Democratic nominee through a virtual roll call vote. Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison shared the news Friday, saying that enough delegates had voted for Harris in the Democrats' virtual vote for the vice president to become the nominee. She'll formally accept the nomination sometime next week after the voting period closes on August 5. 'In the span of just a few weeks, Vice President Kamala Harris continues to break records and today is no different. With historic momentum and a groundswell of support, Vice President Harris has officially met the threshold, securing a majority of the delegates she needs to receive the Democratic nomination on Monday,' Harrison said. Democrats initially planned to hold a virtual roll call vote because some states' balloting deadlines were before the Chicago convention, which will be held from August 19 through 22. Vice President Kamala Harris has secured enough delegates to become the Democratic nominee in a virtual roll call vote Friday She's one step closer to officially becoming former President Donald Trump's challenger. She'll accept the nomination sometime next week after virtual voting closes When President Joe Biden dropped out of the race on Sunday July 21 he encouraged the delegates he won in the Democratic primaries to back Harris, who he endorsed. Delegates, however, could have chosen to support a different candidate, but the party quickly got in line. By Monday July 22 enough delegates had pledged their support for Harris for her to be a shoe-in for the nomination. No other Democrats tried to contest her for the nomination. Self-help guru Marianne Williamson on Monday said she failed to meet the deadline to challenge Harris, effectively ending her campaign. 'We did everything possible to stand for a blitz primary, an open convention and so forth. Yet the way things worked there truly was no way, and all we could have done is create noise,' she posted on X. Williamson had initially dropped out of the race after a disappointing performance in Nevada's primary. She then un-suspended her campaign in late February after coming in third place in Michigan's Democratic primary, behind the option of 'uncommitted,' which voters chose to register their disdain with Biden's Israel policy amid the war in Gaza. Biden had also been challenged by Rep. Dean Phillips, who argued that the president was too old to run for a second term and should make way for younger blood - something he ultimately did. Phillips' campaign didn't get much traction and he pulled out after the early March Super Tuesday races. Biden bowed out of the race after key Democrats pressured him to exit after his disastrous late June debate performance against Republican nominee, former President Donald Trump. During the debate, Biden mumbled, confused words and stared off into space, prompting concerns that he was suffering from something like Parkinson's disease. Biden's White House physician denied these claims, but the damage had been done. Rampaging yobs torched a police station and looted shops, as hooligans seeking to try and capitalise on the Southport stabbings besieged Sunderland in the latest night of rioting to rock Britain. Flames were seen engulfing the central police office on Waterloo Place as rioters ransacked the place, as hundreds took to the streets as Britain's summer of discontent trudges on. Violent blows were dealt between officers and protestors, as bricks and beer cans were flung through the air, and cars were flipped and set alight. The riots follow previous outbreaks of violence in London and Hartlepool on Wednesday in the wake of the tragic stabbings in Southport on Monday. Among the hundreds taking to the street in the besieged town in the north east included a shirtless man with a nazi tattoo emblazoned across his chest. The topless man was filmed launching into a racist tirade, saying: 'This time in your own f***ing country if you're ashamed to be f***ing white and be an Englishman f*** off.' It comes as one of the officers desperately fighting to maintain order as the violence spiralled out of control in Sunderland admitted: 'That was bad tonight.' Eight people have been arrested on suspicion of offences including violent disorder and burglary while three officers were taken to hospital to be treated for injuries, where two remain. Sunderland Central Police Office was set on fire as riots erupted in Sunderland this evening Firefighters tackle the blaze at the police facility on Waterloo Place Officers arrest a rioter after a protest in Sunderland turned violent on Friday night A rioter arrested in Sunderland following attacks on the city's police station and officers Another rioter detained by armed officers amid violence in Sunderland town centre Police arrest a rioter in Sunderland tonight as a fresh wave of violence erupted in the city Police officers form a wall across a road as protests erupted in Sunderland on Friday night Sunderland police station was set on fire by a mob of thugs during riots tonight Firefighters tackle damage from the blaze following violence in Sunderland Among the thugs was a topless man with a nazi tattoo emblazoned across his chest The man was seen wearing red braces, with a Swastika on his tattoo-covered back The man also had 'england' tattooed onto his chest above a union jack. He was filmed launching into a tirade of racist abuse Footage showed thugs ransacking the police station, smashing furniture and overturning tables Firefighters and police outside Sunderland Central Police Office in the aftermath of the attack Earlier in the evening hundreds of protestors set off from Keel Square in Sunderland, in the wake of the Southport stabbings. Despite a significant police presence, the crowd quickly turned violent, as rioters donned in England flag, covered their faces with balaclavas and bandanas. Northumbria police urged the public to avoid the city centre, as chants rung out of 'whose streets? Our streets.' Thugs were also seen spraying cans of beer all over a police vehicle in the town centre, while shouting 'let's have it' and 'it's our country'. Another police car was seen with its window smashed. Others were seen waving union flags and chanting support for far-right activist Tommy Robinson, amid concerns that extremist groups are looking to trigger a fresh wave of violence. It comes as hundreds of mosques are beefing up their security of fears that planned rallies in the wake of the Southport stabbings will spill over into full-on riots this weekend. Officers with shields were seen protecting the Sunderland's Millfield Mosque as a large mob surrounded the place of worship. The Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, condemned the violence and said: 'Criminals attacking the police & stoking disorder on our streets will pay the price for their violence & thuggery. 'The police have the full backing of Government to take the strongest possible action & ensure they face the full force of the law. They do not represent Britain.' Firefighters in Sunderland cordon off roads while they tackle the inferno set by rioters on the city's police station Huge flames erupting from Sunderland's Central Police Station after it was attacked by thugs on Friday night An overturned car was set alight by the thugs in Sunderland city centre Riots have ignited in Sunderland in the aftermath of the stabbing in Southport. Pictured: An overturned car on fire Barrels of beer left lying on the floor after the scenes of unrest in Sunderland this evening Chief Superintendent Helena Barron said the violence was 'utterly deplorable' and said that criminals would be 'dealt with 'robustly'. She said: 'The shocking scenes we have witnessed in Sunderland this evening are completely unacceptable. 'I want to make it absolutely clear that the disorder, violence and damage which has occurred will not be tolerated. 'During the course of the evening those officers were met with serious and sustained levels of violence, which is utterly deplorable. 'A full investigation is now under way to identify anyone else responsible. 'We want to be clear anyone planning to involve themselves in disorder in the future should stay at home. 'We also know the behaviour displayed is in no way representative of our friendly and welcoming region.' Championship football club also issued a statement condemning the 'shameful scenes'. 'Tonight's shameful scenes do not represent our culture, our history, or our people,' read the statement from the football club. 'Our great city is built on togetherness and acceptance, and Sunderland will forever be for all. We are stronger as one community. Now. Then. Always.' Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary and MP for Houghton and Sunderland South called the riots 'unforgivable' and 'appalling'. She said: 'The scenes in our city centre tonight are shocking. We have seen unforgivable violence and thuggery. 'The criminals identified in this appalling disorder must be identified, prosecuted and punished with the full force of the law. 'Sunderland is better than this and these thugs do not represent our city.' In an update on the disorder, Northumbria Police said: 'Our officers are continuing to deal with ongoing disorder and have been subjected to serious violence. 'The scenes that we are seeing are completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated. 'Ensuring the public's safety is our utmost priority.' Yobs loot and smash into a vape shop in Sunderland as a planned protest became a riot Thugs smashed into the shop vapelocal.com as violence erupted around the city Broken glass on the pavement as thugs break into a vape shop in Sunderland Fresh mayhem has erupted after protesters set an overturned car on fire in Sunderland Protestors look on as a car is toppled over a set alight during disorder in Sunderland this evening A yob sprays fire extinguisher foam at armed police in Sunderland city centre on Friday evening 10 Downing Street is lit up in pink on Friday night in remembrance of those killed in the Southport attack Armed police clash with demonstrators after thugs spray foam over officers Protesters draped in England flags let off flares in Sunderland town centre Protesters hurl bricks at police on horseback near an Aldi store In another picture of tonight's protest, a bus stop was shown smashed with shattered glass covering the pavement. Thugs were also looting a vapes shop as violence erupted. Protesters from a group called Youth Alliance were seen holding a union jack banner with the words 'Stop mass immigration. Save British Youth. How many more British need to die?' Yobs were also seen throwing bricks at police on horses. Another crowd was filmed surrounding and attacking a private hire taxi in the town centre. The person shooting the video is heard saying 'no need for this at all', as the protesters smash the black vehicle stuck in traffic. Other thugs were shown making a stand in front of police guarding the mosque, waving flags while topless. Some protesters argued about 'two-tier policing' as the police threw a protective ring around the building of worship. Mounted police pushed back demonstrators, some of whom were in masks. Police arrest a man wearing a balaclava and blue hoodie ahead of the protest Yobs with face and hair coverings let off flares and wreak havoc in Sunderland Police with shields protect Millfield Mosque in Sunderland, as places of worship beef up security amid fears of further violence Protesters in Sunderland cover a police car with beer from cans Meanwhile, customers in the next door Aldi filmed the scenes on their phones through the shop window. Police were also seen arresting a man wearing a balaclava, as security tightened up ahead of the planned protest. Meanwhile, 10 Downing Street in London was lit up in pink in remembrance of the victims killed in the Southport attack. But flags above the Prime Minister residence were still flying at full mast, rather than the traditional half mast following tragic events. In a post on X, Tommy Robinson gloated 'you should have listened, Kier' as far-right rioters ransacked Sunderland. Sunderland Central MP Lewis Atkinson said he was 'appalled' by disorder in the city centre on Friday night. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, he said: 'Our city is not represented by a tiny minority causing trouble. '(Northumbria Police) have my full support as they respond to criminal thuggery and work to protect all the communities of our city. 'Tomorrow the people of Sunderland will come together and continue to build the bright future that we have - a future where every community of our city feels safe and prospers.' Another police car had its window smashed by thugs as the protest got underway Protesters let off flares while gathered in the town's centre for a planned protest Protesters hold a union jack banner reading 'stop mass immigration. Save British Youth. How many more British need to die' A bus stop smashed in the centre of Sunderland with shards of glass all over the pavement A topless protester waves an England flag in front of police officers near Millfield Mosque Hooded protesters wearing face coverings wave flags. Thugs were heard shouting 'it's our country' Armed police watch over protesters near an Aldi store in Sunderland The action is the latest following the stabbing in Southport in which three young children were killed and eight others suffered knife wounds. Violence erupted after a remembrance vigil for Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, on Tuesday thugs travelled into the seaside town and centred a riot around the local mosque - whose windows were smashed in a brutal attack. It comes after false online speculation that the three little girls killed in the knife rampage at a Taylor Swift holiday camp died at the hands of an asylum seeker who had travelled to the UK on a boat. The claims are thought to have originated from a Russia-linked fake news outlet. In Liverpool, a crowd of about 200 anti-racist protesters gathered outside the Abdullah Quilliam Mosque after rumours of a far-right protest there. Seventy-year-old Pat, who did not want to give her second name, held a placard saying 'Nans against Nazis'. She said: 'We're telling them wherever they go, we'll be there. We've never allowed them in the city of Liverpool.' She said she began protesting 50 years ago, against the National Front. LIVERPOOL: Police stand guard as protesters gather outside a mosque in they city LIVERPOOL: Counter protesters against right-wing thugs hold placards saying 'refugees welcome' Counter protesters in Liverpool gather outside a mosque in Liverpool with a placard reading 'no room for racism' Police mounted on horseback attempt to control the crowds in Sunderland town centre Protesters with English and British flags stand around a fountain in Sunderland town centre Protesters outside an Aldi store in Sunderland as police on horseback attempt to control the crowds Protesters clash with police on a road in Sunderland following the stabbing in Southport She added: 'Someone said to me 'you're too old, don't be doing this' but as long as they're here someone's got to do it.' Muslim, Jewish and Christian religious leaders gathered outside a mosque in Southport on Friday afternoon in a call for communities to reject hatred and stand together. Thousands of people turned out to pay their respects to the victims at a vigil in Southport on Tuesday evening, but violence later erupted outside a mosque in the town with 53 police officers and three police dogs injured. On Thursday, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced a new 'national' response to the disorder linking police forces across the country. At least 15 protests have been promoted online, with some calling for participants to take England flags, and a number containing phrases such as 'enough is enough', 'save our kids' or 'stop the boats'. Yobs draped in flags surround a police vehicle in Sunderland town centre A flare thrown near uniformed police officers emits blue smoke as crowds gather on streets in the city centre A protester wearing a balaclava and Sunderland football shirt gestures with his hands during the event on Friday evening Speaking outside the mosque on Friday evening, Ibrahim Hussein said: 'On Tuesday night I thought I was the unluckiest man in the whole of the country. 'On Friday evening, I feel the luckiest man in the whole of the country. 'Look at all of these beautiful people. Look at all these faces, and different faiths. We have people here from the church and from the synagogue.' He said he was 'old friends' with some of the other faith leaders. 'But it is not about Southport Mosque, it is not about our suffering,' Mr Hussein said. 'We should have been focused all along about these poor people who have suffered in the most horrific way. 'And we should have been standing here giving them as much support as we can. We should have been standing here, praying for them, supporting them, focusing on them. 'Instead these people try to destroy what is so beautiful about our community.' Meanwhile, the Prime Minister returned to Southport on Friday, visiting the town for the second time this week after Monday's knife attack. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced on Thursday a new 'national' response to the disorder linking police forces across the country Pat, 70, holds up a placard reading 'nans against Nazis' outside a mosque in Liverpool Crowds gathered outside Liverpool's Sheikh Abdullah Quilliam Mosque as far right activists clash with other counter protesters Sir Keir announced further support for Southport, including mental health support for those affected by the attack and a programme of events to help build community cohesion. The 17-year-old charged with the murders of three girls in Southport appeared at Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday, and was named as Axel Rudakubana, from Banks in Lancashire. He is charged with the murders of Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven. Rudakubana is also charged with the attempted murders of yoga class instructor Leanne Lucas, businessman John Hayes and eight children, who cannot be named for legal reasons, and with possession of a kitchen knife with a curved blade. He was remanded to youth detention accommodation and will next appear in court in October. Sir Keir Starmer has announced a 'support package' for Southport after returning to the town for the second time since Monday's knife attack. After holding private meetings with community leaders and emergency services staff, the Prime Minister said it had been 'truly inspiring to hear of all the ways in which people have come together in the face of such horrors to demonstrate true bravery, resilience and solidarity'. He added: 'I cannot begin to imagine the pain that people are going through right now, but I am determined to make sure that Southport and its leaders have all the support they need to preserve and nurture this strength of community spirit - not just in the immediate aftermath, but also in the years to come.' The measures announced on Friday included mental health support for those affected, and a programme of events and activities to help 'build community cohesion and bolster local resilience' in the longer term. It was the Prime Minister's second visit to the town this week, having travelled there on Tuesday to lay flowers at the scene of the attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on Monday which left three girls dead. Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech during a press conference, following clashes after the Southport stabbing, at 10 Downing street in central London, Britain on Thursday Mayor of Liverpool City Region Steve Rotheram (L) and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (R) arrive to lay flowers at the scene of a stabbing attack on Hart Street in Southport, Britain, 30 July 2024. Merseyside Police have confirmed that a third child, aged 9, has died as a result of a knife attack in Southport and confirmed that the other two victims were ages six and seven After meeting community leaders alongside metro mayor Steve Rotheram and Merseyside Police Chief Constable Serena Kennedy, Sir Keir visited Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool to thank staff for their work responding to the attack. Many of those injured in Monday's attack were treated at the hospital, and Sir Keir praised staff's hard work and professionalism. Mr Rotheram thanked the Prime Minister for giving a 'personal commitment' to support Southport. He said: 'The horrendous events of Tuesday have caused untold shock and horror across the whole country but has left Southport struggling to come to terms with such a tragedy on its doorstep. 'Once the glare of the national media has moved on, it leaves behind a community that needs to come together and rebuild. 'This is a tight-knit area and we have already seen that inclusivity and community on full display in the town's response to the mindless violence on Tuesday night. 'It will not happen overnight, but we are determined to restore trust, build on that remarkable resilience - and, above all, ensure that Bebe, Elsie and Alice, and the victims and those traumatised, are never forgotten.' Since Monday, Southport has been rocked by violent unrest inspired by false claims about the suspect's identity that spread on social media. That unrest has spread to other parts of the country, with police on Friday bracing for more outbreaks in the coming days. People arrive to meet Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer to discuss clashes following the Southport stabbing at Downing Street in London, Britain August 1 Policing leaders arrive in Downing Street, for a meeting with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer on August 01, 2024 in London, England. The meeting and subsequent press conference followed two nights of unrest after the killing of three young girls in a knife attack in Southport Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, second left, holds a meeting at 10 Downing street in London, England on Thursday Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer with senior policing leaders during a meeting in Downing Street, London, following scenes of violent unrest in Southport, London, Hartlepool and Manchester in the wake of the killing of three young girls in a knife attack On Tuesday, the Prime Minister was repeatedly asked 'how many more children will die?' as he placed flowers at the scene of the Southport knife rampage. During the Labour leader's brief visit, which lasted around two minutes, some members of the public began heckling him with one man declaring 'here's your photo opportunity' as he walked past. Other furious onlookers shouted 'scumbag', 'time for change' and 'go away, you're not wanted'. Another woman said: 'I've just found out my friend's nine-year-old daughter was killed, the person I've held as a child, and you can't do s***.' And a different man shouted: 'Get the truth out!' British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer arrives with a floral tribute to the child victims of a knife attack on Tuesday Merseyside police had issued a warning after an 'incorrect' name for the alleged Southport attacker was widely circulated online. Inaccurate posts by social media sleuths about the identity of the perpetrator received millions of views and engagements, as Downing Street warned against 'unhelpful' speculation amid concerns that misreporting online could inflame community tensions. Mr Rotheram has expressed concern that there could be further violence in the Liverpool City Region, but added: 'We know exactly what we'd need to do to ensure that these things are nipped in the bud.' On Thursday, the Prime Minister condemned 'far-right hatred' in the wake of the Southport stabbings as he announced a new 'national' response to the violent disorder. Sir Keir said: 'The far right are showing who they are - we have to show who we are in response to that.' Alice Aguiar, nine, died in hospital in the early hours of Tuesday following the attack Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, died on Monday as nine other children and two adult women were rushed to hospital Chevron will move its headquarters to Texas from California, following Elon Musk's Space X in relocating to the Lone Star State. The gas giant's new headquarters will be in Houston, Texas. It is currently based in San Ramon, California. 'Houston is the epicenter of our industry,' Chevron CEO Mike Wirth told CNBC. 'We've had our headquarters gradually growing in Texas and gradually pulling down in California. This is a continuation of a trend that has been underway for some time.' Chevron will move its headquarters to Texas from California - but claims it's not political. 'Houston is the epicenter of our industry,' CEO Mike Wirth said The move comes after Chevron announced lower-than-expected second-quarter earnings on Friday. Shares fell more than one percent during morning trading, according to CNBC. The company's net income declined 26 percent to $4.43 billion, compared to $6.01 billion at the same time last year, the outlet reported. Its US production posted a profit of $2.16 billion, while its international production profit fell around 30 percent to $2.3 billion, according to CNBC. Chevron's global oil-equivalent production did rise 11 percent to 3.29 million barrels a day due to record production in the Permian Basin. The company said the move was not politically motivated, thought it has long criticized the blue state's leadership for its stance on the oil industry, the Financial Times reported. California has sued Chevron and other oil companies over accusations they were misleading customers about the dangers of climate change. The state has also accused oil companies of price gouging and has tried to force penalties on their profit, according to KTLA. Chevron has long criticized the California's leadership for its stance on the oil industry (pictured: CEO Mike Wirth) All corporate functions will transition to Houston within the next five years, according to the outlet, while some positions will remain in San Ramon. The company already has around 7,000 customers in Houston and around 2,000 in San Ramon, according to KTLA. The company worked in crude oil fields and technical facilities, and it has two refineries. It also has more than 1,800 retail stations in California. Musk is moving his companies' headquarters from California to Texas for the business benefits, a Tesla analyst has claimed. The 53-year-old billionaire said he is moving both SpaceX and X headquarters to the Lone Star State over California's new gender identity laws. He said Governor Gavin Newsom's signing of a law that bans California school districts from notifying parents if their child is transgender was 'the final straw.' The billionaire himself had even moved to Texas in 2020 after living in California for two decades. Chevron is currently based in San Ramon, California Critics slammed Musk for moving his companies, saying they deserve his business after taxpayers funded them and gave him benefits for years. 'California, through tax credits, [electric vehicle] subsidies and training grants made Elon successful,' Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, president of the California Labor Federation, told The Los Angeles Times. 'That amounts to hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars, for him to continually spit in the face of California's workers and taxpayers.' Even residents are ditching the California lifestyle, with around 300 leaving for Texas each day - or around 111,000 people - in 2021. That is double the 63,000 that made the same move in 2012, according to a new report from Storage Cafe, which examined California-Texas migration patterns over nearly a decade. Of those that moved in 2021, nearly half were millennials, born between 1981 and 1996, and headed to counties around major cities such as Austin, Houston and Dallas. The heartbroken great-aunt of a girl killed in the Southport stabbings has paid tribute to the 'sweetest child'. Jean Stevenson was laying flowers close to where for seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe was stabbed when she described her great-niece as 'lovely, sweet and gentle'. She told BBC News that she had been teaching the youngster to sew, and how excited she was 'to give her lessons and pass my skills [on].' Elsie, Bebe King and Alice DaSilva Aguiar were all tragically murdered while at a Taylor Swift themed dance class on Monday, while eight others were seriously injured. Jean Stevenson was laying flowers close to where for seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe was stabbed when she described her as 'lovely, sweet and gentle' Elsie's teachers paid a heartbreaking tribute to a 'kind and caring' girl with a 'super, beaming smile' Ms Stevenson continued: 'It's true what they say about the Southport community: a very close knit community, a very family-orientated area. 'Stuff like this just doesn't happen here.' Axel Rudakubana, 17, has been named as the attacker and appeared at Liverpool Crown Court yesterday accused of the murders of Elsie, Bebe and Alice and the attempted murders of eight other children, Leanne Lucas, who was running the session and John Hayes, a businessman who rushed in to help. The teenager's identity initially could not be revealed because suspects under 18 receive automatic anonymity in all UK court cases, except for in exceptional circumstances. But after a successful application to the judge by the Mail, the identity of Rudakubana who turns 18 next week - can now be reported. Rudakubana was born in Cardiff to Rwandan parents in 2006 before his family relocated in 2013 to the quiet village of Banks - a 15 minute drive from Southport. The 17-year-old is charged with murdering three little girls and harming 10 others The teenager accused of stabbing to death three little girls once appeared in a Children in Need promotional video for the BBC Six-year-old Bebe King (pictured)was also killed in the rampage on Monday Little Alice DaSilva Aguiar was fatally stabbed in a knife rampage at a Taylor Swift-themed dance workshop Also at the police cordon, Elsie's teachers paid a heartbreaking tribute to a 'kind and caring' girl with a 'super, beaming smile'. A framed photo was left at the police cordon by Farnborough Schools, made up of an infant and junior school in Farnborough Road, where she was a pupil. It reads: 'It has always been a pleasure to have Elsie as part of our school. 'From her nursery days being carried on dad's shoulders into the playground, she was a girl with a super, beaming smile. 'Elsie loved life, school and her friends. Her eyes lit up when she spoke. 'Elsie was such a determined young lady who loved to please. 'She was a kind and caring friend to all the children in her class and was always there to look after anyone who was upset. 'She loved performing, singing, dancing and loved being on the stage. 'She was adored by her friends and known by everyone in school due to the sparkle in her eyes, her infectious energy and charismatic personality. 'It is difficult to put into words how amazing Elsie was and the impact she had on those around her. 'We will miss you, Elsie. You were one of a kind. 'You will always be a Farnborough girl.' A mother hugs her child as they look at floral tributes for the victims of the deadly knife attack in Southport Floral tributes on the junction of Tithebarn Road and Hart Street in Southport, near the scene where the children were killed A message from Liverpool FC is seen among floral tributes for the victims, sending their thoughts to all affected Floral tributes are left for the victims of a deadly knife attack in Southport It comes two days after thousands of mourners gathered for a vigil to remember the three young girls. More than 5,000 tearful locals laid flowers outside the Merseyside town's grand Atkinson building after falling silent to remember the tragic trio. Alice's aunt, Albertina Freitas, told ITV News in Madeira, Portugal, that the little girl's father has been left paralysed by his grief. She said: 'My brother-in-law is in such a state that he can't even talk to the family. We try to talk to him but he doesn't want to. He just clings to the girl's things. 'We are not going through it directly, but we can imagine the pain my brother is experiencing. It is an immense pain.' Talking about her sister, Ms Freitas added: 'She doesn't speak at all.' The family are planning to release balloons in a mass service for her on Saturday at Quinta Grande Church in Madeira. Her grandparents were offered flights to attend her funeral by the Portuguese Consulate. In a statement, Bebe's family said: 'No words can describe the devastation that has hit our family as try to deal with the loss of our little girl Bebe.' Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe continued to reveal failures Friday from the day former President Donald Trump was nearly assassinated while speaking at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Rowe also revealed that nobody has been fired yet over Trump's near-death experience. The acting director explained that Secret Service officials had no radio communications with local police and weren't aware Thomas Matthew Crooks had a gun aimed at the ex-president before he opened fire. Rowe confirmed that 'there was somebody who did, in fact radio out that they had seen the individual with a weapon.' 'What I can tell you is that piece of information, that vital piece of information, and by no fault of anyone, it was a very stressful situation, it did not make it over,' Rowe said. Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe continued to reveal failures Friday from the day former President Donald Trump was nearly assassinated while speaking at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania Local and state law enforcement officers aren't on the same radio network as Secret Service agents. Trump's Secret Service detail, Rowe said, was 'operating under the assumption' from the last bit of information that they received. 'That there was an issue that the locals were working at the three o'clock,' he said, using a clock as a directional cue. 'That's a bit of information that we had. Not anything about a weapon.' In fact, more details about the threat were being shared, when the gunshots rang out. 'So the former president's detail - they had an advanced person on the ground who was responsible for the site,' Rowe said. 'The radio transmission goes out about locals working an issue at the 3 o'clock.' 'The member of that detail called their Pittsburgh Field Office counterpart. "Hey, what do you know about this?" In the midst - right in the middle of that phone conversation, the shots begin firing,' Rowe said. The former president is a fan of holding large outdoor rallies, but Rowe suggested that busy radio chatter - from people making medical emergency requests due to the heat - could have played a role clogging up the airwaves at a vital time. Former President Donald Trump is surrounded by his Secret Service detail moments after a bullet brushed his ear at his July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania Rowe said that about 100 calls had been made for support ahead of the shooting. 'It was a very hot day that day,' Rowe explained. 'There were a lot of - not only EMS type of calls to address people but, there were people that needed some other type of law enforcement assistance.' 'This happens. Candidly happens a lot at outdoor rallies where, especially on hot days,' the acting director continued. 'So there was a lot of traffic, radio traffic on the local net about, "Hey, I need an EMT here." So there were a lot of people that were needing assistance,' Rowe said. Rowe said it was now 'plainly obvious' that the Secret Service didn't have the information they needed, but refused to assign blame. 'It just so happened that there was a sense of urgency, that there might have been radio traffic that we missed,' he said. 'We have to do a better job at that.' During the press conference, which ran under an hour, Rowe revealed that he would 'provide some type of statement that people are being held accountable' when asked if the American public would be informed about firings over the assassination attempt. He also said that all the main principals - Trump, President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Republican vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance and whomever Harris chooses for her VP would all get Secret Service sniper teams at their events going forward. Rowe was also asked about an allegation from a whisteblower that he 'personally directed' cuts to the agency's Counter Surveillance Division, the unit tasked with evaluating event sites in advance. 'I've become aware of this. We got a congressional letter on it. What I can tell you is that the Counter Surveillance Division, they do a fantastic job,' Rowe said. He said that he was aware of the allegations that he had denied requests to utilize them. 'The Counter Surveillance Division has been out there supporting the former president at some very high-profile events. They continue to provide that support and they're out there providing support right now,' Rowe said. When asked to clarify if he cut CSD resources he responded, 'I did not, no.' Vice President Kamala Harris' brother-in-law Tony West and one of her closest political advisors once defended the infamous 'American Taliban' John Walker Lindh, who joined the radical terrorist organization even though he was an American citizen. West, who is married to Harris' sister Maya Harris, is considered one of the vice president's closet political confidants, even though he does not have a formal position with her campaign team. His influence on the campaign is expected to be more prominent as Harris runs for president. West began his career as a lawyer where he took a high-profile defense case in the governments case against Lindh in 2002, after he was found in Afghanistan by U.S. military forces in November 2001. An early convert to Islam, Lindh joined the Taliban and went to Afghanistan and received military training in 2000. Even after 9/11, Lindh remained with the group until he was discovered by American forces and charged for providing assistance for Al Qaeda and the Taliban. West, then a member of San Francisco based law firm Morrison & Foerster, was on Lindh's legal team and fought with the George W. Bush's administration to lower his sentence. Kamala Harris in 2003 with her mother, Shyamala Harris, brother-in-law Tony West and sister, Maya Harris West even spoke with The Washington Post for an extended interview to discuss the case and argue on his client's behalf. 'Whatever John is, he is not a terrorist, and he did not go to Afghanistan to kill Americans, he said. West and his team of lawyers secured a plea deal for Lindh that ended up with him a prison sentence for up to 20 years. Kamala Harris' brother-in-law defended American Taliban' John Walker Lindh in court Tony West and Vice President Kamala Harris Lindh was released in 2019, but was found by the FBI in 2021 to have met three times with a convicted ISIS supporter, Ali Amin. West went on to work for the Justice Department under former President Barack Obama and then-Attorney General Eric Holder. In 2012, West was appointed to oversee the Justice Department policies for detainees suspected of terrorism at the Guantanamo Bay detentions facility. Tony West and Vice President Kamala Harris Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the American Federation of Teachers Since leaving government, West has leveraged his political and legal connections into prominent positions with PepsiCo before joining Uber where he now earns a $10 million annual salary. West also advised Harris during her 2020 campaign, despite advising her not to run for president against her fellow Democrats including former Vice President Joe Biden. Her presidential 2020 primary campaign ultimately devolved into infighting and finger-pointing with no clear leadership and structure, ending before she even made it to the Iowa caucus. West was defensive about his role in her failed campaign, recalling that an old advertisement was in his mind still the best message for the vice president as she sought the presidency. Still my fav political ad. 5 years old and its aged pretty damn well. pic.twitter.com/CJf8fAbu7J Tony West (@tonywest) July 26, 2024 'Still my fav political ad. 5 years old and it's aged pretty damn well,' he wrote on social media just days after Biden dropped out of the race. The teenager who was asked by Huw Edwards to send him explicit photos for 35,000 has said he felt 'groomed' by the disgraced presenter. The young man, who wishes to remain anonymous, was just a teenager when he first began messaging the 62-year-old, and exchanging sexual images for money. Speaking to the Mirror after the recent revelations that Edwards was in possession of 41 child porn images, the now 21-year-old said: 'I've stayed silent for so long to protect Huw, but I feel sick at what has happened.' The boy's mother and stepfather did complained to police in April 2023, but three months later detectives declared that no crime had been committed between the pair. The teenager who was asked by Huw Edwards to send him explicit photos for 35,000 has said he felt 'groomed' by the disgraced presenter The boy's mother and stepfather did complained to police in April 2023, but three months later detectives declared that no crime had been committed between the pair The young man, who actively defended Edwards at the time, has claimed he was in a 'troubled state of mind' when he first reached out to the ex News at Ten anchor The young man, who actively defended Edwards at the time, has claimed he was in a 'troubled state of mind' when he first reached out to the ex News at Ten anchor. He was homeless and in a last ditch attempt for help began messaging celebrities online. Edwards was the only one to respond and sent him 500 for a hotel for a few nights. After this he alleged that Edwards would ask him for things in return, which he felt unable to refuse because of the 'power' of the broadcaster. 'I needed help, so I did. I feel like he sort of fed on my vulnerability as he knew I needed the money. I felt like I was being groomed.' He added: 'I felt like he was taking advantage of me but I felt I had to listen to him because he was Huw Edwards.' It all came crashing down, when the then teenager's mother found the messages between the pair for a rendezvous at Cardiff train station. AS he worked he way up the ladder he become a common sight at royal events, including the wedding of Prince William to Kate Middleton (pictured) Huw Edwards shakes hands with Queen Elizabeth II during a royal visit to BBC Studios in London in June 2013 The newsreader took sanctuary with his mother Aerona (pictured with him) in his beloved Wales in the aftermath of one scandal His step-father went instead to confront Edwards and allegedly filmed him there, which they the used to complain to the BBC on May 18 2023. This comes as footage has been revealed tonight supposedly of Edwards waiting for the teen at Cardiff train station. The mother and stepfather of the man also went to police in South Wales to report Edwards, but were told there was no crime. The man has also alleged that the disgraced presenter tried to secretly contact him again in October 2023, after the scandal had died down. He claimed he received an anonymous message saying 'guess who', before asking to speak through the encrypted app Signal. After he heard the most recent news he said: 'I was in utter shock. I could not believe that this is what he's been doing while I knew him. I can't even believe I've put myself in that situation. I feel disgusted with myself in a way. Like I've had communications with this person.' The former BBC News presenter was surrounded by photographers outside Westminster Magistrates' Court this morning Edwards arrived at court in London this week accused making 41 indecent images of children. In the centre of a media scrum and surrounded by photographers, the silver-haired former BBC star gave nothing away as he walked into the building with dark sunglasses covering his eyes. Inside details of the sick allegations were made public - he had been accused of keeping seven category 'A' images of the very worst kind on his phone after being sent them on WhatsApp by a paedophile. The sick child porn images showed youngsters aged between seven and 14, Westminster Magistrates' Court heard. It was revealed that Edwards had been arrested on November 8 last year and charged on June 26, having kept details of the investigation into him 'secret' from his friends at the BBC. The former broadcaster will be sentenced at the same court on September 16, where he could face a prison sentence. Huw Edwards messaged a young man asking 'did we ever meet?' after his arrest, the Mail can reveal. The fallen BBC star wrote 'my brain is a bit foggy' and asked him to 'jog' his memory. The mysterious message was sent after Edwards was detained by detectives for having child sex abuse images on his phone. At the time, few knew police were investigating him. But behind the scenes, the 439,000-a-year BBC veteran was apparently desperately trying to remember who he had met. The message seen by the Mail, sent on April 6 - five months after his secret arrest - read: 'Hi. Really sorry for the intrusion. I'm just dealing with some housekeeping. My brain is a bit foggy. Did we ever meet in the distant past? I can't remember if we did. Please jog my memory if so. Thanks.' Huw Edwards messaged a young man asking 'did we ever meet?' after his arrest, the Mail can reveal Huw Edwards leaves Westminster Magistrates' Court on July 31, 2024 The young man he sent it to, whom the Mail is calling 'Charlie' to preserve his anonymity, said: 'I had a lot of conversations with Huw. It is very odd that he can't seem to remember. 'This message arrived out of the blue, and it was like he had no idea what was going on. He did not seem to remember any of his actions. 'It just seems utterly bizarre he would send something like that, saying his brain was foggy. He was clearly in such a mess that he just couldn't remember which guy was which. 'I find it remarkable - he was able read the news every night OK pitch perfect, yet couldn't remember who anyone was.' As well as Charlie, who was in his early 20s, the Mail is aware of other young men with whom married father-of-five Edwards was exchanging messages. One of the first messages Charlie - a junior freelance BBC producer - ever received from Edwards on WhatsApp was straight to the point: 'Hello, beauty.' As well as 'Charlie', who was in his early 20s, the Mail is aware of other young men with whom married father-of-five Edwards was exchanging messages Huw Edwards arrives at Westminster Magistrates' Court on July 31, 2024 Charlie regarded the news anchor as a respected veteran of the trade and had followed him on Instagram. It set the scene for 16 months of messaging - exchanged by both parties - and suggestions to meet the junior colleague that Edwards called 'babe', though the pair never ended up meeting. Overall there are more than 350 messages, some of which Edwards signed off with an 'x', and overall the tone is friendly and consensual on both sides. An Air Force veteran has called for the famous Blue Angels air display team to be axed for being too noisy and dirty. Breck Lebegue, a physician who once served as a USAF surgeon, said the 110-decibel roar of the planes put people at risk of deafness. Writing in the Seattle Times, Lebegue also highlighted how the F/A-18 jet display team belch out 670 metric tons of carbon monoxide during two days of displays. He said that was the equivalent to 30 cars each taking a 150,000 mile journey. The Blue Angels are set to appear at Seattle's annual Seafair event this weekend and wow thousands of spectators. Seattle Air Force veteran and doctor Breck LeBegue wants the Blue Angels, pictured above Houston, Texas, in May 2020, to be axed over health and safety fears But the pleasure the jets bring millions annually cut little ice with LeBegue, who wrote: 'Its time to salute and say goodbye to the Blue Angels at Seafair. 'Although we need skilled fighter pilots to defend our nation and our allies from enemies, these airshows cause significant health harm.' LeBegue urged locals to download a decibel measuring app on their phones to record just how loud the Blue Angels are. He warned that prolonged exposure to sound levels above 85 decibels can permanently damage hearing. Jets identical to those used by the the Blue Angels are partly-based at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island near Seattle, with Lebegue claiming 74,000 locals were at risk of 'averse health effects' due to the roar of their engines. US Air Force veteran and doctor Breck LeBegue, pictured, wants the jets axed Quoting a scientific study, he explained: 'Of those exposed, substantial numbers were estimated to be highly annoyed and highly sleep-disturbed, and several schools were exposed to levels that place them at risk of delay in childhood learning.' LeBegue went on to say that letting the Blue Angels take to the skies over Seattle flies in the face of the progressive city's attempts to go green. Local officials want to slash greenhouse gases by 30 percent between 2008 and 2030. The Blue Angels are pictured flying over the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco in October 2023 The US Navy's iconic display team was created in 1946, but Lebegue says the carbon emissions the jets belch out are just too bad for the planet The medic claimed ditching the Blue Angels was a form of 'harm reduction.' He added: 'Thank the Blue Angels for their service and past shows, say goodbye and move on to quiet planes, cleaner air and healthy family fun. 'Lets honor the past and define the future. Lets reimagine Seafair without the Angels.' The Blue Angels, whose formal name is the US Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, was formed in 1946 as a means of promoting the US Navy and entertaining Americans. Based in Pensacola, Florida, the Blue Angels perform at least 60 shows across the United States each year often in the country's most scenic locations. At the height of the first COVID outbreak in 2020, the Blue Angels embarked on a tour across American cities to thank essential workers. Huw Edwards invited a young man to his dressing room at the Royal Albert Hall where he was hosting the Festival of Remembrance attended by Prince Charles, Camilla and William. The BBC veteran messaged him: 'Come and see me,' and 'Backstage. Dressing Room 4' as the former voice-to-the-nation waited to present the Royal British Legion's stirring annual tribute to victims of war. The event honours the Armed Forces community for their service and sacrifice, and was performed in the presence of the now King Charles, his wife, Prince William and Kate, the Princess Royal and her husband Sir Tim Laurence, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, and Prince and Princess Michael of Kent in the royal box. The former BBC newscaster saw his 40year career spectacularly implode this week when he pleaded guilty to having the most severe type of child sex abuse pictures on his phone. Edwards, married with five children, liked to swap messages with younger men and has been accused of 'hiding in plain sight' at the corporation. Huw Edwards invited a young man to his dressing room at the Royal Albert Hall where he was hosting the Festival of Remembrance The event honours the Armed Forces community for their service and sacrifice, and was performed in the presence of the now King Charles , his wife, Prince William and Kate, the Princess Royal and her husband Sir Tim Laurence , the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, and Prince and Princess Michael of Kent in the royal box The Mail told yesterday how Edwards, 62, suggested to one young producer whom we are naming 'Charlie' he could have stayed in his plush BBC-funded hotel suite on the eve of Prince Philip's funeral in Windsor during the Covid restrictions of April 2021. It was around this time that Edwards started to receive indecent images from a South Wales paedophile, Westminister Magistrates' Court heard this week. Today Charlie reveals how he was invited to the BBC star's dressing room at the Royal Albert Hall seven months later. Backstage prior to the performance on November 13, 2021, the day before Remembrance Sunday, Edwards was getting ready when Charlie, with whom he had exchanged WhatsApp messages for months, told him he had tickets to the Festival, prompting Edwards to offer the dressing room invitation. 'Easier said than done,' messaged back Charlie. 'I have general-admission tickets.' Edwards replied: 'Well, tell me when you're here.' Huw Edwards arriving at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Wednesday July 31 However the pair did not meet, and Edwards went on stage at 9pm to compere the spectacular, which featured the Band of the Royal Marines, the Royal Air Force and the Soul Sanctuary Gospel Choir. A log of WhatsApp messages, seen by the Mail, shows that 17 minutes after the finale, Edwards sent a photo of himself on stage to Charlie. It was a copy of the Royal British Legion's social media post saying: 'Thank you @TheHuwEdwards for being such a great host!' Edwards wrote: 'Was expecting you to knock my door...I was really looking forward to meeting you actually.' Charlie now says: 'I thought it was friendly but, looking back, it feels totally inappropriate. It shows a lack of respect and disregard for the importance of the occasion. 'When I saw all the stuff that has come out this week, I thought this is just all so unbelievable. It just keeps getting worse for him.' Charlie also revealed that Edwards messaged him again after being detained by detectives for having child sex abuse images on his phone. The Mail told yesterday how Edwards, 62, suggested to one young producer whom we are naming 'Charlie' he could have stayed in his plush BBC-funded hotel suite on the eve of Prince Philip 's funeral in Windsor during the Covid restrictions of April 2021 The former BBC newscaster saw his 40year career spectacularly implode this week when he pleaded guilty to having the most severe type of child sex abuse pictures on his phone At the time, few knew police were investigating him. But behind the scenes, the 439,000-a-year BBC veteran was apparently desperately trying to remember who he had met. The message seen by the Mail, sent on April 6 - five months after his secret arrest - read: 'Hi. Really sorry for the intrusion. I'm just dealing with some housekeeping. My brain is a bit foggy. Did we ever meet in the distant past? I can't remember if we did. Please jog my memory if so. Thanks.' Charlie told the Mail: 'I had a lot of conversations with Huw. It is very odd that he can't seem to remember. 'This message arrived out of the blue, and it was like he had no idea what was going on. He did not seem to remember any of his actions. 'It just seems utterly bizarre he would send something like that, saying his brain was foggy. He was clearly in such a mess that he just couldn't remember which guy was which. 'I find it remarkable - he was able read the news every night OK pitch perfect, yet couldn't remember who anyone was.' As well as Charlie, who was in his early 20s, the Mail is aware of other young men with whom married father-of-five Edwards was exchanging messages. The Labour Government has provoked fury after implementing a 'secret arms embargo' on Israel. Foreign Secretary David Lammy had claimed no decision will be made on weapons exports before 'careful assessments of the law'. He is expected to bring in a ban on offensive weapons his party claims could be linked to alleged war crimes but delayed his decision until later this summer. However, the Mail can reveal civil servants have frozen all applications for new arms export licences pending the outcome of his review. It means firms cannot even get permission for contracts for items such as military radios or body armour until a decision is made which could take months. This effectively puts Israel on a par with Iran and North Korea despite being Britain's most vital ally in the Middle East which is at war with Hamas and Hezbollah. Foreign Secretary David Lammy had claimed no decision will be made on weapons exports before 'careful assessments of the law' Iranians burn a representation of the Israeli flag during the funeral ceremony of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and his bodyguard who were killed in an assassination blamed on Israel on Wednesday Shadow Foreign Secretary Andrew Mitchell called the move 'bizarre' given Iran is believed to be on the verge of launching an attack against Israel. He said: 'Our close ally Israel is under direct threat from Hezbollah, who murdered 12 children in a missile attack last weekend. Just recently British arms and military personnel were deployed to protect Israel from a direct assault by Iran' Colonel Richard Kemp, former commander of UK forces in Afghanistan, said it was a 'secret arms embargo', adding: 'It is disgraceful Labour have said they're doing one thing, reviewing the situation, and at the same time imposing what is effectively an arms embargo on Israel.' The policy does not affect weapons being exported under deals already signed off. But defence trade body representatives have been told no new requests for licences will proceed until a decision is made by the Government. A source said: 'It means any new licence requests are put into Room 101 indefinitely. 'For years the Labour Left have sought to halt all arms exports to Israel, and now they have the levers of power it seems it's the first thing they have done.' Shadow Foreign Secretary Andrew Mitchell (pictured with David Lammy) called the move 'bizarre' given Iran is believed to be on the verge of launching an attack against Israel Colonel Richard Kemp, former commander of UK forces in Afghanistan, said it was a 'secret arms embargo' The latest revelation risks overshadowing Defence Secretary John Healey's first visit to Israel. He arrived in Tel Aviv yesterday to meet his counterpart Yoav Gallant and 'discussed the important defence ties between Israel and the UK'. But news that fresh export licences have been frozen is likely to provoke fury in Israel. The Government said: 'It is vital we uphold both our domestic and international legal obligations when it comes to arms exports. 'We are reviewing the advice available and will come to a considered decision.' A defiant Scouse pensioner took to the streets of Liverpool to defend a mosque from 'far-right protesters' amid another night of rioting in Britain. Pat, 71, was part of the counter-protest that gathered on West Derby Road on Friday evening to oppose a planned demonstration outside the Abdullah Quilliam Mosque. The grandmother from Toxteth, Liverpool was carrying a 'Nans against Nazis sign'. Dozens of police officers were forced to separate the two protests that gathered on either side of the road this evening. The scenes come as as Britain descended into another night of rioting on Friday evening with a police station set ablaze in Sunderland. Far-right activist Tommy Robinson gloated 'you should have listened, Kier' as far-right rioters ransacked the city in the north east. The protests follow disorder earlier in the week in Hartlepool and London in response to the tragic stabbings in Southport where three young girls were stabbed to death. Pat, 71, was part of the counter-protest that gathered on West Derby Road on Friday evening to oppose a planned demonstration outside the Abdullah Quilliam Mosque Police officers stand guard between protesters defending the Abdullah Quilliam Mosque in Liverpool on August 3, 2024 against the 'Enough is Enough' demonstration Pat, 71, from Toxteth, was one of hundreds of counter-protesters who gathered on West Derby Road on Friday evening to oppose a planned far-right protest Police officers stand guard outside a mosque during a protest in Liverpool Pat, 71, from Toxteth, was one of hundreds of counter-protesters who gathered on West Derby Road on Friday evening Pat said she had come down to the counter-protest to 'support the mosque' if far-right protesters turn up. She added: 'I've been doing this for years. It started with coming out against the National Front in the 1970s. We've got to show them we're not afraid. 'I've been told to stop coming to things like this but I won't stop now. These people are just vicious thugs; there's nothing political in what they're doing.' In a statement issued on Friday, Merseyside Police said it was 'aware of online speculation' surrounding future protests in Merseyside following the violent scenes in Southport on Tuesday. Jeanette and Emma were also at the counter protest. Emma said: 'I'm very angry that the far right exploited the tragedy in Southport. They don't represent the views of Liverpool.' Jeanette added: 'Our hearts go out to the victims. We're here to say we're not divided. We're not scapegoating people of colour. 'We're saying no so we can have safety on our streets. Coming here is about unity and saying no to racism. We won't put up with it in Liverpool.' In Sunderland on Friday a fresh wave of violent mayhem erupted - with thugs smashing cars and clashing with riot police after surrounding a mosque and hurling bricks at cops. Flames were seen engulfing the central police office on Waterloo Place as rioters were seen overturning tables and furniture inside. Rioters overturned a car before setting it alight in Sunderland town centre, while other yobs sprayed fire extinguisher foam on armed police officers. Dozens of police separate counter-protesters from the far right demonstrators in Liverpool A police officer speaks to a group of protesters who gathered for the 'Enough is Enough' demonstration Pat holds her placard as protesters defend a mosque in Liverpool Police officers stand guard as people take part in a protest outside a mosque in Liverpool Thugs were also seen spraying cans of beer all over a police vehicle in the town centre, while shouting 'let's have it' and 'it's our country'. Another police car was seen with its window smashed. Others were seen waving union flags and chanting support for far-right activist Tommy Robinson, amid concerns that extremist groups are looking to trigger a fresh wave of violence. Officers with shields were seen protecting the Sunderland's Millfield Mosque as a large mob surrounded the place of worship. In an update on the disorder, Northumbria Police said: 'Our officers are continuing to deal with ongoing disorder and have been subjected to serious violence. 'The scenes that we are seeing are completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated. 'Ensuring the public's safety is our utmost priority.' Protesters from a group called Youth Alliance were seen holding a union jack banner with the words 'Stop mass immigration. Save British Youth. How many more British need to die?' Yobs were also seen throwing bricks at police on horses. Another crowd was filmed surrounding and attacking a private hire taxi in the town centre. Sunderland Central MP Lewis Atkinson said he was 'appalled' by disorder in the city centre on Friday night. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, he said: 'Our city is not represented by a tiny minority causing trouble. Protesters spray fire extinguishers at riot police officers during scenes of unrest in Sunderland this evening Scenes of unrest as protesters gather in Sunderland this evening Firefighters tackle the blaze at the police facility on Waterloo Place Police officers form a wall across a road as protests erupted in Sunderland on Friday night Huge flames erupting from Sunderland's Central Police Station after it was attacked by thugs on Friday night Firefighters tackle damage from the blaze following violence in Sunderland Firefighters and police outside Sunderland Central Police Office in the aftermath of the attack Riots have ignited in Sunderland in the aftermath of the stabbing in Southport. Pictured: An overturned car on fire Firefighters in Sunderland cordon off roads while they tackle the inferno set by rioters on the city's police station '(Northumbria Police) have my full support as they respond to criminal thuggery and work to protect all the communities of our city. 'Tomorrow the people of Sunderland will come together and continue to build the bright future that we have - a future where every community of our city feels safe and prospers.' The action is the latest following the stabbing in Southport in which three young children were killed and eight others suffered knife wounds. Violence erupted after a remembrance vigil for Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, on Tuesday thugs travelled into the seaside town and centred a riot around the local mosque - whose windows were smashed in a brutal attack. It comes after false online speculation that the three little girls killed in the knife rampage at a Taylor Swift holiday camp died at the hands of an asylum seeker who had travelled to the UK on a boat. The claims are thought to have originated from a Russia-linked fake news outlet. Even seasoned observers of geopolitics were taken by surprise. But behind the scenes, months of nail-bitingly tense negotiations, near misses and fraught moral compromises had been playing out in the run-up to the largest East-West prisoner swap for decades. Not since the Cold War, when secret agents and political prisoners would be routinely exchanged on Berlins Bridge of Spies, have so many captives been traded. The remarkably complex deal, which saw 24 inmates freed from prisons in seven countries, had previously collapsed and was in doubt until just before it was sealed. Among those released were two captives holding British citizenship, eight Russian agents, four Americans, five Germans and five Russian anti-Putin activists. In the twilight hours of his presidency, embattled Joe Biden played the pacifier as Western officials bickered over terms. U.S. journalist Evan Gershkovich, who was released from detention in Russia, waves upon his arrival at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, US on Thursday U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris greet Evan Gershkovich, who was released from detention in Russia, upon his arrival to the US on Thursday Gershkovich is embraced by his mother Ella Milman, upon his arrival at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, US on Thursday In particular, the Germans were reluctant to release Kremlin assassin Vadim Krasikov who shot dead a Chechen exile in Berlin five years ago reportedly fearing any swap would become business model for Russia. But in hush-hush meetings on the fringes of other diplomatic gatherings, President Biden eventually convinced Chancellor Olaf Scholz to agree to it. According to analysts, this was the moral compromise and it could prove to have lasting implications. Because if Vladimir Putin was previously unsure about whether he could recover valued henchmen, he no longer harbours any doubts on that score. It was a backstairs deal, if ever there was one. Due to Russias illegal invasion and occupation of Ukraine, East-West relations are at their worst for decades. Yet as this exchanged proved, spymasters in London, Washington and Moscow are still talking to each other. Throughout the negotiations, shadowy officials set up a special channel to discuss the various prisoner proposals. The exchange took place in the Turkish capital of Ankara on Thursday. The country has previously acted as a mediator for prisoner exchanges between Russia and the West A Russian Tupolev Tu-204-300 aircraft prepares to land at Ankara Esenboga Airport in Ankara amid the exchange Former US marine Paul Whelan has also been released as part of the major prisoner swap Radio journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, who was arrested in October last year and charged with failing to register as a foreign agent, has also been released President Biden shared this photo shortly after the release with the caption: 'After enduring unimaginable suffering and uncertainty, the Americans detained in Russia are safe, free, and have begun their journeys back into the arms of their families' Among the detainees discussed was former US Marine Paul Whelan, a citizen of four countries, including Britain. He had been visiting Moscow to attend a wedding in December 2018 when he was arrested by balaclava-wearing Kremlin hoods who accused him of espionage. Mr Whelan spent 2,043 days in custody, singing national anthems to raise his spirits and was known to joke that the Russians thought they had arrested James Bond when actually they had detained Mr Bean. His ordeal finally ended at a quarter to midnight local time when a plane carrying him, Wall Street Journal correspondent Evan Gershkovich and others landed at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. Mr Whelan was the first to be greeted by Mr Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris. He saluted before shaking their hands. Months earlier it looked as if the deal had collapsed following the death of Putin critic and political rival Alexei Navalny, who perished in a Russian prison cell in February. Alsu Kurmasheva, second from left, is greeted by family members after she arrived at Kelly Field after she was released by Russia Former prisoners released by Russia including Evan Gershkovich, former US marine Paul Whelan and journalist Alsu Kurmasheva pose after landing at Joint Base San Antonio-Kelly Field, Texas, on August 2 Previously, Germany had been willing to trade Krasikov to secure Mr Navalnys safety. But when he died, many observers thought the exchange would expire with him. Work to resuscitate the deal began immediately after his death at the Munich security conference and continued even as Mr Biden undertook his disastrous TV debate against Donald Trump. On July 19, a Russian court found Mr Gershkovich guilty of spying and sentenced him to 16 years in a top-security detention centre. To the outside world, it had all the appearances of a devastating blow to the journalist. But those really in the know suspected otherwise. Prior to prisoner swaps, the Moscow authorities traditionally sentence to crushingly long prison terms those they are actually soon to release. Mr Gershkovich and the others received pardons yesterday as they finally tasted freedom. After more than 65 years of service to the country, Prince Philip stepped down from royal duties seven years ago today. In a stoic last act, the then 96-year-old tipped his bowler hat, waved to the crowds and walked away as For He's a Jolly Good Fellow was played by the band of the Royal Marines. As Captain General of the elite Navy regiment, the late Duke of Edinburgh attended a parade at Buckingham Palace to mark the final of the 1664 Global Challenge, which raises money for charity. Looking at the group of marines he made them laugh with the characteristically mischievous quip: 'You all should be locked up.' It was a fitting way to end his decades of dedicated work as both the husband of Queen Elizabeth II and as a Royal Navy sailor before that. When he died on April 9, 2021 aged 99, the outpouring of grief reflected his beloved status both among family members and in the eyes of millions across the world. Prince Philip pictured bowing out after his final engagement, August 2, 2017. As Captain General of the elite Navy regiment, the late Duke of Edinburgh attended a parade at Buckingham Palace to mark the final of the 1664 Global Challenge, which raises money for charity The Duke pictured with Queen Elizabeth on his last official duty with his wife on July 12, 2017. He joined her as she welcomed the King and Queen of Spain at a ceremony on Horseguards Parade Philip is said to have made made the decision to retire because he feared becoming increasingly frail in public. His life-long friend and relative, Lady Myra Butter, who died in 2022, told the Mail: 'He always used to say, quite openly, "I'm past my sell-by date"'. The end of his career was announced in a statement by Buckingham Palace in May 2017. It read: 'The Duke of Edinburgh has decided that he will no longer carry out public engagements from the autumn of this year. 'In taking this decision, The Duke has the full support of The Queen. 'The Duke of Edinburgh is Patron, President or a member of over 780 organisations, with which he will continue to be associated, although he will no longer play an active role by attending engagements'. On the day of the announcement, Philip was attending an engagement at St James' Palace. When a guest told him how sorry he was to hear he was standing down, Philip joked: 'Well I can't stand up for much longer.' Before the official announcement, Philip said to celebrity cook Prue Leith, 'I'm discovering what it's like to be on your last legs'. During his final Trooping the Colour, on June 17, 2017, Philip was pictured smiling with Catherine, then the Duchess of Cambridge Prince Philip outside Buckingham Palace during his final engagement, August 2, 2017 The Duke, who was the Captain General of the Royal Marines, cheekily said to a group of troops, 'You should all be locked up' Philip pictured talking to marines during his final engagement in 2017 By the time he stepped down, he had carried out around 22,220 solo engagements, gone on 637 foreign trips and given 5,493 speeches since 1947. Known for his no-nonsense approach, he was the longest-serving consort in British history and also the oldest serving partner of a reigning monarch. Philip ended his active naval career in July 1951 and then started to focus on his work in supporting the Queen following her accession to the throne in 1952. He thus became defined by his relationship with the Queen, and the devoted support he gave her throughout her reign. The Duke was a constant companion to the Queen on engagements, state visits and in private. His devotion never went unnoticed and in a touching but rare personal tribute during a speech to mark the couple's 50th wedding anniversary in 1997, the Queen described Philip as her 'strength and stay'. Recalling the pair's five decades serving the country together, she said: 'I have done my best, with Prince Philip's constant love and help. 'He is someone who doesn't take easily to compliments but he has, quite simply, been my strength and stay all these years, and I, and his whole family, and this and many other countries, owe him a debt greater than he would ever claim, or we shall ever know.' Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip pictured together on their wedding day in 1947 Prince Philip and the Queen pictured together before they were married, at the wedding of Elizabeth's lady-in-waiting in 1946 Prince Philip was associated with 992 organisations over his decades-long career and The Duke of Edinburgh Award, which he founded in 1956, proved to be perhaps his greatest legacy. It now operates in more than 140 countries. After his retirement, Philip lived at Wood Farm, the cottage on the Queen's Sandringham Estate in Norfolk. According to the Daily Mail, Philip 'loved' his time there, as he spent his time reading, painting watercolours, writing letters and having friends to stay. When the Coronavirus pandemic struck, he moved back to Windsor to be with the Queen. But he was able to return to his beloved Wood Farm once again and even spent three weeks there with the Queen in the summer of 2020. He died at Windsor just days after a final stay in hospital. He amassed a 9.5billion fortune and acquired trophy properties in London, Los Angeles, Hong Kong and Shanghai, dropping in on them by private jet a Gulfstream G550, which comes, when new, with a 48million price tag. He also found time to glad hand Princes William and Harry when they played in the charity polo tournament he sponsored at Beaufort Polo Club. But now the entire empire of property mogul Pan Sutong including Asia's tallest building, a 117-storey tower standing 1,957ft or twice the height of The Shard in London is imploding, amid a slew of legal battles, prompting distress about the ease with which Sutong, 61, was able to ingratiate himself with the royal princes. 'We were all shocked that he was allowed anywhere near the royals,' a polo aficionado tells me, explaining that many in the sport had longstanding doubts about the brash billionaire. 'We didn't want anything to do with him because he seemed like a questionable character,' adds the insider, whose misgivings appeared justified. Alarm: Sources are uneasy about the ease with which property mogul Pan Sutong, 61, was able to ingratiate himself with Prince William and Prince Harry Rise and fall: Pan Sutong amassed a 9.5billion fortune and acquired trophy properties in London, Los Angeles , Hong Kong and Shanghai, dropping in on them by private jet a Gulfstream G550, which comes with a 48million price tag - but now his empire is imploding In 2005, the Hong Kong authorities found that the owners of nearly a third of the shares in Sutong's company, Goldin Financial, could not be identified. Sutong, who owned 70 per cent of the company, calmly said that he had no idea who they were. In another rare interview, Sutong, who'd shelled out 10million for three vineyards in Bordeaux and 39million for a prized winery in California's Napa Valley, radiated unassailable confidence. 'In line with our group's motto, "Go Beyond", I like the idea of reaching for something that might look unreachable,' he explained. By then, he'd reached William and Harry, courtesy of his sponsorship at Beaufort Polo Club, just over a mile from Highgrove, King Charles's Gloucestershire retreat. Troubled: Pan Sutong's company Goldin Financial has been laid to rest de-listed from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange after liquidators were called in The club was where William had received expert polo instruction from Claire Tomlinson, one of the world's greatest players. He was among the mourners at her funeral in 2022. Since then, Goldin Financial has also been laid to rest de-listed from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange after liquidators were called in. Sutong's monumental tower stands empty and unlikely ever to be finished arguably the most eloquent commentary on his affairs. 'There's no question that he milked his royal connections,' muses my polo informant. 'It's disgraceful that he was given the opportunity to do so.' A Texas middle school has banned head-to-toe black clothing as students are poised to return to the classroom in the coming days. Leaders at the El Paso school claim they made the decision because dressing in all black is associated with depression and mental health. However, parents are already pushing back and claiming the school is misdirected. The new dress code at Charles Middle School was unveiled to parents, in a letter informing them of the guidelines effective on Monday, the first day of school. 'We are also eliminating a look that has taken over on campus with students wearing black tops with black bottoms, which has become more associated with depression and mental health issues and/or criminality than with happy and healthy kids ready to learn,' Principal Nicholas DeSantis announced, according to the local Fox station. He added that the decision had been made by parents, teachers and community stakeholders. Norma De La Rosa, the president of El Paso Teachers Association explained black garments would still be allowed, so long as the student didn't wore other colors as well. 'What they are not allowing for students to wear clothing that is black from top to bottom,' De La Rosa told the local station. 'They can wear black shorts to go to PE. And they can wear it on free dress day, but they just cannot wear it from top to bottom.' It's unclear whether the school was targeting a specific type of group, such as emo kids, who are known to dress in all black and even sport black make-up or following the lead of many school nationwide who have banned all-black due to its affiliation with school shooters. Columbine Shooters Eric Harris, Left, And Dylan Klebold Appear On A Surveillance Tape In The Cafeteria At Columbine High Schoolin 1999 Charles Middle School banned head-to-toe black clothing in its new dress code After the 1999 Columbine mass shooting in Colorado, lead by two students who were known to dress in black and wear trench coats every day, schools across the country banned all-black dressing, according to the Atlantic. The school also prohibited sweatshirts with hoods and pockets in order to eliminate 'opportunities for students to hide, use, and distribute items that they should not have in school.' However, criticism for the dress code was harsh. 'Wow, this middle school cured depression in adolescents. Cheers to them,' quipped @pjcastellanos on a local social media Instagram account. 'You can be depressed in a pink of rainbow outfit,' added @arelyhepburn. Another told of how dressing in all-black in his youth actually helped him. 'As an elder emo I wore black to make me feel comfortable and it helped me with mental illness,' @notyourbaaby shared. Rosas responded to the backlash by acknowledging banning a color wasn't going to cure mental illness, but encouraged parents to familiarize themselves with the new dress code. Cybercriminals could cripple the US by targeting just 10 critical components in an electrical network, experts have revealed. The attack would begin with 'a series of cascading failures,' first shutting down essential service providers, like 911 call centers and healthcare providers, and then spreading to critical infrastructure. Americans would lose access to energy, water, financial services, public transportation and cell phone networks, resulting in severe ramifications. Morgan Wright, a former senior advisor in antiterrorism at the US State Department, told DailyMail.com that 'civil unrest' and a 'breakdown in the social order' would soon follow. Cybercriminals could cripple the US by targeting just 10 critical components in an electrical network, experts have revealed The world had a taste of what a cyberattack could do when a flawed update was issued by cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike last month, causing 8.5 million Windows computers to malfunction. The misstep impacted airlines, banks, supermarkets, TV stations, and many other industries worldwide. Microsoft experienced a second outage on Tuesday, which impacted many of its services and companies that use its tech for about 10 hours. The tech giant later admitted that its services were taken down by a Distributed Denial of Service (DDOS) attack that was 'amplified' by an error in the company's cyber defenses. Eric O'Neill, a former FBI counterterrorism and counterintelligence operative, told DailyMail.com that foreign spies have spent over a decade looking for security holes in infrastructure to leverage for conducting catastrophic cyber attacks. They have already found ways to disrupt America's fuel, power, water, communications, and education systems as they look to exploit our reliance on these essential resources, he continued. An attack of this kind would have dire consequences for US citizens, such as even killing Americans on their soil, warned Nicholas Reese, a cyber expert and adjunct instructor at the Center for Global Affairs at New York University. The attack would begin with 'a series of cascading failures,' first shutting down essential service providers, like 911 call centers and healthcare providers Hospitals would see a disruption in intensive care units and operating rooms, causing medical equipment to falter and patient deaths He explained that a cyberattack on 911 call centers would deprive patients of urgent medical care. Meanwhile, hospitals would see a disruption in intensive care units and operating rooms, causing medical equipment to falter and patient deaths. 'Deliberate large-scale attacks on critical infrastructure would not be executed with the goal of inconvenience,' Reese said. 'They would be executed to cause domestic turmoil as a means of power projection.' Describing an attack on this scale as a 'significant act of aggression' against America, Reese suggested it would require a serious response from the government. That could mean the nation is dragged into a military conflict with the perpetrator. Cybercriminals are aware that taking control of essential resources, like energy and water, would be the way to cripple the nation, the experts said. This was experienced in 2021 when a hacker group known as DarkSide shut down the Colonial Pipeline that supplies oil to much of the US East Coast. The five-day disruption caused localized shortages of gasoline, diesel fuel and jet fuel, which led to panic-buying as consumers feared gas would run out. 'We saw a microcosm of how citizens would respond during the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack,' explained Wright. 'There was a run on gasoline because of a 'perceived' shortage of energy, not an actual one. 'The unrest only took hours to swell because of social media and incorrect reports of what actually happened.' Cybercriminals are aware that taking control of essential resources, like energy and water, would be the way to cripple the nation, the experts said. This was experienced in 2021 when a hacker group known as DarkSide shut down the Colonial Pipeline that supplies oil to much of the US East Coast The five-day disruption caused localized shortages of gasoline, diesel fuel and jet fuel, which led to panic-buying as consumers feared gas would run out. Picture shows a long line at a gas station in Georgia In light of the Colonial Pipeline chaos, O'Neill believes that a cyberattack on US power supplies would have a similar ripple effect for all Americans. 'Without power, citizens would lose communications, air-conditioning, heat, water when we turn the tap and lights when we flick the switch,' he said. 'Business would grind to a halt, finances would be unavailable and hospitals would be unable to provide care, and so much more.' To conduct such an attack, O'Neill said the perpetrator would likely target the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) networks, which help manage industrial equipment because they are easy targets due to insufficient cybersecurity and outdated software. 'The orchestrated attack would require numerous, synchronized attacks against different components of the power grid' he explained. 'But with our networked economy and supply chain, taking down just one major section of the US power grid would throw the country into chaos.' In light of the Colonial Pipeline chaos, O'Neill believes that a cyberattack on US power supplies would have a similar ripple effect for all Americans. It would cause blackouts across the nation A final element could be physical attacks on American power transmission and switching stations, added O'Neill. 'Attackers would only need to target nine or ten key nodes within the United States to potentially collapse the grid,' he said. While a deliberate cyber attack launched by an enemy state or cyber-criminal group could hinder national infrastructure, an accidental IT outage or system failure would be just as damaging. These types of outages show how a 'lack of resilience' and 'over-reliance on single sources of technology and software' can disrupt essential industries and the lives of many, explained Wright. 'Despite all of the preparedness and threat mitigation, it was an unintentional action that highlighted the weakness in all critical sectors,' he said. Despite the grave nature of these threats, some believe that the US government isn't taking them seriously enough. 'The government could certainly do more to prepare the United States for a catastrophic attack, plan for and assess the response to such an attack, and prepare ahead of the attack by hardening our critical infrastructure,' said O'Neill. When asked how the security of US national infrastructure can be strengthened, O'Neill said more investment and collaboration between the federal government, state officials, and industry are essential steps. Lawmakers should also compel critical infrastructure companies and agencies to follow strict cybersecurity standards and zero-trust approaches to authenticate outside parties' identities before granting them access to their computer networks and resources, added O'Neill. 'Grants and funding can be applied by the government for the investment,' he continued. 'Key transmission points and power stations must be hardened and made resilient to attack.' As these threats increase in scale and complexity, O'Neill said a nationwide effort is needed to ensure critical services and infrastructure are resilient enough to 'operate under pressure'. 'When a hospital is attacked, it must be able to function without the Internet. Water utilities should be manually manageable when operations centers come under attack,' he concluded. 'Power grids should be more redundant and less reliant on aged transmission paths and models. Everything from schools to grocery stores should have backup systems and the ability to disconnect from online portals and third-party applications to continue services.' Paris Hilton doesn't appear to be running low on looks during her stylish family vacation. The Paris in Love star, 43, modeled several bikini looks on Wednesday while yachting off the coast of Saint Tropez, before serving even more stunning resort looks on land. '#Chasin' brings me all the summer vacation vibes,' Hilton captioned photos with her family at their waterfront stay. 'Nothing like being in paradise with my #CutesieCrew.' She was previously photographed with her brood on a yacht, filming social media content while busting out all her summer looks. Hilton donned a dark star-spangled string bikini as she posed for some photos with husband Carter Reum and their 1-year-old son Phoenix Barron. Paris Hilton modeled several bikini looks on Wednesday while yachting off the coast of Saint Tropez with her family, before serving even more stunning resort looks on land '#Chasin' brings me all the summer vacation vibes,' Hilton captioned photos with her family at their waterfront stay. 'Nothing like being in paradise with my #CutesieCrew' The VEEV co-founder, 43, kissed his wife on the cheek in one photo while holding their son. They also share daughter London Marilyn, 8 months, after tying the knot in November 2021. Hilton wore the look with a Chanel bandanna around her head, dark chunky sunglasses and a clear pink crossbody bag while filming a video. She was also photographed slipping on a sheer black robe over the swimsuit. While running around the boat, Hilton was seen wearing a skintight leopard-print top with her bikini bottoms. The Simple Life alum was later spotted enjoying some ice cream after changing into another bikini printed with pink hearts. She accessorized the look with a pink bandanna and a pair of matching pink cat-eye sunglasses. Hilton served yet another look in a ripped sheer black coverup, the pink bag and the Chanel bandanna around her neck this time. The mother of two finished the look with a black and white trucker hat, a nod to her early aughts style. She was previously photographed with her brood on a yacht, filming social media content while busting out all her summer looks Hilton donned a dark star-spangled string bikini as she posed for some photos with husband Carter Reum and their 1-year-old son Phoenix Barron The VEEV co-founder, 43, kissed his wife on the cheek in one photo while holding their son They also share daughter London Marilyn, 8 months, after tying the knot in November 2021 Hilton wore the look with a Chanel bandanna around her head, dark chunky sunglasses and a clear pink crossbody bag while filming a video She was also photographed slipping on a sheer black robe over the swimsuit While running around the boat, Hilton was seen wearing a skintight leopard-print top with her bikini bottoms The Simple Life alum was later spotted enjoying some ice cream after changing into another bikini printed with pink hearts She accessorized the look with a pink bandanna and a pair of matching pink cat-eye sunglasses Hilton served yet another look in a ripped sheer black coverup, the pink bag and the Chanel bandanna around her neck this time. The mother of two finished the look with a black and white trucker hat, a nod to her early aughts style She was later seen wearing a floral pastel top with a matching pink skirt while donning a helmet and life preserver Hilton was suited up to ride a jet-propelled surfboard in the middle of the ocean while they were anchored She was later seen wearing a floral pastel top with a matching pink skirt while donning a helmet and life preserver. Hilton was suited up to ride a jet-propelled surfboard in the middle of the ocean while they were anchored. The 'Stars Are Blind' artist later shared photos from their stay on land, where she looked Golden Girls chic in a sheer turquoise floral-print robe. She accessorized the look with a matching headband as she and Reum held their kids while posing in front of the lit-up pool at night. For the daytime, Hilton donned a plunging flowy white dress with ruffled short sleeves and an ankle-length skirt with floral embroidery. The House of Wax actress finished the look with a white wide-brim hat, matching sunglasses and pearl earrings. She also wore a sheer black dress with matching heart-shaped sunglasses and a blue and white Christian Dior headband. The 'Stars Are Blind' artist later shared photos from their stay on land, where she looked Golden Girls chic in a sheer turquoise floral-print robe She accessorized the look with a matching headband as she and Reum held their kids while posing in front of the lit-up pool at night For the daytime, Hilton donned a plunging flowy white dress with ruffled short sleeves and an ankle-length skirt with floral embroidery The House of Wax actress finished the look with a white wide-brim hat, matching sunglasses and pearl earrings She also wore a sheer black dress with matching heart-shaped sunglasses and a blue and white Christian Dior headband Hilton shared a glimpse of Phoenix and London in the photos Both kids had their own Barbie movie gear Hilton shared a glimpse of Phoenix and London in the photos, both decked out in their Barbie movie gear. Before sharing the first photos of London in April, Reum explained why they hadn't shown her face yet. 'Not quite ready to share her w the world but she's adorable and looks just like [her] mamma,' he wrote in response to an Instagram comment. Hilton previously admitted that she hopes her kids 'won't be as addicted to social media as I am' as she appeared on a panel in March. 'I just want my children just to feel just so loved and seen and want to be that next generation of someone that brings positivity to the world and just to have big hearts and big loving,' she explained. 'That's something that's really important to me,' added Hilton. 'And also to live a world outside of social media and being on their phone all the time.' Sarah Jessica Parker was spotted in New York this week, returning to work on her Sex And The City spin-off And Just Like That.... The 59-year-old was in France last Friday to catch the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics with her husband Matthew Broderick and their children. Now, after lending her celebrity luster to the rain-sodden festivities, she has jetted home to get back into the Carrie Bradshaw role that made her a TV icon. She served up a generous helping of cleavage in a summery pink dress that was cinched in to flatter her impressively lithe figure. Leaning into her character's love of splashy shoes, she could be seen balancing expertly on a towering pair of strappy leather heels. Sarah Jessica Parker was spotted in New York this week, returning to work on her Sex And The City spin-off And Just Like That .... The ensemble was garnished with a print jacket and what appeared to be a string of pearls, plus a trendily chunky brown handbag. Sarah flashed her unmistakably sprightly smile as she leaned on the railing of a Manhattan stoop - an standard Carrie Bradshaw hangout. In between takes, she could be spotted cooling herself down in the summer heat with a swig of seltzer water, as a crew member held a fan up to her. Less than one week earlier, she was spotted in Paris braving a torrential downpour to watch the outdoor opening ceremony of the Olympics. She and her longtime husband, The Lion King star Matthew Broderick, brought along their son James, 21, and their twin daughters Tabitha and Marion, 15. James uploaded an Insta Stories photo that showed his mother mingling with none other than Tom Cruise, who was among a cavalcade of celebrities in attendance. Positioned on the banks of the Seine, they all took in a rollercoaster spectacle of wacky performances that have proven to be sharply polarizing. Lady Gaga divided opinion with her rendition of Mon truc en plumes (My Thing In Feathers), a racy song popularized by the late cabaret diva Zizi Jeanmaire. The 59-year-old was in France last Friday to catch the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics with her husband Matthew Broderick and their children She served up a generous helping of cleavage in a summery pink dress that was cinched in to flatter her impressively lithe figure Leaning into her character's love of splashy shoes, she could be seen balancing expertly on a towering pair of strappy leather heels Sarah flashed her unmistakably sprightly smile as she leaned on the railing of a Manhattan stoop - an standard Carrie Bradshaw hangout In between takes, she could be spotted cooling herself down in the summer heat with a swig of seltzer water, as a crew member held a fan up to her She and her longtime husband, The Lion King star Matthew Broderick, brought along their son James, 21, and their twin daughters Tabitha and Marion, 15, to the Paris Olympics James uploaded an Insta Stories photo that showed his mother mingling with none other than Tom Cruise, who was among a cavalcade of celebrities in attendance While some viewers praised Gaga for having the courage to sing in another language, others criticized her lackluster pronunciation. However. Celine Dion earned widespread acclaim for her thunderous comeback performance in front of the Eiffel Tower at the end of the ceremony. She emotionally belted out the ballad Hymne a lamour (Hymn to Love), made famous by Edith Piaf, the legendary queen of the French chanson. The moment marked Celine's first live performance in four years, after she withdrew from the spotlight amid her grueling battle with stiff person syndrome. Days before she whisked her family off to Paris for the Olympics, Sarah Jessica was spotted filming And Just Like That... with John Corbett. John features as Carrie's rekindled love interest Aidan Shaw, who had a tumultuous on-off romance with her on the original Sex And The City series, buffeted by her illicit affair with Mr. Big (Chris Noth). Comedian Jared Fried, known for his wildly popular YouTube recaps of The Bachelor, doubts he will ever be chosen to appear on the show himself. The funnyman said he didn't think he has the right look for ABC's dating program during his recent appearance on the RentFree game show by Bilt Rewards with Bilt's CEO Ankur Jain. When asked by Jain if he would participate in the famed reality series, Fried replied, 'I would do it, but I'm too fat to be on The Bachelor. But I do think there's room for a "normal" Bachelor.' He continued: 'I actually want be the Bachelor because I want to get my mom involved, but I want to see [the contestants} deal with my mom.' Fried went on to outline his amusing plan for the first group date, where the women would serve his mom coffee while working at Starbucks. The twist: his mom's distinctive and quirky coffee order. Comedian Jared Fried, known for his wildly popular YouTube recaps of The Bachelor , doubts he will ever be chosen to appear on the show himself The funnyman said he didn't think he has the right look for ABC's dating program during his recent appearance on the RentFree game show by Bilt Rewards with Bilt's CEO Ankur Jain 'Now you might think this is an easy thing, but you've never seen my mom order coffee,' Fried joked to Jain. 'She'll walk in and be like "I'll have a tall foamy thing, espresso nut two scoop,"... and she'll look at them in the face like that's a normal order. 'And then we'll see how patient these women are with this woman.' Despite his slim chances of becoming the next Bachelor, Fried has garnered a loyal following by humorously dissecting each episode of the show. His Rose Rehash series is quite the smash, with thousands of views on YouTube, as he waxes on about all things Bachelor, Bachelorette and Bachelor in Paradise. Meanwhile, Jain has grown Bilt Rewards to a valuation of $3.25 billion since its launch in June 2021, according to Bloomberg. The venture is 'the first loyalty program that allows you to earn points on rent.' Before founding Bilt, Jain was the CEO and founder of Kairos, a venture studio dedicated to nurturing young entrepreneurs. When asked by Jain if he would participate in the famed reality series, Fried replied, 'I would do it, but I'm too fat to be on The Bachelor . But I do think there's room for a "normal" Bachelor.' He continued: 'I actually want be the Bachelor because I want to get my mom involved, but I want to see [the contestants} deal with my mom' On May 10, 2024, ABC renewed The Bachelor for a twenty-ninth season. The star is yet to be announced Under his leadership, Kairos helped its partner companies achieve a combined valuation of over $6.5 billion, addressing challenges ranging from housing to healthcare. Before stepping into his role at Kairos in May 2017, Jain was Tinder's Chief Product Officer. He came to Tinder after the company acquired his startup, Humin, where he served as Founder and CEO. On May 10, 2024, ABC renewed The Bachelor for a twenty-ninth season. The star is yet to be announced. Hugh Jackman has been left heartbroken after an influential figure from his childhood died this week. The Hollywood star, 55, took to Instagram to share that his former high school music teacher Brian Buggy passed away at the age of 83 on Tuesday. Alongside a precious photo of Mr Buggy hard at work leading an orchestra, Hugh shared his devastation as he paid tribute to the influential teacher. He told how Mr Buggy first fostered his love of music, which he has taken into his career, showcasing his singing talents in Les Miserables and The Greatest Showman. 'I want to pay tribute to Brian, OAM,' Hugh penned in a touching message. 'He was in charge of music at Knox High School. He taught me, and literally thousands of students across the years, a deep love and joy for music.' 'That love has stayed with me all my life. His lessons were filled with humour and he effortlessly held a room in the palm of his hand. 'To Brian's family, I send my deepest condolences, immense respect and unending gratitude.' Hugh Jackman (pictured) has been left heartbroken after influential figure from the Hollywood star's childhood died this week The Wolverine star, 55, shared a post to Instagram revealing that his old high school music teacher Brian Buggy passed away on Tuesday at age 83 Hugh was born and raised in Sydney and attended Pymble Public School before developing his love of music and acting at Knox Grammar School. Mr Buggy, who was born in Brisbane in 1939, worked as Knox Grammar School's Director of Music for over three decades, from 1975 until 2007. During his time, he helped mentor a variety of youth orchestras to achieve their musical goals. Mr Buggy was also the Musical Director of a variety of popular musicals when they played in Australia throughout his celebrated career, including Fiddler on the Roof and My Fair Lady. In 2007, he became the conductor of the Sydney Youth Orchestra Philharmonic. Sydney Youth Orchestras also paid tribute to Mr Buggy in a heartfelt statement. The group shared: 'SYO was blessed to have Brian lead the SYO Philharmonic for 14 years, becoming our first Conductor Emeritus in 2021. 'Brian will be remembered for his generosity, wit, vast musical knowledge, and passion for teaching, along with a love of a good piece of cake and a chat.' Mr Buggy was awarded an Order of Australia Medal in 1998 for his long-standing services to music. Selena Gomez' kidney donor Francia Raisa led a cavalcade of stars on the red carpet of the Miss Teen USA pageant in Los Angeles this week. Former Bachelorette Rachel Lindsay and current Miss USA titleholder Savannah Gankiewicz were also among the luminaries who lent their luster to the event. Savannah is Miss USA at the moment because the previous winner, Noelia Voigt, announced her shock resignation in May citing mental health concerns. The latest Miss Teen USA UmaSofia Srivastava, 17, also relinquished her title two days later, amid rumors about a 'toxic atmosphere' at the organization. However the Miss Teen USA extravaganza proceeded apace on Thursday, with showbiz figures galore parading across the red carpet. Selena Gomez ' kidney donor Francia Raisa led a cavalcade of stars on the red carpet of the Miss Teen USA pageant in Los Angeles this week Former Bachelorette Rachel Lindsay (left) and current Miss USA titleholder Savannah Gankiewicz (right) were also among the luminaries who lent their luster to the event Francia opted for high-octane glamour, radiating retro chic in a billowy scarlet dress that went tantalizingly off the shoulder. Her sumptuous frock featured an extravagantly long train that stretched luxuriously behind her on the red carpet, which it matched. Wearing her dark hair down in straight, silken curtains, she accentuated the look with an opulent pair of earrings that framed her luminous complexion. Meanwhile Rachel, who worked as a lawyer before joining Bachelor Nation, was the image of Las Vegas showgirl style in a glittery ensemble sprayed with feathers. She opted for a silver sequined number, twirling around to reveal the outfit was backless and shooting her megawatt smile over her shoulder. Savannah, who was the runner up for Miss USA 2023 before Noelia resigned and made her the titleholder, appeared in her pageant regalia. The Hawaii-born model swept her hair up into an updo reminiscent of the 1960s, one that fitted perfectly into her glistening tiara. She accentuated her impressive hourglass figure in a skintight white lace gown that fell to bare just the slightest hint of cleavage beneath her Miss USA sash. Francia opted for high-octane glamour, radiating retro chic in a billowy scarlet dress that went tantalizingly off the shoulder Her sumptuous frock featured an extravagantly long train that stretched luxuriously behind her on the red carpet, which it matched Wearing her dark hair down in straight, silken curtains, she accentuated the look with an opulent pair of earrings that framed her luminous complexion Meanwhile Rachel, who worked as a lawyer before joining Bachelor Nation, was the image of Las Vegas showgirl style in a glittery ensemble sprayed with feathers She opted for a silver sequined number, twirling around to reveal the outfit was backless and shooting her megawatt smile over her shoulder Savannah, who was the runner up for Miss USA 2023 before Noelia resigned and made her the titleholder, appeared in her pageant regalia She accentuated her impressive hourglass figure in a skintight white lace gown that fell to bare just the slightest hint of cleavage beneath her Miss USA sash Sharpening her screen siren features with makeup, she garnished the look with a medallion that complemented her silvery dress It was Savannah who took the stage that evening to award the title of Miss Teen USA to Addie Carver, a 17-year-old from Mississippi Sharpening her screen siren features with makeup, she garnished the look with a medallion that complemented her silvery dress. It was Savannah who took the stage that evening to award the title of Miss Teen USA to Addie Carver, a 17-year-old from Mississippi. Dancing With The Stars pro Rylee Arnold, 19, was also on hand at the festivities in order to serve as a judge for the preliminaries. She showcased her willowy dancer's figure in an off-white satin gown, one with a swooping neckline that fell to expose a touch of her glittery undergarment. The sleeveless outfit was cut to flatter her statuesque frame, and perfectly matched the small handbag she carried for the event. Dancing With The Stars pro Rylee Arnold, 19, was also on hand at the festivities in order to serve as a judge for the preliminaries The sleeveless outfit was cut to flatter her statuesque frame, and perfectly matched the small handbag she carried for the event Francia, Rachel, Savannah and Rylee took a group shot with Kaleigh Garris, Alyssa Carson, Justin Sylvester, Miss USA & Teen USA CEO Laylah Rose and Shree Saini Savannah, Kaleigh, Alyssa, Addie, Rylee, Francia, Shree and Morgan Romano all gathered onstage for a picture to remember Teasing her blonde mane into a 1990s pinup do, she played up her features with makeup and added a touch of sparkle with earrings and bracelets. Francia, Rachel, Savannah and Rylee took a group shot with Kaleigh Garris, Alyssa Carson, Justin Sylvester, Miss USA & Teen USA CEO Laylah Rose and Shree Saini. The organization was thrown into controversy when the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA both sensationally resigned from their positions in May. UmaSofia, the teen beauty queen, declared upon giving up her title that her values 'no longer fully align with the direction of the organization.' Sources then alleged to the New York Post that the winners were contractually obligated to put on a happy face while coping with 'harmful workplace conditions.' Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick's son James Wilkie gave fans a glimpse into their family life with photos from the 2024 Paris Olympics. The 21-year-old posted a number of sweet snaps from their French adventure on Thursday, including two with his sisters, twins Tabitha Hodge and Marion Loretta, 15. One photo features the whole family, including Matthew, 62, and Sarah, 59, as they pose in front of the Olympic stadium, with James in the middle. Another one shows him and his sisters looking thrilled as they cheer on the women's volleyball team together. 'Pretty cool!' he captioned the post. Sarah Jessica Parker, 59, and Matthew Broderick's, 62, son James Wilkie, 21, shared sweet photos from the Olympics in Paris with his sisters - twins Tabitha Hodge and Marion Loretta, 15 James posted a number of snaps from their French adventure, including one of the whole family in front of the Olympic stadium 'Pretty cool!' he captioned the post The family snap saw Sarah showing off her chic sense of style in an off-white, patterned sundress that fell down towards her ankles. She also slipped into a pair of closed-toed, black shoes and easily carried a black, cross-body purse over her shoulder. Sarah's locks were pulled back away from her face in a sleek up do, and she sported a pair of fashionable black shades. Broderick kept it casual in a pair of black pants as well as dark green shirt and navy, hooded sweatshirt that was left unzipped at the front. James added a tender photo showing a sweet son and father moment, with him leaning on his famous dad in front of the Eiffel Tower. Another photo showed a close-up of the iconic tower, located on the Champ de Mars in Paris. There was also a snap of James rocking a black tee and camouflage pants as he took a sip of water while strolling the streets of Paris. James also ran into American restaurateur Guy Fieri, 56, with whom he took a snap. Another tender photo showed a sweet son and father moment, with James leaning on his dad in front of the Eiffel Tower James also ran into American restaurateur Guy Fieri, 56, with whom he took a snap He sported a casual cool look while taking a walk in the City of Love There was also a snap of James rocking a black tee and camouflage pants as he took a sip of water while strolling the streets of Paris Another photo showed a close-up of the iconic tower, located on the Champ de Mars in Paris The family cheered on the women's volleyball team together In July James also uploaded a snap of the Sex And The City star and her husband mingling with Tom Cruise at the Olympics. She was seen looking over a bridge with Broderick and Cruise on each side of her seemingly ahead of the main Opening Ceremony. She held an umbrella above her head to help keep her dry in the drizzly weather, while Matthew layered his ensemble with a clear poncho. Cruise sported a dark navy suit and could be seen holding his arms out as he conversed with both Parker and Broderick during the festivities. Ahead of the torch lighting, various performances took place - including Lady Gaga belting out Mon Truc En Plume by Zizi Jeanmarie on a gold staircase. French pianist, Alexandre Kantorow, also performed a set with Celine Dion later giving a powerful performance of Hymne a L'Amour on the Eiffel Tower. While Sarah's eldest child has been active on social media during the 2024 Paris Olympics, the actress has yet to share her own memories from the trip. The Hocus Pocus star and her husband Matthew welcomed James in October 2002, followed by their twin daughters via surrogate in 2009. Sarah and the Ferris Bueller's Day Off actor tied the knot in 1997. She recently opened up about her children in April during an appearance on the Ruthie's Table 4 podcast, and explained why she doesn't limit her kids when it comes to food. Last month James also shared an additional image that showed his mother looking over a bridge with Broderick and Tom Cruise, seemingly ahead of the opening ceremony The Hocus Pocus star and her husband welcomed James in October 2002, followed by their twin daughters via surrogate in 2009; Matthew seen with their kids in July in New York City Sarah and the Ferris Bueller's Day Off actor tied the knot in 1997; pictured in 2022 'When I was growing up, we weren't allowed sugar in the house, and we weren't allowed cookies, and we weren't allowed chocolate. And of course, all we did, the minute we moved out, was buy Entenmann's cakes and cookies.' 'So, in our house, we have cookies, we have cake. We have everything,' the star said. 'And I think as a result, you kind of have a healthier relationship.' 'When I had girls, I didn't want them to have a relationship with food that was antagonistic, or they felt like this was their enemy and that they were going to have to sort of, like, stake out a position with food.' Shortly before whisking herself to Paris, Sarah has been keeping busy while filming the third season of the HBO MAX series, And Just Like That. Sandy Bresler, the esteemed talent agent who represented Jack Nicholson for over 60 years, has died at the age of 87. The industry veteran passed away in Santa Monica on Thursday after a brief illness, according to a statement from Bresler's family. Bresler and the future Oscar winner, now 87, first met while both were serving in the California Air National Guard, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He started his career as a secretary at the William Morris Agency in 1960 and began representing Nicholson the following year. When Nicholson was honored with the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the 1999 Golden Globes, he dedicated a tribute to Bresler. Sandy Bresler, the esteemed talent agent who represented Jack Nicholson for over 60 years, has died at the age of 87 'There is only one agent who has stayed with me, guided me, tolerated my tantrums, my operatic behavior and so forth,' the Shining vet said onstage, per Variety. 'His name escapes me,' he joked, continuing, 'Sandy Bresler, my pal and comrade in arms!' Born on January 20, 1937, Bresler was the son of Jerry Bresler, a producer known for films such as The Vikings (1958), Gidget Goes to Rome (1963), Casino Royale (1967), and an Oscar-winning short in 1943, according to the outlet. In 1983, Bresler co-founded the boutique agency Bresler-Kelly & Associates with John Kelly. Throughout his career, he also held positions at CMA and ICM. In addition, he served as president of the Association of Talent Agents for over a decade while being on its board for nearly 30 years. He was also a lifelong member of the Motion Picture Academy. 'Throughout Sandys remarkable tenure, as a friend and leader, he demonstrated unparalleled dedication and visionary leadership, guiding the association through a period of significant growth and transformation,' said Karen Stuart, ATAs Executive Director, in a statement. 'Under his stewardship, ATA expanded its reach and influence. Sandys unwavering commitment to the talent agency profession was instrumental in advancing the interests of our members and elevating the industry as a whole. Bresler and the future Oscar winner, now 87, first met while both were serving in the California Air National Guard, according to The Hollywood Reporter; (Nicholson in 1960) When Nicholson was honored with the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the 1999 Golden Globes , he dedicated a tribute to Bresler; (seen with Best Actor Oscar for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest in 1975) Breslers clients also included actors Judd Hirsch, Randy Quaid and Louise Linton; (Hirsh in 2023) 'Sandy was a mentor to many and he leaves behind a lasting impact that will be felt for years to come.' Breslers clients also included actors Judd Hirsch, Randy Quaid and Louise Linton. In 2003, he survived a sextuple bypass, per THR. He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Nancy; his son, Eric; his daughter, Jennifer; and his twin grandsons, Brandon and Jonah. Maggie Gyllenhaal and husband Peter Sarsgaard stole the spotlight at the Coup! premiere in New York City on Thursday. The stunning actress and director, 46, showed her support for the dashing actor, 53, by accompanying him on the red carpet for his new comedy screening at the Crosby St. Hotel. Wearing a sheer black top that offered a glimpse of her bra, Maggie exuded charm and allure as she wrapped her arm around her partner of nearly two decades. Peter was in high spirits, showcasing his radiant smile while sporting a casual outfit of a pink T-shirt and bomber jacket. The superstar couple, who married in 2009, led a cavalcade of celebs at the event, including Billy Magnussen and Julia Stiles. Maggie Gyllenhaal and husband Peter Sarsgaard stole the spotlight at the Coup! premiere in New York City on Thursday The stunning actress and director , 46, showed her support for the dashing actor, 53, by accompanying him on the red carpet for his new comedy screening at the Crosby St. Hotel The synopsis of Coup! reads: 'Isolated on a seaside estate, an entitled journalist (Billy Magnussen) and his socialite wife (Sarah Gadon) take in a mysterious grifter as a private cook (Peter Sarsgaard). 'When a plague descends on the island, the wily cook rouses his fellow staff to rebel and take over the mansion. Their employer suspects the cooks coup is part of a more sinister agenda, and mind games between master and servant escalate into all-out class warfare'. The supporting cast includes Faran Tahir (Iron Man), Kristine Nielsen (The Gilded Age), and Fisher Stevens (Succession). Writer-director team Joseph Schuman and Austin Stark (The God Committee) said in a statement: 'Coup! was a labor of love, and its been an honor to work with Peter, Billy, Sarah and the rest of our incredible cast and crew.' Meanwhile, Peter recently revealed that he didn't know Maggie was an actress when he first fell for her. 'I met Maggie at a dinner, and I didn't even know she was an actress. I knew nothing about her, but it was instant,' he told People of their attraction to each other when they met in 2001. 'Then Secretary came out maybe six months later, and I was like, "Oh whoa. Okay. She's not like any other actress in the world,"' he added. Sarsgaard shared that a few years into their relationship, he was offered a role in the film Jarhead, opposite Jake Gyllenhaal. Wearing a sheer black top that offered a glimpse of her bra, Maggie exuded charm and allure as she wrapped her arm around her partner of nearly two decades Peter was in high spirits, showcasing his radiant smile while sporting a casual outfit of a pink T-shirt and bomber jacket Sarsgaard shared that a few years into their relationship, he was offered a role in the film Jarhead, opposite Jake Gyllenhaal Peter and Maggie wed in 2009 and share daughters Ramona, 17, and Gloria, 12 The superstar couple, who married in 2009, led a cavalcade of celebs at the event, including Billy Magnussen (pictured) and Julia Stiles 'I think the reason I did it was because I wanted to get to know him better,' he said of his brother-in-law. Peter and Maggie wed in 2009 and share daughters Ramona, 17, and Gloria, 12. The pair have also worked together, including on Broadway, where Maggie directed him in The Seagull, and in The Lost Daughter. 'I love working with her,' he told the publication. 'She's a great director and I think that stems from being just a great host in general and knowing what people need. Some people need to be told where to go, other people need to be left alone, and she's amazing at sensing that.' Julia Stiles looked adorable in her eclectic ensemble Julia paired a lilac top with a colorful skirt Julia posed with Austin Stark The synopsis of Coup! reads: 'Isolated on a seaside estate, an entitled journalist (Billy Magnussen) and his socialite wife (Sarah Gadon) take in a mysterious grifter as a private cook (Peter Sarsgaard) The supporting cast includes Faran Tahir (Iron Man), Kristine Nielsen (The Gilded Age), and Fisher Stevens (Succession) It's been two years since Maggie's last major film project The Lost Daughter, which she directed and three years since she has acted in a major film role. Despite her acting and writing hiatus, the versatile A-lister is reportedly set to direct a Bride Of Frankenstein remake next, according to Collider. The film will make its debut on Netflix and will feature Christian Bale and Maggie's husband among the cast. No release date has been confirmed for The Bride Of Frankenstein as of writing. Kate Hudson bared her jaw-dropping bikini body in a smoldering new Instagram album from her 'dreamy' trip to Athens. The 45-year-old actress enjoyed a jaunt to the Greek capital surrounded by her family, including her musician husband Danny Fujikawa. In one heartwarming snap, Kate could be seen pulling a goofy monster pose while she and Danny splashed about in a swimming pool together. For another picture, she showcased her impressively taut midriff and her willowy legs in her bikini as she lounged in a sauna, gleaming with sweat. Despite being on vacation, Kate did not skip her workouts, posting a gym selfie in sheer, clinging workout gear that played up her toned physique. Kate Hudson bared her jaw-dropping bikini body in a smoldering new Instagram album from her 'dreamy' trip to Athens She was also accompanied by her children - her daughter Rani, five, with Danny, and her sons Ryder, 20, and Bingham, 13 from previous relationships. Kate welcomed Ryder with her ex-husband, the Black Crows frontman Chris Robinson, and then Bingham with Matt Bellamy of Muse fame. Her latest Instagram album from Athens included a picture of a large dinner that Kate enjoyed surrounded by family and friends by the beach at sunset. In her caption, she spilled a few of the details of her trip and paid a special tribute to her hotel, One And Only Aesthesis in the seaside suburb Glyfada. 'Absolutely dreamy! For those who follow me you know by now how much I love Greece! I have never stayed in Athens for more than one night and @ooaesthesis new hotel is insane and the private residences were so spectacular,' she wrote. 'Got to see the Parthenon which was a bucket list for me and Rani and I had our first mother daughter spa moment which I will share a little of in another post! Thank you One and Only for a beautiful experience.' Her summer holiday comes after Kate crossed a new professional threshold and dropped her first solo studio album Glorious in May. Ahead of the release date, she revealed she was 'afraid' to pursue her 'first love' music before telling herself 'f*** it,' and cutting her new album. The 45-year-old actress enjoyed a jaunt to the Greek capital surrounded by her family, including her musician husband Danny Fujikawa Despite being on vacation, Kate did not skip her workouts, posting a gym selfie in sheer, clinging workout gear that played up her toned physique She was also accompanied by her children - her daughter Rani, five, with Danny, and her sons Ryder, 20, and Bingham, 13 from previous relationships Her latest Instagram album from Athens included a picture of a large dinner that Kate enjoyed surrounded by family and friends by the beach at sunset In her caption, she spilled a few of the details of her trip and paid a special tribute to her hotel, One&Only Aesthesis in the seaside suburb Glyfada 'Absolutely dreamy! For those who follow me you know by now how much I love Greece!' the daughter of Goldie Hawn wrote for her followers 'I have never stayed in Athens for more than one night and @ooaesthesis new hotel is insane and the private residences were so spectacular,' she wrote 'Got to see the Parthenon which was a bucket list for me and Rani and I had our first mother daughter spa moment which I will share a little of in another post!' she gushed Her summer holiday comes after Kate crossed a new professional threshold and dropped her first solo studio album Glorious in May She first became a movie star in 2000, playing a glamorous but fragile rock groupie in the beloved Cameron Crowe film Almost Famous. After shooting to fame as an actress, she devoted herself to Hollywood and let her musical ambitions drift into the 'back seat.' She did get a chance to show off her vocal abilities in various acting projects, performing original songs in the movies Nine and Music. Now she has finally released her first full album after realizing: 'If I dont do this, itll be a great regret,' she told People in a cover interview. Ryan Reynolds has revealed the identity of the only cast member he argued with on the set of his hit new film Deadpool & Wolverine. The movie unites two heavyweights of the superhero genre - Ryan, who plays Deadpool, and Hugh Jackman, who plays Wolverine. Hugh in particular has been beloved by comic book fans as their big-screen Wolverine ever since he first portrayed the character in the 2000 picture X-Men. Wolverine and Deadpool have a prickly comic rapport onscreen - and now Ryan has revealed he also locked horns with one of his co-stars in real life. In fact, the actress in question is someone Ryan shares a close personal bond with, he confessed in a new post on his Instagram page. Ryan Reynolds has revealed the identity of the only cast member he argued with on the set of his new film Deadpool & Wolverine; pictured last week The castmate who clashed with Ryan was his seven-year-old daughter Inez, whom he shares with his wife Blake Lively, he heartwarmingly revealed. Ryan and Blake have been married since 2012 and now share four children - daughters James, nine, Inez, and Betty, four, and son Olin, five months. Blake makes an appearance in Deadpool & Wolverine as a character called Ladypool, with Inez also landing a surprise cameo as Kidpool. Firing up his Instagram page this Thursday, Ryan posted a sweet snap of him and Inez in their costumes on set, clearly locked in conversation. Ryan had dropped to his knees and was looking intently at Inez while gesturing outwards, and Inez aimed her focus right back at him. 'Only costar I argued with. Most people think Kidpool is the dirtiest. But shes also pretty good at backtalk and never taking out the trash,' he joked. Deadpool & Wolverine bowed in theaters last Friday and crossed $200 million domestically its first weekend, earning the biggest-ever opening for an R-rated film. Ryan and Blake welcomed their new baby in February of this year, but waited until last month to announce that they had chosen the name Olin. The castmate who clashed with Ryan was his seven-year-old daughter Inez, who plays a character called Kidpool in an adorable cameo The hit new film unites two heavyweights of the superhero genre - Ryan, who plays Deadpool, and Hugh Jackman, who plays Wolverine Ryan and Blake Lively have been married since 2012 and are pictured in 2015 with the two older of their four children - their daughters James, nine, and Inez, seven Ryan and Blake are pictured last week at the New York premiere of Deadpool & Wolverine, which just earned the biggest-ever opening for an R-rated movie The Hollywood couple were mocked on social media for the 'weird' selection - a Nordic name that refers to the heir to an ancestor. Then this past Friday, on the day that Deadpool & Wolverine was released in theaters, Ryan starred in a promotional video for the film and disclosed his baby is a boy. He dropped the bombshell during a heartbreaking conversation with a man called Josh Bell, whose late son Jake was a fan of Deadpool. 'I want to share with you that I too have a son, and if I love him one tenth as much as you love Jake, I feel like Ive done a pretty damn good job,' said Ryan. Victoria Silvstedt was a vision in red on Thursday evening as she attended the Remus Lifestyle Night in Mallorca, Spain. The model, 49, put on a busty display in an embellished scarlet gown which allowed her to showcase her stunning physique. The glitzy number featured a tiered skirt and a sequinned belt that cinched in her waist, while Victoria accessorised her look with a matching red fan. The Swedish stunner finished off her ensemble with silver drop earrings and styled her blonde locks in tumbling waves for the occasion. Ever the head turner, the actress happily posed up a storm by the pool before stopping posing for a leggy snap with German model Annika Gassner. Victoria Silvstedt was a vision in red on Thursday evening as she attended the Remus Lifestyle Night in Mallorca, Spain The model, 49, put on a busty display in an embellished scarlet gown which allowed her to showcase her stunning physique Victoria then took the opportunity to smile for a photo with host Marcel Remus, with the real estate agent donning all black at his annual star-studded event. Just last month, Victoria topped up her radiant tan as she stepped out in St Tropez during a sun-soaked getaway. The beauty was seen looking as she as ever in a floral bra top teamed a mini crochet skirt and brown Hermes sandals. To complete the look, Victoria further accessorised with a hat, ombre shades, and a cluster of bracelets. Victoria first came to global attention after being chosen to represent her country in the Miss World pageant in 1993. After her pageant days, the Scandinavian stunner was spotted by Hugh Hefner and went on to become a Playboy Playmate. Since then, she has modelled for some of the world's most prestigious fashion houses, including Chanel, Dior and Valentino. But despite the glamorous appearance of her lifestyle as a young model, she has revealed there was a dark side. The glitzy number featured a tiered skirt and a sequinned belt that cinched in her waist, while Victoria accessorised her look with a matching red fan The Swedish stunner finished off her ensemble with silver drop earrings and styled her blonde locks in tumbling waves for the occasion The star was a vision in a her head-turning red gown Ever the head turner, the actress happily posed up a storm by the pool before stopping posing for a leggy snap with German model Annika Gassner The models looked gorgeous as they pouted and posed for pictures Victoria then took the opportunity to smile for a photo with host Marcel Remus, with the real estate agent donning all black at his annual star-studded event Speaking to Female First, Victoria said: 'I started very young to model in Paris when I was 18, I remember like starving myself to fit into the clothes.' 'It was an amazing experience but you know I did shows for Valentino, Chanel, so it was really prestigious.' 'But it never felt like it was my thing, I'm not like a runway skinny model, I'm more curvy. It was torture, I put myself through starvation, you know torturing myself.' 'To be a young girl as well, you cannot take criticism, everything that you hear is like "no no no" and then I went to Playboy and I could be bigger!' Deborra-Lee Furness appears to be enjoying single life after her recent split from husband Hugh Jackman. The 68-year-old actress joined a group of A-listers for a swanky party in the Hamptons, near New York, a holiday destination known to attract America's elite. Deborra-Lee was spotted looking relaxed as she moved amongst the guests at the upscale affair, which was hosted by luxury designer Brunello Cucinelli and the Wolffer Estate winery. The beloved Australian actress dressed for the warm weather in a brown sleeveless top she paired with a pair of loose fitting white slacks and a mesh knit coal cardigan. Deborra-Lee wore her blonde hair in a short cut and accessorised with a pair of designer sunglasses and a set of gold and pearl earrings. She also wore an enamelled ring and a matching arm band. The Intimate Evening in the Hamptons took place in Sagaponack, New York, 160kms from Manhattan at the Wolffer Residence, which is famed for hosting A-list do's. It comes after Furness revealed that she is in equal parts excited and frightened about her future following her shock split from husband Hugh Jackman in September. Deborra-Lee Furness appears to be enjoying single life after her recent split from husband Hugh Jackman. The 68-year-old actress joined a group of A-listers for a swanky party in the Hamptons, near New York, a holiday destination known to attract America's elite (pictured) 'It is kind of exciting,' the 68-year-old told Adelaide Now in January and confessed she was embracing the change in her life. 'You know what, change, transition, evolution is a little frightening and we are all a bit scared of it but I think it is probably our greatest gift' she added. Deb returns to the screen in Force of Nature: The Dry 2, co-starring with Eric Bana in the sequel to the hit 2020 mystery film. 'I've got a few [projects] up my sleeve, I'm working on a script with Rebecca Rigg, which I want to direct and act in,' she said in an interview with Yahoo Lifestyle. Deborra-Lee was spotted looking relaxed as she moved amongst the guests at the The Intimate Evening in the Hamptons party which was hosted by luxury designer Brunello Cucinelli and the Wolffer Estate winery in Sagaponack, New York 'And who knows there might be a reprisal from the character I play [in Force of Nature]. 'Hey, maybe another sequel from a character I played many years ago in Shame,' she added. The Australian actor, 55, and his former wife announced their shock split in September after 27 years of marriage, telling fans they separated 'to pursue our individual growth'. 'We have been blessed to share almost three decades together in a wonderful, loving marriage,' the couple said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE. 'Our journey now is shifting and we have decided to separate to pursue our individual growth. 'Our family has been and always will be our highest priority. We undertake this next chapter with gratitude, love, and kindness. Furness revealed that she is in equal parts excited and frightened about her future following her shock split from husband Hugh Jackman in September. Pictured: Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee on the red carpet at the Met Gala in 2023 'We greatly appreciate your understanding in respecting our privacy as our family navigates this transition.' The former couple signed the statement as 'Deb and Hugh Jackman,' adding: 'This is the sole statement either of us will make.' The pair had tied the knot in 1996 after crossing paths on set of Correlli in 1995. During the course of their marriage, they adopted two children: son Oscar, 23, and daughter Ava, 18. By SA Commercial Prop News An illustration of Tugela Ferry Shopping Centre exterior view in KwaZulu-Natal Image gallery Tugela Ferry in the heart of the Masinga District of KwaZulu-Natal will become a major urban retail hub with the development of the 12,300sqm Tugela Ferry Shopping Mall located on the R33 main route with great visibility and accessibility. When you cant buy goods and services in your own town to meet your daily needs, shopping can become a costly and complicated concern. But this will soon end for residents of KwaZulu-Natal rural town Tugela Ferry, with investment from Copper Zone Pty Ltd and the know-how of Retail Network Services. Today, over 184,000 residents of bustling Tugela Ferry cannot bank in their own town. They have to travel at least 45kms to Greytown for banking and other basic shopping services, or to other nearby major towns of Dundee some 80kms away and Ladysmith 110kms away says Gavin Tagg of Retail Network Services. The cost of this travel hits consumers hard and eats into their valuable spending power. The isolated, yet vibrant, Tugela Ferry is ideally situated for formal retail, says Tagg. With the development of the 12,300sqm Tugela Ferry Mall, this retail-starved community will for the first time enjoy comprehensive retail in their own town from 34 stores under one roof, including a 3,000sqm Shoprite. Tugela Ferry is a major town in the heart of the Masinga District of the Umzinyathi District Municipality. Its on the Tugela Rivers northern bank and is a seat of the Tribal Authority Government for the area. Tugela Ferry the focus of this growing area with public facilities including a hospital, police station, the Department of Home Affairs, schools, courts and municipal offices. Bringing retail to the doorsteps of Tugela Ferry residents, the shopping centre will be on the R33 main route through town, with great visibility and accessibility. It will feature over 300 parking bays and integrated facilities for over 30 taxis, also making it accessible to shoppers from neighbouring areas. And retailers agree its about time they got closer to their customers in the Tugela Ferry area. Besides the large Shoprite and banks, proposed retailers for Tugela Ferry Mall will include comprehensive retail mix from convenience to fashion, food and furniture. All will be specially matched to the retail needs of the area. Tugela Ferry Mall will go beyond bringing comprehensive convenient everyday shopping to its market. It will add quality to lives and serve as a central social hub for the community, says Tagg. Retail Network Services, which is leasing Tugela Ferry Mall, is full-service specialist retail leasing and development company. Retail Network Services has an excellence record of successes to its name. These include Pan Africa Shopping Centre in Alexandra, Edendale Mall in Pietermaritzburg, Tsakane Mall in Springs, Protea Glen Shopping Centre and Jabulani Mall in Soweto. After filming the pilot episode in Vancouver, the upcoming NBC series Suits: LA will film in a more fitting home: Los Angeles. Production is about to begin on the highly-anticipated spin-off of the USA Network series Suits, which followed two high-powered New York City lawyers (Gabriel Macht and Patrick Adams). NBC issued a series order for Suits: L.A. last month, which stars Stephen Amell as lawyer Ted Black, a former New York lawyer who has reinvented himself in Los Angeles. Production is about to get under way in Los Angeles, according to Variety, though there is no indication when it may debut on the network. The series will be set in the same universe as the original Suits, though it will feature all new characters and stories. After filming the pilot episode in Vancouver, the upcoming NBC series Suits: LA will film in a more fitting home: Los Angeles; a still is seen from the pilot Still it may be possible for former Suits stars to put in a cameo appearance here and there, though nothing is confirmed yet. The series follows Black, who now finds himself representing the most powerful clients in Los Angeles. 'His firm is at a crisis point and to survive he must embrace a role he held in contempt his entire career,' the series description reads. 'Ted is surrounded by a stellar group of characters who test their loyalties to both Ted and each other while they can't help but mix their personal and professional lives,' the description concludes. The show also stars Josh McDermitt as Stuart Lane, who co-founded the L.A. firm and is described as, 'powerful and self-absorbed.' The cast also includes Lex Scott Davis as, 'savvy and strong lawyer Erica Rollins' and Bryan Greenberg as Rick Dodsen, who is both Ted's protege and Erica's rival. Rob Nagle and Troy Winbush also star in unspecified roles in the series, though it's unclear if more roles will be cast in the future. NBC issued a series order for Suits: L.A. last month, which stars Stephen Amell (pictured on the series)) as lawyer Ted Black , a former New York lawyer who has reinvented himself in LA The original Suits ran for eight seasons between 2011 and 2019 as it starred: (L-R) Patrick J. Adams, Sarah Rafferty, Gabriel Macht, Rick Hoffman and Meghan Markle who are pictured in a cast shot during the show's seventh season Original Suits creator Aaron Korsh also created Suits: L.A. and will executive produce with Doug Liman, Dave Bartis and Gene Klein. Victoria Mahoney directed the pilot episode and will also serve as an executive producer on the series. The original Suits ran for eight seasons between 2011 and 2019 and also starred Meghan Markle, Sarah Rafferty, Rick Hoffman and Gina Torres. While the show was a hit on the USA Network, it reached new heights when it debuted on Netflix in 2023. The series exploded in popularity, topping the Nielsen streaming charts for a record 12 weeks in a row with over 55 billion viewer minutes in 2023 alone. Coronation Street star Natalie Amber has revealed her disability has 'changed her for the better' as she continues to support Rob Burrows' charity. The actress, 45, joined the ITV soap as Motor Neurone Disease sufferer Shelly Rossington last year, but her time on the cobbles was short-lived as her pal Paul Foreman (Peter Ash), who was also diagnosed with the same condition, was informed of her death. Motor Neurone Disease (MND) is a rare condition which affects the brain and nerves and is eventually fatal. Symptoms, which get worse over time, include muscle weakness, twitches, slurred speech and difficulty swallowing. Natalie learned more about the devastation the disease causes through her character's storyline, and since leaving the cobbles, she has continued to campaign to raise awareness of the condition. Coronation Street star Natalie Amber has revealed her disability has 'changed her for the better' as she continues to support Rob Burrows' charity The actress joined the ITV soap as Motor Neurone Disease sufferer Shelly Rossington last year, with her character passing away after befriending suffered Paul Foreman (Peter Ash) Natalie, who played Shelly on the soap for two months, revealed to The Mirror: 'My disability has changed me for the better.' 'I've had a bigger passion in me to try to help and make change for people and after playing Shelly I wanted to do (even) more. My disability has given me much more empathy.' When Natalie was 35, she fell on stage while performing A Midsummer Night's Dream. A slipped disc penetrated her spinal cord and she ended up spending three years in hospital. However, she returned to work as a disabled actress in 2017 and has previously had roles in Silent Witness, Life, ITV drama Paranoid and Netflix hit Fool Me Once. The actress confessed to The Mirror that it was much tougher to get auditions after her accident, but even when she won roles, she sometimes experienced prejudice on set. She recalled: 'The attitude was horrendous and the way they treated me was quite belittling, at auditions, I'd be told bluntly 'No, your character wouldn't be in a chair'.' However, the actress claimed she decided to do an 'experiment' to receive auditions which included not mentioning that she was in a wheelchair. Natalie learned more about the devastation the disease causes through her character's storyline, and since leaving the cobbles, she has campaigned to raise awareness The star also admitted to The Mirror that people could often be 'unpleasant' or 'patronising' on set due to her disability, however her cast were on hand to help She also admitted that if she phoned ahead and asked if the audition was accessible, there would be a 'deadly silence' on the other end. WHAT IS MOTOR NEURONE DISEASE? Motor neurone disease is a rare condition that mainly affects people in their 60s and 70s, but it can affect adults of all ages. It's caused by a problem with cells in the brain and nerves called motor neurones. These cells gradually stop working over time. It's not known why this happens. Having a close relative with motor neurone disease, or a related condition called frontotemporal dementia, can sometimes mean you're more likely to get it. But it doesn't run in families in most cases. Early symptoms can include weakness in your ankle or leg, like finding it hard to walk upstairs; slurred speech, finding it hard to swallow, a weak grip, and gradual weight loss. If you have these symptoms, you should see a GP. They will consider other possible conditions and can refer you to a specialist called a neurologist if necessary. If a close relative has motor neurone disease or frontotemporal dementia and you're worried you may be at risk of it, they may refer you to a genetic counsellor to talk about your risk and any tests you can have Source: NHS UK Advertisement Before her character's death in the ITV soap, she had emotional scenes with Peter Ash, 39, and Daniel Brocklebank, 44, who plays Paul's partner Billy Mayhew. According to The Mirror, the pair went 'above and beyond' to help her, however, not everyone she encountered on a set had an open mind. The star admitted that people could often be 'unpleasant' 'patronising' and 'impatient' and never asked if she needed any help. Natalie's health problems began after she joined a theatre company in America in 2010. During her time there she suffered four separate falls and continued to work through the pain, but the pain eventually became so bad that she could barely walk. The star then revealed that she had to have a range of spinal operations over four years in an attempt to repair her ruptured disk and had to replace two discs with prosthetic ones. She also confessed that her last operation in 2014 was not so 'straightforward' and she ended up spending three years in hospital. According to The Mirror, Natalie now has no function in her left leg and the pain in her spine is so severe that she can't put pressure through her right leg. She also reportedly has neuropathic bowel and bladder problems and occasionally has to use a feeding tube. Alongside acting Natalie works as access lead for the BAFTA award-winning TripleC organisation, which strives to create more opportunities for disabled, deaf and neurodivergent performers. She also recently organised and participated in Roll and Raise for MND, an event to raise money for the MND Association, My Name'5 Doddie Foundation and the Rob Burrow Centre. The rugby star passed away last month at the age of 41, nearly five years after being diagnosed with the neurological condition. Holly Willoughby appears to be struggling to become the 'new Gwyneth Paltrow'. While the Hollywood star has enjoyed success with her company Goop, Holly's own wellness and lifestyle brand, Wylde Moon, has just 1,885 in reserves almost three years after it was set up. Accounts reveal that although the company has assets of 585,633, it owes creditors 583,748, meaning it is only just staying in the black. Selling exotic candles, 'wax melts' and 'diffusers', the brand has been compared to Goop. Holly, who used to present ITV's This Morning with Phillip Schofield, is prominent in the firm's online marketing, posing on the website. Holly Willoughby appears to be struggling to become the 'new Gwyneth Paltrow', with her wellness and lifestyle brand, Wylde Moon having just 1,885 in reserves While Holly's brand may not be financially flourishing, it's an improvement from accounts filed in October 2023 that showed it had a mere 149 in assets. The 2023 micro accounts indicated that there was over 283,000 in assets but creditors are owed 310,000. Holly launched her Goop-esque lifestyle brand in September 2021 and it currently sells candles and perfume. The site contains beauty and style advice and a section on spirituality where readers are advised on crystals, healing and auras. The TV presenter said that the idea to launch her own lifestyle brand came to her in 2018 when she was in Australia hosting I'm A Celebrity alongside Declan Donnelly. She said: 'I've always been fascinated with the moon, space, shooting stars and looking up. 'On holiday, I spend more time on the sun lounger at night than during the day. The moon is always there like the sun no matter where you are in the world.' She added: 'I'd lost a part of who I was and that rediscovery has led me here, to a whole new place of beauty and power.' She almost launched a lifestyle website with former pal, Dragon's Den star Peter Jones, in 2018. Hollywood star Gwyneth has enjoyed success with her company Goop (pictured at a live podcast recording of her brand in 2019) Peter was left high and dry after Holly decided she didn't have the time to devote to their new lifestyle brand Truly just weeks before it was to have been launched... with Holly as its face. At the time, Holly said: 'To launch a brand needs total dedication and at the moment, with so many other commitments, this is not something I feel I can do without it starting to affect my family time at home.' Peter and his interior designer partner Tara Capp, 48, went ahead anyway with the online shop, and it launched in 2018. In an interview, Tara said of Holly's decision: Im not going to pretend. It was devastating. We were exceptionally close. And of course, as a business, you really feel the loss of a celebrity face. Doctor Who star Ncuti Gatwa has reportedly doubled his fortune thanks to his huge role as the time lord. The actor, 31, made his debut in the BBC sci-fi series earlier this year and though things might not be too peachy amid a drop in ratings, his bank balance is certainly flourishing. Ncuti has apparently seen his earnings double to 1.9million, according to The Sun, adding to the cash he'd already raked in from former roles including his part in Netflix teen comedy Sex Education. The publication reports that the Rwandan-Scottish TV star paid himself a handsome wage of 700,000 from the money earned through his through his company Gemini Moon. A source told The Sun: 'Landing one of the most sought-after roles on TV was always going to help Ncutis career and earning power. Doctor Who star Ncuti Gatwa is reportedly on his way to becoming a multimillionaire thanks to his huge role as the time lord (pictured in Doctor Who) The actor, 31, made his debut in the BBC sci-fi series earlier this year and though things might not be too peachy amid a drop in ratings, his bank balance is certainly flourishing 'That much is clear from his latest accounts. But some might be wondering if his financial success has been matched by his success as the Time Lord.' The insider continued: 'The number of people tuning in for a show that revelled in being a shared experience for all the family is somewhat underwhelming, to say the least.' MailOnline has contacted representatives of Ncuti for comment. Ncuti made his first appearance as the famous time-traveller back in May, with the first two episodes - which premiered on iPlayer ahead of the BBC One broadcast - attracting 2.7million and 3.2million. However, a week later, the viewing figures rapidly fell to 2.3million. Despite a slight boost to 3million viewers in later episodes, the rest of the fourteenth series saw around 2.3million people tuning in. A BBC spokesperson told The Sun: 'Overnight ratings no longer provide an accurate picture of all those who watch drama in an on demand world. 'This season of Doctor Who premiered on iPlayer nearly 24 hours before broadcast, and episode one has already been viewed by over 6million viewers and continues to grow.' Ncuti has apparently seen his earnings double to 1.9million, according to The Sun , adding to the cash he'd already raked in from former roles including his part in Netflix teen comedy Sex Education It comes after Doctor Who fans were left in a frenzy in June as they felt disappointed by the show's grand finale reveal. The highly anticipated season 14 final episode titled Empire Of Death, left Whovians wanting more. Its grand ending, which revealed who Ruby's mother is, landed on BBC iPlayer at midnight on Saturday 22 June and the episode was broadcast on BBC One at 6.40pm. But for fans who could not wait for the big reveal, the long painstaking wait proved to be a disappointment. Flocking to X, formerly known as Twitter, Doctor Who fans shared their devastation of the finals as they were left asking, 'is that it?' Doctor Who fans were left in a frenzy in June as they felt disappointed by the show's grand finale reveal The highly anticipated season 14, which saw Ncuti Gatwa take over the reins as the new Time Lord, left viewers wanting more after the final episode, titled Empire Of Death, left Whovians wanting more One user penned: 'Rubys mother reveal is probably the worst reveal I've ever seen in this show. So disapointed.' 'I'm sorry but the revelation of who Ruby's mother was, was lame'. 'Was that it?' 'I'm now convinced the mystery surrounding Ruby and her mother was an entire plot hole they accidently created when writing this season and had no idea how to dig themselves out of it, because what on earth was that anticlimactic episode?' 'I'm sorry, but the reveal of Ruby's mother was very disappointing. I knew it would be hard to create something that lived up to the hype but that was' 'watched the dr who finale and lowk it was so anticlimactic??? i was expecting the mother to be someone big like river song only for it to be a random person???' Meanwhile, the show's producer Russell T Davies has said 'no decision' has been made yet for the line-up of series three. Doctor Who producer Russell T Davies has said 'no decision' has been made yet for the line-up of series three Appearing at Comic Con in San Diego alongside Ncuti and Millie Gibson, the screenwriter spoke about what was in store for the science fiction show Appearing at Comic Con in San Diego alongside Ncuti and Millie Gibson, the screenwriter spoke about what was in store for the science fiction show. Russell, 62, admitted decisions about who would star in series three haven't been made yet as they are still in the middle of filming the second season. The screenwriter said: 'We've shot season two, but that's only halfway through. We've got all those months of post to come. It's a long way off, so no decisions yet.' Ncuti said playing the Doctor is 'surreal' and when the host joked he had signed up for the next 10 seasons, he replied: 'Of course!'. Former Miss Universe Olivia Molly Rogers has bravely stepped forward to discuss a family tragedy. The media celebrity, 32, appeared on her Tell Me More podcast to disclose how she lost her 18-year-old cousin Jack Klemich to Meningococcal B in 2009. 'He was just the best,' an emotional Olivia said during the episode which dropped last month during Donate Life Week, which aims to raise awareness in support of organ donations. She added: 'He had such an infectious sense of humour.' Meningococcal B is a rare bacterial infection that impacts the brain and spinal cord. During the podcast Olivia shared how her young had elected to become an organ donor. Olivia's Uncle and Jack's dad, Oren Klemich appeared as a guest during the episode to tell his son's story. 'Grief can tear people apart but you've directed yours in a really positive way. Jack lives on through what you're doing,' she told him. Former Miss Universe Olivia Molly Rogers (pictured) has bravely stepped forward to discuss a family tragedy Oren explained during the chat that he learned that his boy had been hospitalised while he was overseas enjoying a 25th wedding anniversary vacation with his wife, Gill, Jack's mum. After receiving news that Jack's condition was critical the couple rushed home to find their son was life support in an Adelaide hospital. Before his condition worsened Jack had selflessly agreed to become an organ donor. The traumatic experience helped turn Oren into a health campaigner. He is currently on the board of DonateLife, which advocates for organ donations in order to save lives. The media celebrity, 32, appeared on her Tell Me More podcast to disclose how she lost her 18-year-old cousin Jack Klemich (pictured) to Meningococcal B in 2009 Oren said during the podcast that Jack's decision to become a donor helped to save four lives. It comes after Olivia went public with her new man late last month when the pair attended the premiere of Beauty and the Beast in Melbourne. Days later, some light was shed on the hunk's identity with the model having not yet named him online. Instagram account Aussie Influencer Opinions posted to Instagram Stories earlier this month, claiming that the handsome fella is called Hugo. 'He's a consultant in Melbourne at a prestigious firm that only recruits the smartest cookies,' they claimed. Olivia had her handsome beau on her arm as she walked the red carpet at Her Majesty's Theatre in Melbourne during their debut. The beauty queen could not wipe the smile off her face as she cuddled up to the handsome man. She stole the show in a bright yellow mini dress with a plunging neckline, referencing the musical's lead character, Belle, who wears a similar frock. Olivia's man looked dapper in a striped blazer over a dark shirt and black trousers which he paired with leather boots. Hugo is said to have been quietly dating Olivia for several months following her split from model Morgan Waterhouse after seven months. Imogen Anthony is known for her cutting edge fashion looks. The Australian model shared her latest ensemble in an Instagram post on Thursday, daring to bare during a dinner date. The 33-year-old, who dated radio shock jock Kyle Sandilands for eight years, stepped out in a highly distressed outfit including a ripped bodysuit. Imogen showed off lots of skin through the strategic cutouts and had her ample bust on display. She added a denim maxi skirt that also featured frayed and ripped elements throughout. A pair of chunky black boots added some edge, and Imogen also had on a shag coat in faux suede. For makeup, Imogen opted for a glamorous palette including a dark pink matte lipstick. She wrote in her caption alongside the images: 'I don't dress according to season, occasion or venue.' Imogen Anthony (pictured) is known for her cutting edge fashion looks. The Australian model shared her latest ensemble in an Instagram post on Thursday, daring to bare during a dinner Imogen took her fashion to a new extreme earlier this month when she showed off her figure in a futuristic top with padded breasts. The social media sensation shared a raunchy video of the 'alien' outfit to Instagram. Turning this way and that, the blonde beauty rocked the silver latex crop top, which she paired with black slacks and featured large fake breasts. Imogen captioned the image with the hashtag 'ootd' (outfit of the day) and added cup and alien head emojis. She paired the bizarre top with a very glamorous makeup look as she had her golden tresses curled to frame her genetically blessed features. The 33-year-old, who dated radio shock jock Kyle Sandilands for eight years, stepped out in a highly distressed outfit including a ripped bodysuit She added a denim maxi skirt that also featured frayed and ripped elements throughout Imogen showed off lots of skin through the strategic cutouts It's not the first time Imogen has experimented with fashion, as she was spotted wearing a 'blood dress' to Australian Fashion Week (AFW) in May. Imogen attended the INJURY show during Australian fashion's biggest week of the year wearing a high concept dress and headpiece by designer LeMAine. The 'blood dress' featured splatters of bright red resin stuck to sheer fabric that revealed Imogen's eye-popping assets. Meanwhile, the matching headpiece covered the model's hair entirely, and obscured most of her face, adding to the gory look of the outfit. Imogen wore matching blood red strapped heels and accessorised with a first aid bag. Imogen took her fashion to a new extreme earlier this month when she showed off her figure in a futuristic top with padded breasts It comes after Imogen opened up about marriage and baby plans with her partner Harley Jones. In 2022, the model sent her followers into a frenzy when she shared photos of herself appearing to tie the knot with Harley at the Little Chapel of Hearts in Las Vegas. The nuptials weren't legally binding and it appears Imogen wants to keep it that way. Speaking to Daily Mail Australia at AFW, the social media star ruled out a 'real-life wedding' and said the couple won't be starting a family anytime soon. 'No, I'm unconventional. That's how I roll,' she said. 'I'm not in any rush for anything like that. I'm in no rush to have kids.' Kate Beckinsale sent temperatures soaring in a white Norma Kamali swimsuit as she shared a glimpse at her flawless beauty regime in a fun social media clip. The actress, 51, looked nothing short of sensational as she showed off her slender figure in the stylish one-piece, which boasted mesh panels and an asymmetric neckline. During the beauty video, Kate can be seen using a LYMA laser on her skin as she wore a flawless palette of makeup consisting of a smokey eye shadow and a cluster of diamantes around her eyelids. She styled her locks into a voluminous half-up hair-do and further accessorised with a large black bow headband. She captioned the beauty post: 'Honest review. I am sure we have all seen a bunch of things on Instagram promising great results and delivering very little.' Kate Beckinsale, 51, sent temperatures soaring in a white Norma Kamali swimsuit as she shared a glimpse at her flawless beauty regime in a fun social media clip on Friday The actress looked nothing short of sensational as she showed off her slender figure in the stylish one-piece which boasted mesh panels and an asymmetric neckline 'This Lyma laser is a non-invasive, actually rather comforting little machine that does not take too much time out of your day and actually gives really great results. It came at a really great time for me and I use it every day.' Earlier this month, Kate revealed her weight loss is down to the 'stress and grief' of the death of her stepfather and her mother's cancer diagnosis as she hit back at trolls. The actress slammed some of her 'a**hole' followers, who told her she needed to put on weight in the comments section of an Instagram post. After sharing a video clip in a crop top and bikini bottoms, one follower queried where her 'a**' had gone and encouraged Kate to 'do some squats'. Another claimed her body had 'shrank' while another insisted that she 'seemed upset' in the video posted on Monday evening. However, Kate fired back at the cruel comments and explained that there were several reasons for her changed figure, including a six-week hospital stint. She replied: 'No, actually, I watched my stepfather die quite shockingly, my mother has stage 4 cancer and I lost a lot of weight from stress and grief...' During the beauty video, Kate can be seen using a laser tool as she wore a flawless palette of makeup consisting of a smokey eye shadow and a cluster of diamantes around her eyelids She styled her locks in a voluminous half-up hair-do and further accessorised with a large black bow headband 'Quite quickly and then I was in hospital for six weeks because the grief had burned a hole in my oesophagus, which made me vomit copious amounts of blood, and I found eating very hard...' 'And I just worked very very hard on a movie that was actually quite triggering because it also involved the theme of the death of my father so I'm not really concerned about what you think about my a**. 'Maybe you should worry about your own f***ing a**. I suggest shoving something up it, like a large pineapple or a brick.' Kate's stepdad died in January after suffering 'a massive stroke' while battling two forms of cancer. Shortly after his death, Kate also revealed that her mother had been diagnosed with stage four cancer. In recent months, the actress had been caring for her mother and late stepfather after flying them out from the UK to stay with her in Los Angeles. 'Kate has been caring for her parents, who both have serious illnesses, for most of the year,' a source exclusively revealed to DailyMail.com late last year. The grandson of Hollywood star Paul Hogan is being sought by police after after he was allegedly busted with illicit drugs and equipment used for breaking into a house. Jake Paul Hogan, 33, did not appear before Downing Centre Local Court on Friday to face charges of possessing a prohibited drug and housebreaking implements. Court documents reveal the grandson of the Crocodile Dundee star was allegedly in possession of 1.5g of meth shortly before midnight on July 27 in Glebe in Sydney. At the time, he also allegedly had equipment used to break into residences and business, including an adjustable spanner. If found guilty and convicted of both offences, he could be given up to two years in prison. Hogan was due to reappear before the court on Friday for a mention, but after he did not attend - despite being called multiple times - police applied for a warrant for his arrest. In approving the request, Magistrate Clare Farnan told the court she had found the alleged offences 'proven' and that Mr Hogan was due to return to court on August 28. The court was told the 34-year-old had also breached two community corrections orders and 'a number of intensive corrections orders' by not attending court Friday. Jake Paul Hogan is the grandson of Crocodile Dundee star Paul Hogan and has had a warrant issued for his arrest after failing to turn up to court on a drug charge It comes after Mr Hogan was in March sentenced after he pleaded guilty to break and enter, larceny, having goods suspected of being stolen and housebreaking equipment. The former carpenter by trade previously had a nice home, a car, a steady job and a girlfriend whom he hoped to marry but his life took a downward spiral earlier this year after the relationship ended. Jake's father is one of Paul and his first wife Noelene Hogan's five children. Jake Hogan's famous grandfather, who has won the Golden Globe Best Actor in a musical or comedy for his breakout role of Mick 'Crocodile' Dundee in 1987, lives in Los Angeles. Paul Hogan has also faced adversity with his son Chance, who he had with his second wife and Crocodile Dundee co-star Linda Koslowski. Jake Hogan's grandparents, Noelene Hogan and Paul Hogan with two of their five children in the early days of Hoges' fame Paul Hogan, above with his second wife Linda Kozlowski in 2013, found Hollywood stardom for his role as Crocodile Dundee Instead of working in his chosen trade, courts have heard how Jake carried around housebreaking instruments and lingered outside swanky apartment blocks looking for opportunities to steal. Jake's acquaintance said he 'wasn't a bad person, but he has completely lost his way. 'He is actually a good person with a very kind personality and a supportive family,' the person said. 'He was still so upset about his mum dying. He never got over it because he never processed it properly.' Jake's mother, Marie, had suffered a 'very sad' decline in the weeks leading up to her death from multiple sclerosis when Jake was aged 17 in 2006. After her death, Paul Hogan made his own mercy dash from California - where he was living with second wife Linda Kozlowski and their young son, Chance - to attend his daughter-in-law's funeral. Todd eventually remarried, to registered nurse Jane, and the couple now live in New Zealand while Jake remained in Sydney. Jake Hogan is a carpenter by trade but friends have said his life has spiralled downward in recent months after a relationship breakdown When his relationship with girlfriend ended, that 'destroyed his dreams of having a family and then brought up all sorts of past trauma. 'He was just shattered. He lost all of his friends and [became] isolated from his family. He was stealing clothes from shops and bikes, loitering because he was homeless. 'He used to break into swimming pool rooms and sleep in one of those buildings in Pyrmont.' This video is no longer available This video is no longer available READ MORE: Cardi B is pregnant with her third child Offset appeared unfazed by estranged wife Cardi B's surprise news that she is pregnant with their third child, hours after filing for divorce, as he returned to Instagram Stories with a new rapping clip. On Thursday, Cardi B took to Instagram to confirm she is pregnant with her third child - the same day it was revealed she has once again filed for divorce from her on/off spouse. Hours after Cardi, 31, unveiled her growing bump, Offset, 32, shared a video of himself lying on blankets in the back of his car. In the video, Offset raps along to an as yet unreleased song featuring his fellow American rapper Gunna. The lyrics included 'I'm trying to make her my h**' and 'I don't want nothing that's popular, I want that s*** to be old'. Offset appeared unfazed by estranged wife Cardi B's surprise news that she is pregnant with their third child as he returned to Instagram Stories with a new rapping clip On Thursday, Cardi B took to Instagram to confirm she is pregnant with her third child - the same day it was revealed she has once again filed for divorce from her on/off spouse Rumours of Cardi's pregnancy had been rife since she was seen sporting a huge bump while filming a secret project in New York City. Meanwhile, the divorce filing came after rumours Offset had cheated on Cardi again, which he denied. In her pregnancy announcement, posted to Instagram on Thursday, Cardi displayed her baby bump in a plunging red gown as she posed on a balcony at night. Cardi - who noticeably did not mention or tag her estranged husband Offset in the post - wrote in the caption: 'With every ending comes a new beginning! 'I am so grateful to have shared this season with you, you have brought me more love, more life and most of all renewed my power! 'Reminded me that I can have it all! Youve reminded me that I never have to choose between life, love, and my passion! I love you so much and can not wait for you to witness what you helped me accomplish, what you pushed me to do! 'Its so much easier taking lifes twists, turns and test laying down, but you, your brother and your sister have shown me why its worth it to push through!' Cardi already has daughter Kulture, five, and son, Wave, two, with Offset. In the announcement post, Cardi displayed her baby bump in a plunging red gown as she posed on a balcony Meanwhile, the divorce filing came after rumours Offset had cheated on Cardi again, which he denied Also on Thursday, a source told Page Six the infidelity rumors were not what sparked the divorce filing. The insider said: 'Theyve grown apart. Thats what drove her to this decision more than anything else. This is something she wants to do.' On Wednesday, Offset denied that he was cheating after Instagram account Ig Model Tea Room posted a video of him sitting next to a woman called PrettyRedz at a casino, and claimed was his ex-girlfriend. 'Shawty ain't my shawty,' Offset - who boasts 37.5M social media followers - declared via Instagram Live. 'People really need to do the research I'm at a public place gambling at a casino with a married 8 month pregnant woman. [What the f***] I look like being outside publicly cheating!' He said during an Instagram Live. Offset's vehement denial of the cheating rumours wound up confusing people into thinking he was referring to his wife as pregnant, which her rep quickly denied to TMZ on Wednesday. PrettyRedz is actually seven months pregnant with the child of her late husband Kyng Rocky, who tragically passed away on June 18. She too denied the cheating rumors, commenting on a post about the matter for The Neighborhood Talk: 'SMH that man wasn't with me i was already there wit my husband sister& brother and I'm 7 months pregnant... y'all really have to stop with this type of behavior.' Cardi and Offset allegedly separated again last November, but they put on a strong united front at Disneyland Paris with their children on July 9. Cardi has not confirmed the father of her third child, but she already shares daughter Kulture, five, and son, Wave, two, with Offset (all pictured in 2022) Offset and Cardi were previously separated between December 5, 2018 to January 31, 2019 amid cheating allegations. The three-time Grammy nominee and the Grammy winner went on their first date at the 2017 Super Bowl, and they've been married for over six years. The Georgia-born former Migos star, real name Kiari Cephus, is father to Jordan Cephus, 14, whose mother is Oriel Jamie. Offset also has Kody Cephus, 9, with Justine Watson and daughter Kalea Marie Cephus, also 9, with a third woman, Shya L'amour. He is scheduled to headline the second day of Chinese music festival Hype Fest on August 11 at the Hangzhou Steelworks Park. Offset began his career at age 11 in 2002 as a back-up dancer in Whitney Houston's music video Whatchulookinat. His most recent project is his third studio album Kiari, expected to be released in September. Meanwhile, Cardi, born Belcalis Almanzar, has yet to release her sophomore album after her 2018 quadruple-platinum record Invasion of Privacy. The former partner of rock star Daniel Johns broke down in tears in court as she faced charges of stealing thousands of dollars in cash and vandalising a bookshelf. Fashion designer Estelita Huijer fronted court on Friday accused of stealing between $5,000 and $15,000 in cash from celebrity restaurateur Andrew Becher. She is also alleged to have scrawled permanent marker on a bookshelf while at his Point Piper home in Sydney's east on Thursday. Waverley Local Court documents show Huijer is charged with property damage and stealing from a home as well as breaching an apprehended domestic violence order imposed for Mr Becher's protection after a separate incident in 2023. Mr Becher is the owner of trendy Sydney eastern suburb eateries Franca, Parlar and Armorica. In granting bail at Friday's hearing, Magistrate Jacqueline Milledge gave a sobbing Huijer a dressing down, according to a report in the Daily Telegraph. 'You breach any of these conditions, you have any contact with him again, bail will be taken off you,' Ms Milledge said. 'This constitutes a very serious breach of the order and it's an indication that it's escalating, and you're becoming more desperate.' Under her strict bail conditions, Huijer is not to contact Mr Becher and to report to police once a day. Fashion designer Estelita Huijer is accused of stealing between $5000 and $15,000 in cash from celebrity restaurateur Andrew Becher Huijer is also accused of scrawling permanent marker on a bookshelf while at his Point Piper home on Thursday. When approached outside Sydney's Waverley Police Station Huijer said she would strong defend the charges She must also stay at her home in Bondi Beach and not enter the nearby suburbs of Point Piper, Edgecliff, or Kings Cross. Huijer also cannot consume alcohol or drugs unless prescribed, and police can test for compliance. When approached outside Waverley police station, Huijer said the charges had been 'manipulated' and she would strongly defend them. A day before her arrest, Huijer was seen on social media enjoying a meal at Potts Point seafood restaurant Harry's Singapore Chilli Crab with fellow socialite Imogen Anthony. Huijer dated Johns for approximately four years from 2012. Huijer and former Siverchair frontman Daniel Johns (pictured left) dated for around four years Mr Becher is the owner of trendy Sydney eastern suburb eateries Franca, Parlar and Armorica The former Silverchair frontman told News Corp in 2015 that Huijer was 'totally' his muse but but not in the same way that Yoko Ono was for former Beatle John Lennon. 'If I am going to listen to something 10 times a day for three years, you would hope that the person that's living in the house doesn't mind hearing it,' he said. Mr Becher has been a star on the Sydney hospitality scene for well over a decade. His ritzy Double Bay restaurant and bar Pelicano was a magnet for celebrities such as Ed Sheeran, Gerard Butler, James Blunt and Mel Gibson but was forced to shut in 2016 because of what Mr Becher described as a 'hostile takeover' from its landlord. Huijer is scheduled to next face Downing Centre Local Court on August 14. A teenage boy who groped a reality TV star while she was out on her morning walk could avoid any punishment. Ellie Rolfe, who was one of two winners of season 11 of The Bachelor, encountered the boy on April 30 about 7.30am in the Geraldton suburb of Wandina in Western Australia. A court this week heard the 17-year-old rode by on his bike and said 'hello' before circling back and using his right hand to grab Ms Rolfe on her buttocks, causing her to drop her phone and yell 'you f*** off'. The 17-year-old, who cannot be named because he is a minor, pleaded guilty to indecent assault during an appearance at Geraldton Children's Court on Tuesday, reports Perth Now. The police prosecutor told the court the incident was captured on CCTV and the boy fronted up to a police station about week later. 'I'm sorry, I made a stupid mistake,' he told officers. The teenager's defence lawyer told the court the incident was out of character and suggested a youth court order, which would likely include counselling, might be an appropriate outcome. 'It was a lapse of his judgment... I'm not sure as to what programs or intervention court conferencing are going to be able to provide with regard to this type of offence.' Bachelors winner Ellie Rolfe, 30, said she was sexually assaulted by a man on a bike during her morning walk Magistrate Matthew Walton said he had some concerns but referred the boy to .court conferencing which would determine the details the youth court order. If that is completed without issue, the court does not impose a punishment. Ms Rolfe, 30, posted to Instagram a day after her encounter with the boy. 'You wont find me using this platform to speak on my political views or virtue signal... but this has really p***ed me off,' she wrote. 'I was just on my morning walk and this boy probably my age rode his bike past me and said hey to which I acknowledge politely.' She posted a 'rant' to her Stories, explaining a man allegedly followed her on his bicycle before coming up and grabbing her bottom without consent 'Then he followed me around the block twice and circled back and rode up behind me and fully groped my a*** and then zoomed off. 'It knocked the phone out of my hand cause it gave me such a fright. 'No words! How is that okay in your head... Huge mental health advocate and you never know what someone is going through but this is just utter disrespect. 'Not even safe on a morning walk in broad daylight.' The matter will return to court on September 24 and the boy's bail was extended. The incident comes after her ex-boyfriend Luke, 28, confirmed the pair split after they found love on last year's version of The Bachelors. The beauty therapist who recently split from TV boyfriend Luke Bateman, took to Instagram with a lengthy message detailing the 'scary' event Luke declared his love for Ellie while filming and they remained the only couple still together after the final episode. In a statement released to Yahoo Lifestyle earlier this year, Luke confirmed the split, saying: 'Ellie and I have separated and would like to keep our relationship private. 'Ellie has a soul that lights up every room she walks into and I will sorely miss it in my life.' Rumours of the couple's separation arose weeks earlier when eagle-eyed fans noticed Luke had deleted almost all traces of Ellie from his Instagram page. Meanwhile, Ellie posted a gallery of photos to Instagram capturing her attending Melbourne Fashion Week at the time - and Luke was nowhere in sight. Michael Barrymore looked in good spirits as he enjoyed an outing with a mystery male companion ahead of his impending move to Spain. The entertainer, 72, headed out on a shopping spree in London on Thursday and was casually clad in a blue T-shirt and khaki trousers. By his side was a male companion, who was spotted carrying a bag of shopping and vaping. Barrymore recently revealed he's moving to Barcelona, Spain 'to change his life for the better' in a TikTok video. The TV personality said he is already on the hunt for his 'dream villa' around the idyllic towns. Michael Barrymore looked in good spirits as he enjoyed an outing with a mystery male companion ahead of his impending move to Spain The entertainer, 72, headed out on a shopping spree in London on Thursday and was casually clad in a blue T-shirt and khaki trousers Barrymore was previously one of the UK's top stars but his decades long career ended after the death of Stuart Lubbock in 2001 following a party at his Essex home. Captioning his post, he wrote: 'Never be afraid to change your life for the better #michaelbarrymore #movingabroad'. Explaining why he is deciding to move ship, Michael said: 'Hey guys, yes I am moving to Barcelona. I'm 72 now and I realise that quality of life is more important to me than anything, so I'm going to Spain. 'I love the place. It's not the Spain that I grew up with, there's all the package resorts that we all know, this is the mainland Spain, It's amazing. 'The culture there and the people and just the art and everything. I started looking around Girona and the Catalonia area for houses back in March. 'I've flown out a couple of times already to look for places and see what I like. Once I decide which villa I like, I probably maybe around Lloret de Mar, of course I'm gonna take Dave with me and of course I'm going to take you guys with me. So don't worry, I'm going to vlog everything and you're going to join me all the way through this entire story. 'Until I find the villa of my dreams, I'm going to find out as much as I can about it, download Duolingo, learn the language. I can't wait.' By Barrymore's side was a male companion, who was spotted carrying a bag of shopping and vaping on the outing The duo looked in good spirits as they strolled around the bustling streets of London The former Strike It Lucky host was seen puffing on a cigarette during the outing Once one of the most recognisable faces in the industry, Barrymore was able to go about his shopping quietly Barrymore was no doubt making the most of his time in the capital ahead of his impending move abroad Barrymore recently revealed he's moving to Barcelona, Spain 'to change his life for the better' in a TikTok video and explained he's on the hunt for his 'dream villa' Barrymore posts videos of himself on his TikTok account daily, amassing more than 3million followers in the process This comes more than 20 years after a young man was found dead in his swimming pool following a house party and Michael practically disappeared from public life. The TV presenter lost his job at ITV shortly afterwards in 2003, and he was rarely seen again until he appeared on Celebrity Big Brother in January 2006 - managing to finish in second place. A series of career revival attempts followed but they were often overshadowed by the ongoing investigation into the death of Stuart Lubbock. Between that year and 2019, Barrymore and others were arrested and questioned on multiple occasions. No charges were ever filed and the star ultimately sued Essex Police for wrongful arrest, although he dropped his compensation claim of 2.4m after a court ruled he was due 'nominal' damages. But the TV personality has been taking his career back into his own hands by building a loyal fan base on the social media app TikTok. Barrymore posts multiple videos per day and has amassed 3 million followers, many of whom leave him messages of love and support. He is no stranger to the stage, having performed sell-out shows before his career collapsed in 2001 when Lubbock, 31, was found dead in the swimming pool of his Essex mansion after the star hosted a late-night party. He has always denied any knowledge of what happened. Barrymore's decades long career ended after the death of Stuart Lubbock in 2001 following a party at his Essex home (pictured on his show Strike it Lucky in 1986) Loose Women star Denise Welch has recounted the terrifying health battle that led her to collapse and forced her to pull out of a show twenty years ago. The 66-year-old TV personality bravely opened up about the horrifying ordeal during Friday's episode of the ITV daytime programme. Her admission came as the panellists were discussing Simone Biles' Olympic victory in the 2024 competition, following her withdrawal from the Tokyo 2020 Olympics due to mental health reasons. And as the group talked about the importance of doing things on your own terms, Denise decided to share her own story. She began by saying: 'We've got some inspirational stories this week like Simone Biles, like Adam Peaty, who have overcome some mental health issues to come back and it's fantastic. Loose Women star Denise Welch has recounted the terrifying health battle that led her to collapse and forced her to pull out of a show twenty years ago The 66-year-old TV personality bravely opened up about the horrifying ordeal during Friday's episode of the ITV daytime programme 'I think that sometimes a mindset is whether you become a survivor or a victim, but also some people should never feel bad about the fact that they can't come back.' Recounting her health scare, she continued: 'Many years ago, throughout my 35 years of having mental illness, I've only ever once pulled out of a show. 'I had to pull out of a pantomime in 2004 because I had a breakdown and I collapsed, I hadn't eaten for three weeks. And I wanted to return to the show and I couldn't.' The Loose Women panellist has long been open about her more than 30-year battle with depression. Back in April, Denise took to social media to hit back at a troll who criticised her for continually talking about it. The viewer tweeted: 'STOP THE FRONT PAGE, DENISE IS TALKING ABOUT HER MENTAL HEALTH AND DEPRESSION! This has NEVER happened before. #LooseWomen #Denise.' Replying to the tweet, Denise wrote: 'Thanks Harry. I've actually been talking about it for 35 yrs when no one in the public eye had ever done so. And I will continue until I pop my clogs so stay tuned!! 'If you'd ever been hospitalised after a depressive episode you might talk about it too!!' She completed the tweet with four thumbs up emojis. As the group talked about the importance of doing things on your own terms, Denise decided to share her own story She recalled: 'I had to pull out of a pantomime in 2004 because I had a breakdown and I collapsed, I hadn't eaten for three weeks. And I wanted to return to the show and I couldn't.' What triggered the troll's tweet was Denise being asked if she would take offence at being called emotional work. She sympathised with bosses saying it would be hard to run a business if these were the kinds of thing people took offence to. However, Denise then made a caveat for those with illnesses, saying: 'I think certainly with mental health issues it's very different, and I remember once... 'Thirty five years of struggling with clinical depression, on-and-off which everybody knows because I've talked about it for that long, which is a very serious mental illness. 'There's only one job I've ever had to pull out of [because of clinical depression], and it was a pantomime in Stockport, 2004.' She explained that she was criticised when she collapsed from the illness but her colleague with a broken arm was praised. Denise used this to highlight the difference in the way mental and physical illnesses are treated by the general public. The star is set to make her return to the pantomime stage this Christmastime as Captain Hook in Peter Pan at Theatre Royal in Nottingham. She joins a star-studded cast that includes TV fashionista Gok Wan, comedian Paul Chuckle and comedy ventriloquist Steve Hewlett. It comes just after the TV star revealed she felt 'ridiculous' after scammers stole 2,000 from her bank after catching her out with a cruel trick. It comes just after the TV star revealed she felt 'ridiculous' after scammers stole 2,000 from her bank after catching her out with a cruel trick Denise opened up on Good Morning Britain on Monday about being scammed over the phone and urged ITV viewers not to make the same mistake. The TV star revealed she lost thousands when she picked up the phone convinced she was talking to the Barclays fraud squad - but it was actually an impersonator. Speaking to hosts Ranvir Singh and Ed Balls, Denise revealed she was busy at the time when the phone call came in and she saw the caller ID said Barclays and believed it was legit and wanted to get the issue sorted quickly. She recalled: 'It was a few years ago, it was pre-pandemic, and I was rehearsing a show - Calendar Girls: The Musical. We weren't supposed to look at our phones or take personal phone calls. We all have a sneaky look and there was Barclays call. 'I went out, took the phone call and they said, it's the fraud squad. They said there was some fraudulent activity going on with your card, and we want to put a stop to it. 'I had absolutely zero doubt that I was talking to the fraud department from my bank because it had come up under the headline of Barclays that I had put into my phone.' Revealing how she was taken in by the man, she admitted it wasn't until the fifth call when she made the huge mistake. She explained: 'I was talking to this chap called Michael. I remember him, he was obviously very personable. And I went through, over a series of about four phone calls, all of the information you are duly expected to give. 'It was my full name, my date of birth, my address and postcode and my mother's maiden name - again, didn't hesitate because it said Barclays. 'So over about four phone calls, Michael had become my best friend and he said it was taking a long time to do this because this was a fraud that was potentially going to be bigger than they thought. 'This is where anybody watching this will be shouting, well, that's on you. How stupid of you. They then said, on about the fifth phone call, we're going to have to ask for your four digit pin. 'Now, even I know that you don't give your pin away, but because I was talking to the fraud department at Barclays, I did. And the next day, I mentioned this to my husband, who went absolutely spare'. She revealed: 'They had cloned my credit card and by the time we had discovered it they had taken over 2k from my account. 'If I had been sat at home and this was happening it may have not happened but because I was at work I just wanted it sorting. I felt ridiculous about it.' For confidential support call the Samaritans on 116123 or visit a local Samaritans branch, see www.samaritans.org for details. Over the years, Miriam Margoyles has been incredibly open about her health problems. In 2023, the actress, 83, had a transcatheter aortic valve replacement operation to avoid a more invasive open-heart surgery. But since then, Miriam has registered disabled and could be confined to a wheelchair because of a back condition. The Harry Potter star has previously admitted that she regrets not making major lifestyle changes to improve her health. Miriam, who lives in Clapham with her partner Heather since 1968, also fears as she gets older that she won't be able to afford carers to look after her as her health worsens. Read on below for a full timeline of Miriam's health battle. Over the years, Miriam Margoyles has been incredibly open about her health problems and has now registered disabled In 2023, the actress, 83, had a transcatheter aortic valve replacement operation to avoid a more invasive open-heart surgery May 2023 - chest infection Miriam was taken to The Royal Brompton Hospital in Chelsea, London with a chest infection. The comedian, who played Professor Sprout in the fantasy franchise, shared a photo of herself taken in her hospital bed as she informed fans about her condition. She wrote: 'Thanks to my precious friends who thought of me on Tavi Day. I did survive and I am still in The Royal Brompton Hospital certainly till Sunday. 'I am growing energy but it's still not quite me. I am putting this so you know how grateful I am for lovely messages. 'Slowly I'll get back to The Chase and then Italy, Oz filming in WA and return for 22 city books tour on Sept 7. Loving hugs. MM'. Miriam had been hoping to be sent home that Sunday but sadly took to Facebook again with another health update. She wrote: 'I spoke too soon. Can't come home yet. I have a chest infection. Probably tomorrow but at least I'm resting. Love to all. Thank you for your lovely messages.' Finally on the Tuesday, Miriam revealed she was being let home as she thanked all her fans for their well wishes. She wrote: 'Beloved chums. After a s*** yesterday I am going home later today. 'Heartfelt thanks to all my wonderful friends who sent messages and to the very fine doctors and nurses at the RBHT who put up with me.' The Harry Potter star has previously admitted that she regrets not making major lifestyle changes to improve her health Miriam has registered disabled and could be confined to a wheelchair because of a back condition June 2023 - hospital dash In June, she told Vogue how she was facing the surgery after being rushed to hospital in an emergency the month before. Describing the health issue as 'unexpected', Miriam opened up that it had made her confront death as a result. She said: 'When you're young, you never think about death. You just think about your next f**k basically. I think about death a lot. 'Now every morning when I get up I think, 'Hmmm, another day,' which maybe I wasn't expecting.' September 2023 - weight struggles During an appearance on the How To Fail podcast in September, the actress and presenter confessed she had not conquered her weight. She said: 'I am a blubber mass. I am fat. And to be fat and 82 is truly pathetic.'. She has since also revealed her fears as she gets older and worries that she won't be able to afford carers to look after her as her health worsens. She told RadioTimes: 'I'm worried that I won't have enough money for carers when I finally get paralysed, or whatever it is that's going to happen to me.'. She added that she is now focusing on saving to provide for her and her partner and is embarking on another series of her hit show. Miriam, who lives in Clapham with her partner Heather since 1968, also fears as she gets older that she won't be able to afford carers to look after her as her health worsens October 2023 - heart surgery Miriam confirmed she had heart surgery and shared a health update. She had a procedure called transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) - which she called a 'refined' operation and stopped her from having to have open heat surgery. Speaking on the Table Manners podcast with Jessie and Lennie Ware she said: 'I've got a cow's heart now. 'Well, not the whole heart. I've had an aortic valve replaced by a cow's aortic valve.' Jessie then asked: 'Is that quite common?' to which she replied: 'I think it's rather refined, actually! 'I don't know how common it is. I'd never heard of that operation. But it saves you from having open heart surgery, which would be infinitely more invasive.' Lennie asked: 'So how did they do it? With a keyhole?' Miriam explained: 'They made two little holes in your groin. One in each groin and then they shoved this thing through. 'And I don't know how they pull it up but they sort of pull it up with stereos. And then when it comes to the point, when it's in your heart, they pull a little string and it goes pow! 'And lo and behold, your artery or your aortic valve is shoved unceremoniously to the side.' Miriam confirmed she had heart surgery and speaking on the Table Manners podcast with Jessie and Lennie Ware she said: 'I've got a cow's heart now.' August 2024 - registered disabled Miriam recently revealed that she now struggles to walk and admitted she regrets not making serious life changes after undergoing an operation last year. The actress had a transcatheter aortic valve replacement operation in to avoid a more invasive open-heart surgery, but revealed she still struggles with her health. She also revealed that she is now registered disabled and could be confined to a wheelchair because of a back condition. Miriam explained that spinal stenosis, which occurs when space around the spinal cord becomes too narrow compressing the nerves, could make it difficult for her to walk, restricting her to a wheelchair. In an interview with Closer, the star said: 'I can't walk very well, and I'm registered disabled, so I use all kinds of assistance. I've got two sticks and a walker and they're such a bore, but I've just got a mobility scooter, which is a lot of fun.' But Miriam also revealed that she regrets not making major lifestyle changes to improve her health. She said she wished she had been able to conquer her weight and described not doing so as a defeat. Matt Damon feels 'really lucky' to still be making films with the Affleck brothers. The 53-year-old actor features alongside Casey Affleck in the heist comedy The Instigators which has been produced by Ben Affleck and is grateful that their childhood friendship has been preserved in Hollywood. Matt told The Hollywood Reporter at the picture's New York premiere on Wednesday: 'I think just 43 years into this friendship, it's just the joy of doing what we love, but being able to do it together. It just doesn't get any better than that. 'I feel really lucky to be able to still be making movies at this level with the kind of people that I get to work with. 'But when some of them are the people that have been my closest and dearest friends for over four decades, it's a really special thing.' But Damon avoided talking about Ben's state of mind these days as his marriage to Jennifer Lopez crumbles. Ben has not been photographed with Jennifer in two months as she has been spending time in New York. Matt Damon feels 'really lucky' to still be making films with the Affleck brothers. The 53-year-old actor features alongside Casey Affleck in the heist comedy The Instigators which has been produced by Ben Affleck and is grateful that their childhood friendship is intact But Damon avoided talking about Ben's state of mind these days as his marriage to Jennifer Lopez crumbles. Seen in 2023 Damon explained that he took comfort from filming the Apple TV+ project in the 'familiar' surroundings of Boston, the city in which he and the Affleck siblings grew up. The Oppenheimer actor said: 'It feels really familiar to go home. 'The sensibility there, the sense of humour is something that just comes naturally to us. 'And it's just a really comfortable place, it feels like going home every time.' Damon also told People that Ben and Casey are real pros. 'They're consistently great,' he explains. 'They're consistently incredible partners to work with. And no, there aren't really, usually, any surprises.' While the three collaborators will 'get in creative arguments,' Damon notes, 'those are healthy, and we know each other well enough that our feelings don't really get involved and our egos don't get involved.' Damon explained that he took comfort from filming the Apple TV+ project in the 'familiar' surroundings of Boston, the city in which he and the Affleck siblings grew up. Seen with Ben's brother Casey in the movie 'So it's a pretty healthy working relationship with both of them,' he adds. Matt also shared that his wife Lucy was a producer on the movie and has great taste making him trust her choices. Doug Liman directs The Instigators over two decades after first working with Damon on The Bourne Identity and reflected on how the star has changed over the years. He told the HR: 'Even though 20 years had elapsed, it felt like it was yesterday that Matt and I were just starting to work together. 'So it's amazing in a way how little has changed, especially because Matt and I are still committed to doing something that's original and that fits our sensibilities and not conforms to studio sensibilities what's amazing about Apple was how supportive they were of us.' Liman continued: 'There are other moments on the making of The Instigators where I'd look at Matt and go, "Oh my God, he has matured so much" in terms of helping me as a director do my best work and understanding how he as an actor could help me.' The actress, 33, wasn't home, but she said she saw two men on security cams Hyland's home was reportedly broken into around sunset on July 27 The former Modern Family star Sarah Hyland had a scary run-in with masked men who allegedly burglarized her home last week. However, she only glimpsed the aftermath of the apparent robbery virtually via her security cameras, as the 33-year-old actress was out of town when the break-in occurred. In a particularly brazen move, the men allegedly burglarized her home around sunset when it was still light out on Saturday, July 27, according to sources who spoke with TMZ. DailyMail.com has reached out to representatives for Hyland requesting comment. The burglars are reported to have broken through one of the windows at her home in Los Angeles' Studio City neighborhood, which she shares with her husband Wells Adams. Sarah Hyland's Studio City home was reportedly burglarized on Saturday, July 27, sources told TMZ. She saw two men leaving the house via her security cameras after getting an alert from her security system; seen in March in Beverly Hills Hyland was reportedly alerted to the break-in via an alert from her home's security system. She was able to view her security cameras remotely, which is how she reportedly told police that she saw two masked men exiting the house. It's unclear how long the men were in the home after smashing through the window, but police who were called after Sarah saw them leaving arrived after they had already made a run for it. The responding officers reportedly did a sweep of the home in search of any stragglers, but all of the burglars appear to have escaped by the time police arrived. Although the case is still under investigation, law enforcement hasn't made any arrests in the case at this time. So far, it's unclear what might have been stolen from Hyland's home. The former Love Island USA host will be doing an inventory of her possessions as soon as she arrives back in Los Angeles, which the police will use to help track down any stolen property. Sarah shares the home with her husband, the former Bachelorette suitor Wells Adams. It's unclear if he was also out of town at the time of the burglary. The lovebirds began dating in late 2017, and by 2018 he had moved to Los Angeles to make a life with her. In 2020, she dropped $4 million on a home in Studio City that the two shared, despite having to postpone their intended nuptials due to the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Hyland, who shares the home with husband Wells Adams, was out of town and will have to do an inventory for police when she returns The case is under investigation but police haven't made any arrests yet. Earlier in July she celebrated the fifth anniversary of her engagement to Adams Hyland recently starred in an Off-Broadway production of Little Shop Or Horrors (pictured) The two later rescheduled their wedding, and they walked down the aisle at a winery in Santa Barbara, California, in 2022. The couple celebrated the fifth anniversary of their engagement in July of this year. Sarah is best known for being part of the ensemble cast of the massively popular comedy series Modern Family, which aired from 2009 to 2020. She later hosted the fourth and fifth seasons of Love Island USA, before being replaced on the sixth season by Vanderpump Rules star Ariana Madix. Bec Judd has hit back after a follower accused of her 'wanting children in jail'. The designer has been waging a one-woman war on youth crime in her affluent Melbourne suburb, with social media posts attacking the Victorian government. In an Instagram Stories post earlier this week, the influencer and former AFL WAG fired up over a 16-year old boy being released on bail after he allegedly stole a Mercedes from a woman with cerebral palsy and crashed into a Volvo being driven by a mum picking up her kids from school. One follower took issue with the post, sending Bec a direct message that read: 'So you're cool with putting children in jail? Bec was quick to share her reply to Instagram Stories on Friday, writing: 'No, I'm not. I think there are better ways to save these kids like preventative programs/social scaffolding etc. 'But I'm more than okay with putting violent reoffenders in jail who've been given chance after chance' she continued. 'You know the ones who invade people's homes with machetes, attack them, steal their cars and hit and kill innocent civilians while driving them? 'We need to keep the community safe and there is a small group of violent reoffenders who are causing the majority of problems. Bec Judd (pictured) has hit back after a follower accused of her 'wanting children in jail' 'I am more than happy to see them incarcerated to keep Victorians safe. I hope that makes sense.' She further added in her caption on the post: 'Just so we are clear. If we had better preventative programs we wouldn't be in this mess. 'They take time though and they won't save the many families who will have their homes invaded tonight and tomorrow and the next day. We need long and short term plans to deal with this crisis.' Judd had earlier attached a news report of the alleged incident, which happened in her suburb of Brighton in Melbourne's Bayside, to her Instagram Stories. In an Instagram Stories post earlier this week, the influencer and former AFL WAG fired up over a 16-year old boy being released on bail after he allegedly stole a Mercedes from a woman with cerebral palsy and crashed into a Volvo being driven by a mum picking up her kids from school One follower took issue with the post, sending Bec a direct message that read: 'So you're cool with putting children in jail? Bec was quick to share her reply to Instagram Stories on Friday The 16-year-old driver was allegedly speeding and driving the stolen Mercedes on the wrong side of the road before crashing into the Volvo. The Mercedes had been stolen hours earlier and had been been specially modified for the owner who has cerebral palsy. The alleged driver was charged with theft of a motor vehicle and was bailed to appear in court at a later date. The alleged incident sparked anger from Judd, who took aim at Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan and state Attorney General Jaclyn Symes. 'Keep Victorians (not just Baysiders) safe. Already out on bail and probably breaking into some innocent person's home tonight,' Judd captioned the TV news segment shared '@jacintaallanmp @jaclynsymesmp Victoria is falling to pieces on your watch. You should both be ashamed.' Earlier this month, Judd expressed her anger that one of the youths allegedly involved in the kidnapping of teenager Benjamin Phikhohpoom in Melbourne that left him with permanent brain damage had walked free despite pleading guilty. The 16-year-old alleged driver of the stolen Mercedes was charged with theft of a motor vehicle and will appear in court at a later date 'Victoria, this is not OK but sadly just another case of a violent offender let off because our laws are weak,' Judd wrote on social media. Last month, Judd slammed Melbourne as 'woke, broke and violent' after residents were encouraged to put Apple AirTags in their cars amid a crimewave in the city. The footy WAG, who lives in a $7.3million mansion in Brighton, was drawn to comment on an interview between 3AW radio's Jacqui Felgate and Sandringham Liberal MP, Brad Rowswell. During the talk, Mr Rowswell was asked about a rise in violent crime in Melbourne's suburbs. The MP was asked about a suggestion at a community safety forum in Beaumaris last Thursday that residents consider placing AirTag trackers inside their cars in case they are stolen - something Judd took issue with. 'Melbourne this is sad. Woke, broke and violent. I can't believe we are living like this,' Judd wrote online. In March, Judd called out Premier Allan after a home invasion in Bayside left an elderly man fighting for his life. Kanye West's wife of nearly two years, Bianca Censori, put on a racy display for a night out with the rapper in Los Angeles. The 47-year-old Chicago-bred music artist whose ex-wife is Kim Kardashian and Australian architect, 29, spent the evening with friends as they celebrated manager John Monopoly's birthday. In her typical fashion, Censori modeled a nude-colored, see-through mesh outfit that exposed her ample chest. Contrasting her look, the Yeezy founder covered up in an all-black outfit that included a hooded leather bomber jacket. He sported a scruffy beard and matte black sunglasses as the couple patronized Giorgio Baldi and Chateau Marmont. Kanye West's wife of nearly two years, Bianca Censori, put on a racy display for a night out with the rapper in Los Angeles In her typical fashion, Censori modeled a nude-colored, stone-covered mesh outfit that exposed her ample chest Bianca's short, dark hair was pulled back with loose face-framing pieces at the front. The petite beauty, who often draws comparisons to Kardashian, wore high-waisted tights over her thong bodysuit. Her flesh-toned getup was punctuated by a pair of pointy-toe black heels that buckled at her ankles. She wowed in a light face of natural-looking makeup that highlighted her delicate features. It comes days after a source shared that Censori is 'always welcome' at the legendary Chateau Marmont despite her very risque fashion. A valet at the $774-a-night establishment told DailyMail.com: 'She comes here all the time. I always know when she's here because there's always a lot of paparazzi. 'She comes a lot. She stayed here awhile, a few months I think.' Bianca recently stepped into stepmom mode as she spent time with her husband's four children. The 47-year-old Chicago-bred music artist and Australian architect, 29, spent the evening with friends as they celebrated manager John Monopoly's birthday The friends shared a toast during the intimate dinner party John, who is from Chicago, wrote on social media that his birthday celebration 'was a vibe' Bianca is known for her boundary-pushing fashion choices Meanwhile, Kim posted this busty photo to Instagram this week West who also goes by Ye shares North, 11, Saint, eight, Chicago, six, and Psalm, five, with his reality television star ex. The family was spotted on an outing to Target in Beverly Hills on Tuesday, July 30. Biana covered up her curvy frame in an ivory poncho-style dress with an asymmetric hemline, adding black thong wedges. It came after last weekend Censori and West took North on a movie date to see Deadpool & Wolverine. She has requested primary custody of their children Kulture, five, and Wave, two Cardi indicated that Offset is the father of her upcoming child in divorce docs Cardi B's divorce filing took a new turn this week when her estranged husband Offset appeared to respond to it. The 31-year-old WAP rapper was reported on Thursday to have filed the day before to divorce the 32-year-old Migos rapper. But in response to an Instagram post reporting the filing, Offset responded in an unusual manner by liking the post from his public account. The seemingly nonchalant response was particularly unusual considering that Cardi indicated in her divorce filing that he is the father of her unborn third child, according to TMZ. In addition to apparently confirming the child's paternity after announcing she was pregnant on the same day news of her divorce filing broke Cardi shared her custody preferences and is reportedly requesting support from her soon-to-be ex-husband. Offset, 32, had a surprisingly nonchalant reaction to an Instagram report of his estranged wife Cardi B's divorce filing when he liked the post; pictured in December 2023 in Mesa, Arizona The seemingly nonchalant response was particularly unusual considering that Cardi indicated in her divorce filing that he is the father of her unborn third child, according to TMZ. She announced her pregnancy in a post on Thursday (pictured) Offset's alleged Instagram like was on a post from the account for The Neighborhood Talk that announced the news, along with a quote from a source for Page Six. Shortly after its initial post, the account shared a screenshot appearing to show that Offset born Kiari Kendrell Cephus had liked the post. So far, the Instagram double tap is the extent of his communication regarding Cardi's divorce filing. However, he did post an Instagram Stories video of himself on Thursday that showed him lying in the backseat of a moving vehicle and lip syncing to an unreleased rap song in which the rapper says he's 'single' and complains that 'this tension is old,' via Page Six. However, it's unclear if the tune he was lip syncing to was one of his own. In her divorce documents, Cardi has reportedly indicated that Offset is the father of her upcoming baby by saying that they are expecting their third child together, according to TMZ. It was previously reported that she is requesting primary custody of their children: daughter Kulture, five; and son Wave, two. The publication also notes that a prenuptial agreement isn't mentioned in the document, but that doesn't rule out the possibility that one may exist. Cardi is also asking for all of the couple personal property to be apportioned equitably. She filed for divorce on grounds of irreconcilable differences. Offset's alleged Instagram like was on a post from the account for The Neighborhood Talk that announced the news, along with a quote from a source for Page Six So far, the Instagram double tap is the extent of his communication regarding Cardi's divorce filing. However, an Instagram Stories video of himself on Thursday showed him lip syncing to an unreleased song in which the rapper says he's 'single' and complains that 'this tension is old' The filing comes after Offset was beset by cheating rumors. On Thursday, he denied in an Instagram Live session that he was out 'publicly cheating' after he was spotted sitting next to a woman who goes by PrettyRedz at a casino. 'People really need to do the research I'm at a public place gambling at a casino with a married 8 month pregnant woman. [What the f***] I look like being outside publicly cheating [shaking my head!' he said. However, his denial caused more confusion, as his reference to the pregnant woman led viewers to mistakenly thinking he was referring to his pregnant wife Cardi, which her representative denied to TMZ on Wednesday. Offset was off by a month, as PrettyRedz is reportedly seven months pregnant with a child from her marriage to the late Kyng Rocky, who died on June 18. Rather than splitting due to cheating, a source claimed to Page Six that Cardi real name: Belcalis Marlenis Cephus, nee Almanzar and Offset had simply 'grown apart' over time, following multiple earlier splits and relationship turmoil. 'That's what drove her to this decision more than anything else,' the source added. 'This is something she wants to do.' A source told PEOPLE on Friday that Cardi's decision to divorce Offset 'wasn't an easy' one for for her. 'She has two kids already, is pregnant and is also a working mom. She'd love to have a great marriage too, but since it's more of a distraction than support, she needs to end it,' they explained. They noted the split had been 'a long time coming.' 'It's not just one issue. She's matured a lot. She knows exactly what she wants her life to look like. She's super focused on her kids and work,' the insider said. Cardi is said to 'incredibly strong and driven' as she prepares to navigate the split. 'As a mom, she expects a partner that contributes fully and that puts the family first. This just wasn't happening,' PEOPLE's source explained. 'In general, he just doesn't support her like a husband should. She needs good vibes and positive energy only in her life.' Despite the split, Cardi looked over the moon in lovely photos of herself caressing her baby bump that she posted on Thursday to announce her pregnancy. The filing comes after Offset was beset by cheating rumors. On Thursday, he denied in an Instagram Live session that he was out 'publicly cheating' after he was spotted sitting next to a woman who goes by PrettyRedz at a casino; pictured with Cardi B in 2023 in NYC Cardi is requesting primary custody of their children Kulture, five, and Wave, two. They now have a third one on the way, and she confirmed Offset was the father in her divorce filing, according to TMZ; pictured in September 2023 in Newark, New Jersey 'With every ending comes a new beginning! I am so grateful to have shared this season with you, you have brought me more love, more life and most of all renewed my power!' she wrote without mentioning or even tagging her estranged husband. 'Reminded me that I can have it all! You've reminded me that I never have to choose between life, love, and my passion!' Cardi continued. 'I love you so much and can not wait for you to witness what you helped me accomplish, what you pushed me to do! It's so much easier taking life's twists, turns and test laying down, but you, your brother and your sister have shown me why it's worth it to push through!' In addition to his soon-to-be three children with Cardi, Offset has three older children from previous relationships. He shares his 14-year-old son Jordan Cephus with Oriel Jamie, his nine-year-old son Kody Cephus with Justine Watson and his nine-year-old daughter Kalea Mari Cephus with Shya L'amour. Ariana Madix has made a triumphant return to the role of Roxie Hart in Chicago on Broadway. The Vanderpump Rules star, 39, reprises the role she initially took on in January and told Playbill, 'Chicago is the kind of show that, once you're comfortable with that incredible material, there is so much room to play.' Ariana who recently came clean about all the cosmetic procedures she's had done will appear in the musical at the Ambassador Theatre through September 1. 'The first time around, I was in rehearsal for three weeks. This time around, I'm going to have two days,' she told the outlet. 'So part of me is trying not to freak out about that.' And another bonus of being in New York City: she gets to spend more time with her boyfriend, personal trainer Daniel Wai, who is based there. Ariana Madix has made a triumphant return to the role of Roxie Hart in Chicago on Broadway And another bonus of being in New York City she gets to spend more time with her boyfriend, personal trainer Daniel Wai, who is based there The Love Island host is looking forward to sinking her teeth into the role of Roxie again. 'Roxie can be a tough person to like,' she explained. 'And something that surprised me was the relationship that formed between the character and myself. 'I kept finding new ways to root for herlike all the time. I didn't know that that would have been possible before spending eight shows a week with her.' The reality TV star also expounded on the element of play in the musical. 'It's a facial expression from another actor, or it's a lengthy pregnant pause in something, or it's just all these different moments that sometimes the audience is probably not even noticing. 'But it's something that you're doing with each other on stage and it just makes it feel so real. And it makes it so much fun,' she gushed. Adds Madix, with joy in her voice, 'It's why I love theatre so much. I love that it's always different.' While Ariana rose to fame on VPR, he original goal when she moved to Los Angeles with her college degree in theater, was to be a stage actress. After VPR, Dancing With the Stars, Love Island and Chicago, the sandwich shop owner is looking forward to balancing the different facets of her booming career. The Vanderpump Rules star, 39, reprises the role she initially took on in January and told Playbill , 'Chicago is the kind of show that, once you're comfortable with that incredible material, there is so much room to play' She will appear in the musical at the Ambassador Theatre through September 1, pictured with Anna-Faye Wright 'The first time around, I was in rehearsal for three weeks. This time around, I'm going to have two days,' she told the outlet. 'So part of me is trying not to freak out about that,' pictured with Anna-Faye Wright The Love Island host is looking forward to sinking her teeth into the role of Roxie again. Pictured with Max Von Essen She discussed her run on Love Island, saying, 'It's been so much fun. Love Island has been my favorite reality show for many years, Madix shared. 'It feels like every time I go into The Villa, we get to play dress up, and just go full tilt with whatever the look is.' And she added that she did take one lesson from her run on Broadway back to reality TV. 'I feel like my posture is so much better than it used to be! I'm constantly thinking about pulling up. And I can thank [Chicago Dance Captain] David Bushman for that.' Titawny Cook, shown in his U.S. Marine Corps uniform, left, and in civilian clothes, right, was killed while covering the war in Ukraine as a student journalist with Chabot College. The circumstances around his death remain unclear. Courtesy of Diana Osaulenko A Chabot College journalist was found dead last week in Ukraine, where he had been covering the war for the student newspaper. Titawny Cook, 41, had traveled to Kyiv to write about life in a country pummeled by bombings, ground skirmishes and widespread power outages since Russia invaded in February 2022. A U.S. Marine Corps veteran raised in the East Bay, Cook had dreamed of becoming a war correspondent and documenting the suffering in Ukraine, his mother Christine Cook said, even though he knew the assignment would be dangerous. Having served in Iraq, Cook wanted to bring his experience and expertise to document the conflict in Ukraine, according to his mother. Getting to the war-torn country wasnt easy: Titawny Cook had to convince administrators at Chabot, the community college he attended in Hayward, to sponsor the trip so that he could secure a press pass. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Professor Thomas Lothian, an advisor for the Chabot Spectator newspaper, said he was reluctant to grant the sponsorship but that ultimately, he and the schools dean decided Cook was an adult who had clearly articulated his decision. Even then, it took a while to pitch the idea to his mother. We had some interesting discussions about him going into a war zone, Christine Cook said in a phone interview, recalling how she eventually capitulated. Her son had struggled with ennui after his stint in the Marines, and the idea of practicing journalism in Ukraine gave him a sense of purpose, she said. In June 2023, she drove him to the airport, wished him well and told him to come home safe. Diana Osaulenko, a fellow student and reporter for the Chabot Spectator, also warned Cook about the perils of living in Ukraine, her home country. She said he would not be discouraged. Advertisement Article continues below this ad He was fearless, honestly, said Osaulenko, who profiled Cook last October for an article titled The Extraordinary Journey of Titawny Cook. In the story, Osaulenko highlighted Cooks strong foundation from handling combat logistics in Iraq and studying speech and debate at Chabot College. Once hed settled in Kyiv, Cook found an apartment, made friends and began filing stories. He started learning to speak Ukrainian, fully immersing himself in a city where people adjusted to nightly curfews, sirens constantly wailed and outages frequently left the landscape pitch black. Over time, Cook linked up with Ukrainian soldiers who had returned from the front lines to hear their stories and understand the battle conditions. Throughout the assignment, he communicated with his mother via the Signal smartphone app, which allowed them to exchange texts and chat over video. In recent weeks, Christine Cook said, her son somehow roused the suspicions of people in his circle. She didnt know how the tension flared up, but she said Titawny was unable to quell it because of the language barrier. When she last spoke with him on July 25, he said he believed someone was inside his fifth-floor apartment with a gun. He gave her the name and phone number of another friend to call for help. I called, told (the friend) my son was in danger and to check on him, Christine Cook said. She called Titawny back, but he didnt answer. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Later, she received a call from a woman who had found her sons phone on the street. Then, on the morning of July 26, an official at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv called, saying that police had found her son lying unconscious. They transported him to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead. The location and circumstances of his death were not clear. After news of Cooks death surfaced, Lothian reflected soberly on his decision to sponsor the Ukraine assignment. He remembered how Cook had returned to college as a reset after his service in the military, wanting to pursue journalism seriously. He entered this new phase of life with gusto, writing for the newspaper, participating in the college TV crew and working for Chabots radio station. Of course, I support all my student journalists doing what they want to do and achieve with journalism, to the degree that I possibly can, Lothian said. Regarding Cook, he added, Honestly, I regret it. Now, Christine Cook is raising money to retrieve her sons body a daunting task, given that the airports in Kyiv are closed and the local police have not finished their investigation of the killing. Im in a holding pattern, his mother said, her voice quavering. Despite her pain, she acknowledged how proud she is of the son who had enough courage to travel somewhere where he didnt know anyone, didnt speak the language and had to confront extraordinary hardships. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl dodged a question about Taylor Swift while out in Los Angeles on Thursday after recently accusing the pop star of lip-synching. One month after implying that the Cruel Summer hitmaker does not sing live on her Eras Tour during one of his shows in London, the Foo Fighters frontman, 55, chose to remain silent when asked about his remarks by a paparazzo while walking to his car in Los Angeles. When asked directly what he thought about the online chatter that his 'statements on Taylor not playing live werent fair,' the musician kept his mouth shut. He also chose not to respond to a question about 'why' he doesn't think she sings live, despite the 14-time Grammy winner insisting that she does not lip sync. In the footage, obtained by TMZ, Grohl smoked a cigarette and simply gave a wide-eyed expression when asked to 'clarify' his past comments. Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl dodged a question about Taylor Swift while out in Los Angeles on Thursday after recently accusing the pop star of lip-synching; seen in 2014 In June, the music legend blasted Swift's record-breaking Eras Tour by suggesting she doesn't sing live. During one of his concerts, he told the crowd: 'We like to call our tour "The Errors Tour" because I feel like weve had more than a few eras and more than a few f**king errors as well.' He proceeded to quip: 'Thats because we actually play live.' As some concertgoers booed, he shot back: 'What? Just saying. You guys like raw, live rock n roll music, right? You came to the right f**king place.' Right before he made the accusation, Grohl he admitted to 'joking about the Taylor Swift tour earlier' and not wanting to 'suffer the wrath of Taylor Swift.' The day after his comment, Swift seeming responded to his claim as she thanked her band and crew for working tirelessly to make the Eras Tour special for fans. Swift asked her fans to cheer for every one of her band members and crew, who she said plsy 'live for you for 3.5 hours' every show. 'They deserve this so much,' she gushed. 'And so does every one of my fellow performers. And you just gave that to us so generously, we will never forget it.' One month after implying that the Cruel Summer hitmaker does not sing live on the Eras Tour during one of his shows in London, the Foo Fighters frontman, 55, chose to remain silent when asked about his remarks by a paparazzo while walking to his car in Los Angeles (pictured in 2024) When asked directly what he thought about the online chatter that his 'statements on Taylor not playing live werent fair,' the musician kept his mouth shut (seen together in 2008) Swifties were upset at the rocker for taking a jab at the superstar, who he previously credited for saving him from embarrassment at a party in front of Paul McCartney; seen in 2007 Grohl and Swift have previously been on good terms, with the former praising the latter's decision to re-record her albums, reclaiming her back catalog. He also once spoke of how he was 'saved' by Swift after she assisted him while performing at a party held by Sir Paul McCartney. Some online users were unimpressed with Grohl's jibe at Swift, who has sold over 200 million records worldwide. Swift seeming responded to his claim as she thanked her band and crew for working tirelessly to make the Eras Tour special for fans; seen in May 2024 Some online users were unimpressed with Grohl's jibe at Swift, who has sold over 200 million records worldwide One wrote: 'Oh Tayvoodoo is coming for him and he deserves it. Can't handle that a woman is more talented and successful.' 'Wow Grohl so washed he has to use Taylor's name for free pr? Embarrassing thought he was better than that what a shame', another user said. Some fans suggested that Grohl's attack was partly fueled by abuse faced by his daughter from Swifties - Taylor Swift's fans. Violet Grohl criticized Swift for flying between concert stops in a private jet. Carol Vorderman showed off her hourglass figure in a pair of tight-fitting green trousers as she strolled through London in the sunshine on Friday. The television presenter, 63, was spotted walking through Leicester Square wearing a pair of skinny green trousers and a white quarter-zip blouse. The outspoken radio-show host flaunted her age-defying figure with an oversized black belt and cream military-style jacket. She finished off her look with a pair of brown lace-up heels and aviator sunglasses as she carried two large bags through the capital. The stylish star has had a busy few months and has been taking part in ITV's Cooking With The Stars after admitting she's fallen out of love with cooking leaving her only eating one meal a day and snacking on brussel sprouts. Carol Vorderman, 63, showed off her hourglass figure in a pair of tight-fitting green trousers as she strolled through London in the sunshine on Friday The outspoken radio-show host flaunted her age-defying figure with an oversized black belt and cream military-style jacket which she layered over a crisp white top She finished off her look with a pair of brown lace-up heels and aviator sunglasses as she carried two large bags through the capital in the sunshine The show sees a slew of famous faces paired with professional chefs who will mentor them in a bid to transform them from amateur to expert in a matter of weeks. Carol has joined model Abbey Clancy and comedian Katherine Ryan on the hit show which is presented by Emma Willis and Tom Allen. The media personality revealed she has 'fallen out of love with cooking,' and signed up to get some inspiration. Carol, who's divorced with two adult children said: 'I used to cook all the time and then about ten years ago I just stopped. 'I think after cooking for the kids and my mum and the family I'd just had enough. The knowledge is there but I fell out of love with it, so my motivation is to get cooking again.' Carol has been posting her cooking progress on her Instagram, but viewers were less than impressed by hygiene standards on the show. The presenter, who was paired with Scottish restauranteur Tony Singh, whipped up salmon coulibiac (salmon encased in puff pastry) with a Champagne reduction int he first episode but depsite the impressive dish, fans were more concerned with her hair. Carole opted not to tie her hair up as she got busy in the kitchen, causing a slew of complaints from fans online: Carol has been posting her cooking progress to her Instagram after joining ITV's Cooking With The Stars, but viewers have been less than impressed by hygiene standards on the show The TV star posing with model Abbey Clancy on the set of the ITV's cooking show which sees celebrities paired with professionals to inspire them in the kitchen (pictured July 31) 'For Petes sake, tie your hair back #Cookingwiththestars #TeamPasha.' 'Does it bother anyone else that the celebs on #Cookingwiththestars dont their hair back?? I just vision a pan full of stray hair #Cookingwiththestars #itv.' The presenter has also been hosting her own show on LBC since January after quitting the BBC over disagreements about social media. At the time the star slammed the corporation trying to 'restrict what people do in their private lives'. The former Countdown star left her BBC Radio Wales show in 2023 saying she was 'not prepared to lose my voice' after the company introduced new social media guidelines. Carol, who has been vocal in her criticism of the Government on social media, claims she was 'sacked' by the corporation with 'no conversation to be had'. Rumer Willis looked chic as she stepped out to grab a drink in Los Angeles on Friday. The 35-year-old daughter of Demi Moore, 61, and Bruce Willis, exuded style in a green and white gingham dress featuring a long skirt, short puffy sleeves and a scoop neckline. The mom of Louella, 15 months, with partner Derek Richard Thomas had her blonde hair parted in the middle and pulled back into a low ponytail. As Rumer who recently enjoyed a night out at the Chateau Marmont left the coffee shop, she toted a green smoothie. The Once Upon a Time in Hollywood actress is currently filming a Western movie called Broken Trail and has been sharing snaps of her daughter visiting her on set. Rumer Willis looked chic as she stepped out to grab a drink in Los Angeles on Friday The 35-year-old daughter of Demi Moore , 61, and Bruce Willis , exuded style in a green and white gingham dress featuring a long skirt, short puffy sleeves and a scoop neckline One of the photos she shared recently was of her breastfeeding her one year old child. Critics came out to try to shame her for continuing to breastfeed but Rumer shut them down quickly. The star who welcomed her first child, daughter Louetta, in April 2023 recently told People, 'I didn't think it was that big of a thing because I grew up in a naked house.' Some of the actress' 1.1 million Instagram followers have scoffed at her breastfeeding posts, calling it 'a private thing.' Rumer delivered a clear message to her critics: 'I'm like, "Really? How would you feel if I told you to lock yourself in a little cubicle at the airport when you wanted to eat?"' 'I'm feeding my kid. It's not sexual unless you're making it that way,' she told the outlet. 'I didn't grow up in a house where we had shame about being naked, ever, she explained, adding, 'I didn't think I was posting that crazy of things, even for me - I know I can be a little escandalo.' Rumer used to show Louella's face on social media but has recently pulled back from that practice. One of the photos she shared recently was of her breastfeeding her one year old child. Critics came out to try to shame her for continuing to breastfeed but Rumer shut them down quickly The star who welcomed her first child, daughter Louetta, in April 2023 recently told People, 'I didn't think it was that big of a thing because I grew up in a naked house' Some of the actress' 1.1 million Instagram followers have scoffed at her breastfeeding posts, calling it 'a private thing' During a recent visit to her mother's set, Rumer was in the hair and makeup chair and she shared some snaps of herself holding her daughter. Man, I love my little Lou,' she penned in the caption. 'You can tell she is a Willis cause when she came to visit mama on set and I was covered in blood she didnt even flinch, she just reached out her arms and grabbed me tight and gave me a big ole smooch.' Louella is the first grandchild for Demi and Bruce. German aircraft maker Deutsche Aircraft on Friday said it has collaborated with Bengaluru-based SASMOS HET Technologies for its 40-seater turboprop regional aircraft D328eco project. Under this strategic collaboration, SASMOS HET Technologies will provide specialised design and development of Electrical Wiring Interconnection Systems (EWIS) for regional aircraft, marking a significant milestone in the efforts to advance aerospace engineering globally, the company said in a statement.SASMOS HET Technologies Ltd, which started operations in 2007, is a manufacturer of wiring harnesses, electro-mechanical assemblies and unit integration products for the aerospace, defence and marine industry sphere in India. SASMOS currently exports more than 70 per cent of its products to Israel, the US and Europe, as per the statement. We welcome SASMOS HET Technologies as our partner in the D328eco programme. Their reputation for developing and delivering top-tier aerospace wiring solutions aligns perfectly with our needs for the D328eco, said Nico Neumann, COO at Deutsche Aircraft. Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty halted their five-day rally to close with deep cuts on Friday in line with a global sell-off as investors dialled back risk exposure in metal, auto and IT stocks after weak US job data. Amid widespread selling pressure, the 30-share BSE Sensex plunged 885.60 points or 1.08 per cent to close at 80,981.95. During the day, it nosedived 998.64 points or 1.21 per cent to hit an intra-day low of 80,868.91. The broader Nifty of NSE slipped 293.20 points or 1.17 per cent to end at 24,717.70. It fell 324.05 points or 1.29 per cent to 24,686.85 during the session. From the Sensex stocks, Maruti Suzuki India, Tata Motors, JSW Steel, Larsen & Toubro, Tata Steel, Mahindra and Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services, Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies and Infosys were the laggards. HDFC Bank, Sun Pharmaceuticals, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Nestle India and Asian Paints were among the gainers. The European markets were quoting lower in mid-session deals on Thursday. Global oil benchmark Brent crude rose 0.77 per cent to USD 80.13 a barrel. In Asian markets, Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Seoul ended lower on Thursday. The US stock market also finished in the negative territory on Thursday. Foreign institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 2,089.28 crore in the capital markets on Thursday. The 30-share Sensex climbed 126.21 points to close at a new lifetime high of 81,867.55, while NSE Nifty rose 59.75 points to settle at an all-time closing peak of 25,010.90. As the first woman Vice President, Harris is now poised to break another glass ceiling by becoming the first female President of the United States The US Vice President Kamala Harris ended the week by declaring, "I am Kamala Harris and I am running for President." This historic moment, ending the suspense after President Biden withdrew from the Presidential contest and endorsed her as the candidate, marks a new chapter in American politics. It is now official. Many influential Democrats, including former Presidents Barrack Obama and Bill Clinton, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, fund giver George Clooney, have thrown their weight behind her candidacy. She now has the Party firmly behind her in her fight, instilling confidence in her potential to lead.It's worth noting that in its 248-year history, the US has never elected a female President. Even Hillary Clinton, who ran for President in 2008 and 2016, was unsuccessful. Kamala made history four years ago when she became the first woman Vice President. Will she make history again by running for President? Can she win?She has to do two things. First, she needs to get the Democratic Party's nomination, and then she needs to win. Time is short, with only four months left before the election on November 5. Indian-origin Kamala Harris has several strengths and a few weaknesses. Her current position as Vice President and her qualifications to assume the role of President in an emergency are her essential advantages. Four years ago, Kamala hoped Biden would finish one term and say goodbye to the White House. However, Biden stuck to his decision and insisted on running for a second term. But he surprised everyone by recently withdrawing and endorsing his Vice President. One significant advantage was that she could break the glass ceiling by becoming the first woman president. She must work hard to appeal to Black, Asian, and female voters and gain support from other minority groups and undecided and younger voters. This could help her chances against Trump in swing states. Secondly, another significant factor in Kamala Harris's favour is her strong connection to Biden's legacy, which is not entirely negative. This association could play a pivotal role in her candidacy. She could bring together moderate and conservative members of her Party and act as a unifying force. To defeat Trump, her Party must unite and support her. Thirdly, Obama was the first Black President, and John F. Kennedy was the first Catholic President. They could be her role models, inspiring hope in the hearts of many.Fourthly, and importantly, Kamala is 59 years old, which works in her favour compared to Trump, who is 78. Her age is not a drawback, but a substantial age difference could bring about change. She can attract undecided voters by highlighting her achievements to gain their support.Fifthly, she can have Biden's war chest of about $100 million. She has raised $200 million in the first week of her candidacy and signed up 17000 volunteers. Still, she must instil confidence in other fundraisers for the enormous poll expenditure. Kamala Harris has strong ties to Silicon Valley since the beginning of her political career. She is tapping into this support for her battle against Donald Trump.Above all, she must choose the right candidate for herrunning mate. The right combination should enhance the chances against the Trump-Vance team. Kamala also pledged to do "everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party and our nation, to defeat Donald Trump and his extreme Project 2025 agenda." Harris's mission is urgent and crucial. She must gain the support of those who are uncertain or critical to achieve her goal. The race for President between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump is currently tied, according to a recent poll by the Wall Street Journal. This tie is significant. The poll shows increased support for Harris among non-white voters and a substantial rise in enthusiasm for the campaign among Democrats. Harris faces challenges such as her past unsuccessful bid for the 2020 nomination, her approval ratings, and the need to secure significant funding for her campaign. According to a recent NBC News poll, Trump was ahead of Biden by 45% to 43%, and Trump also led Harris by the same two-point margin of 47% to 45%. But slowly, this is changing. The time is short, as the campaign has just 100 days left. Before the November election, the vice president's team should strategise how to defeat Trump. Trump's team may criticise Harris as inexperienced and risky. She should be ready to face racism from the Trump campaign and run as a Democratic nominee who is a Black and South Asian American woman. This election is a critical decision that will shape America's future. Biden's exit has energised the Democratic. It is up to Kamla to seize the moment to surge forward. Can she step in and be the natural leader in America? Her capacity to lead The next few weeks will show whether she can. (The writer is a popular columnist, views are personal) This operation highlighted the bravery, ingenuity, and strategic importance of the IAF, cementing its legacy in modern warfare The Kargil War of 1999 marked a significant milestone for the Indian Air Force (IAF), which participated in large-scale combat for the first time since the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971.In April 1999, around 1500 Pakistani soldiers infiltrated Indian territory in Kargil, Jammu, and Kashmir to sever the connection between Kashmir and Ladakh. The air operations in the Kargil region by IAF were named 'Operation Safedsagar'. In the 1990s, covert intruders from Pakistan stationed at high-altitude peaks made it difficult for the Indian army and IAF to carry out military operations in the challenging mountainous terrain of J&K since it was impossible to pinpoint their exact locations. Operation Safedsagar marked a revolutionary use of aerial capabilities in a distinct and demanding setting. The IAF's successful use of air power in the Kargil conflict is a source of pride for India.The strategic deployment of air power became essential in the War, as it effectively provided direct air support to ground troops and executed highly precise bombings on enemy targets, thereby exerting a substantial impact on the final result of the battle. The IAF encountered notable challenges due to its operational areas' geographical and environmental factors. The Kargil region is known for its very intricate topography. Engaging in operations at high altitudes invariably presents formidable obstacles, such as the notable deterioration of both aircraft and weapon efficacy. The delivery of a weapon to the target is significantly influenced by weather at higher altitudes. The winds are usually powerful and higher than the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) required minima. Given this, manoeuvring is necessary to complete the essential launch. Despite challenging geographical and meteorological conditions, the operation exemplified exceptional bravery, persistence, and commitment. By July 23, 1999, the Indian forces successfully recaptured the Kargil Heights, a testament to their unwavering commitment and bravery that is sure to inspire. Innovations for Technical Asymmetry Dividends The IAF demonstrated exceptional ingenuity and resourcefulness during the Kargil conflict by successfully deploying several unique innovations. The IAF aimed to develop and use several weapon launch strategies. The Indian Air Force effectively used laser-guided bombs deployed from Mirage-2000 aircraft to significantly impair the adversary's logistical routes, a testament to their innovative tactics. The laser-guided missile pods were modified to carry 1000-kilogram bombs from the World War II era, particularly for storage aboard the Ajeet aircraft. The Mirage-2000 aircraft used these bombs for the first time after making immediate modifications. The IAF reportedly chose weapon-impact zones that may trigger a domino effect leading to avalanches or landslides. To establish firing limits for rockets and weaponry at high heights, a meticulous process is needed to determine specific mountain peaks that closely resemble the height of enemy fortifications. Performing real-time shooting trials in such conditions enables the acquisition of crucial data to enhance and enhance the efficiency of these weapons. Using laser designators installed on MiG-29 aircraft to guide the ammunition released by Mirage-2000 combat fighters was an incredible achievement. By using this innovative methodology, the precision and efficiency of the impacts were significantly improved. The Mirage-2000 aircraft were outfitted with Litening pods that enhanced target detection and facilitated the precise launching of guided missiles. This was the first-ever deployment of cutting-edge targeting technology by the IAF in combat operations. During air operations in the Kargil War, the capabilities of precision strikes helped the IAF reduce the amount of collateral damage and neutralise hostile positions. The efficient use of air power has averted more casualties considerably reduced the duration of the Indian Army has achieved substantial progress on the battlefield. An in-depth understanding of the Kargil operations is crucial for appreciating India's changing alignment in aerospace power. This battle serves as an exceptional case study for analysing the use of airpower in joint engagements in extremely mountainous regions. (The writer is Retd Group Captain, IAF. and Senior Fellow, Centre for Air Power Studies; views are personal) Following Nicolas Maduro's victory over right-wing candidate Edmundo Gonzalez, there is confusion and chaos in the country fanned by Western media In Venezuela, last Sunday was more than just a day of elections; it was the 70th birth anniversary of Hugo Chavez, the transformative leader who revolutionised Venezuela's social fabric. Chavez, who died prematurely from pelvic cancer at the age of 58, left an enduring legacy that continues to shape the nation's history. Unsurprisingly, the Western media is once again engaging in its usual tactic of misleading the public regarding Venezuelan elections to serve its interests. When a leader elected through a free and fair process but who rejects the Western model is demonised as undemocratic, while a leader who aligns with Western ideals is hailed as democratic despite questionable means of coming to power, it reveals a clear bias. This pattern was evident in the aftermath of Venezuela's recent elections, where protests, statue removals, and airport blockades dominated the news because the outcome did not align with Western expectations. Following Nicolas Maduro's victory over the right-wing candidate Edmundo Gonzalez, the oppositionwho had promised to accept the results only if they wonimmediately denounced the election as fraudulent without presenting credible evidence. Their claims centre around alleged discrepancies between paper ballots and electronic results, which they use to suggest tampering.Venezuelas voting system aims to prevent fraud with electronic voting, ID and fingerprint verification, and paper receipts for cross-checking. Election observers from 95 countries reported a calm process, while opposition claims of having three-quarters of the paper ballots remain unsubstantiated. Media reports, including an Edison Research exit poll showing Gonzalez leading by over 30%, are questioned due to their ties to U.S. state media and the fact that exit polling is illegal in Venezuela. The opposition and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken quickly declared the election illegitimate, reflecting a pattern of U.S. interference, such as the 2019 recognition of Juan Guaido over Maduro and past support for coups against Venezuelan leaders.The U.S. has consistently sought to control Venezuelas vast oil reserves, the largest in the world. Chavezs 1990 election disrupted the elite and foreign corporations exploitation of these resources, redirecting oil revenue to the Venezuelan people. U.S.-backed coups in 2002 and 2019 aimed to reclaim control over Venezuelas oil. John Bolton, Trumps national security advisor, openly expressed desires for U.S. companies to dominate Venezuelas energy sector, revealing economic motives behind political actions.Chavezs anti-imperialist stance and Maduros continuation of these policies challenged U.S. dominance in Latin America. Venezuelas support for global South nations and opposition to U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq inspired regional progressive movements. The U.S., under the guise of humanitarian concern, enforces sanctions causing severe poverty and scarcity in Venezuela, driving migration and economic collapse. These sanctions have decimated Venezuelas oil sector and government income, exacerbating the very crises the U.S. claims to address. The U.S. strategy of manufactured poverty and social crises is a well-worn tactic to justify regime change.The United States' obsession with overthrowing Venezuela's government stems from multiple factors, with oil being a significant one. Venezuela holds the largest oil reserves in the world, and many U.S. companies have long desired access to these resources. Despite the U.S. being a major oil producer, the nationalisation of Venezuelan oil under Hugo Chavez and the subsequent exclusion of U.S. oil corporations have driven American interests in destabilising the Venezuelan government. This nationalisation was seen as a direct challenge to U.S. economic interests and a disruption of the global oil market that the U.S. seeks to dominate.Beyond oil, Venezuela's push for a multipolar world presents a direct challenge to U.S. hegemony. Since the Bolivarian revolution led by Hugo Chavez, Venezuela has sought to forge alliances with countries such as China, Russia, and Iran. Additionally, Venezuela has been instrumental in the creation of regional organisations like CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) and ALBA (Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America). These efforts are aimed at reducing dependency on the U.S. economy. This ideological shift threatens the traditional power structures maintained by U.S. influence in the Western Hemisphere.In response to these obstacles, the U.S. has imposed severe sanctions and blockades on Venezuela, much like its long-standing policies against Cuba. These measures are designed to suffocate Venezuela's economy, incite political unrest, and ultimately force a change in government. The deepening of Venezuela's relationships with major powers such as China and Russia further threatens U.S. geopolitical interests. These partnerships offer Venezuela economic and military support, making it increasingly resilient against U.S. attempts at destabilisation. The U.S. perceives these multipolar alliances as a direct affront to its global dominance and has consequently intensified its efforts to undermine the Venezuelan government.It is in this context that the U.S. government is backing yet another coup attempt in Venezuela, after their disappointed elections result. Over the past two decades, Washington has sponsored several coup attempts, often violent, to overthrow Venezuela's government, including targeting former revolutionary president Hugo Chavez and his successor, Nicolas Maduro. In 2002, the U.S. backed a military coup that briefly overthrew Chavez, Venezuela's democratically elected president. Despite mainstream acknowledgement from sources like The Guardian that the Bush administration supported this coup, it lasted only two days as the Venezuelan people reinstated Chavez, who continued his Bolivarian revolution. Following the presidential elections on 28 July, where Maduro was re-elected, the U.S. and its Latin American allies refused to recognise the results. Instead, violent extremists, supported by powerful figures like billionaire Elon Musk, have been burning down public institutions, government buildings, and hospitals, and destroying buses while looting offices to overthrow Maduro. This aligns with Musk's history of supporting U.S.-backed coups in Latin America, as seen in his 2019 backing of the Bolivian coup to access lithium reserves for electric vehicles.Independent analysts have reported that the unproven claims of electoral fraud in Venezuela originate from Edison Research, a New Jersey-based firm with reported close ties to the U.S. government and the CIA. This firm works with U.S. government propaganda outlets like Voice of America and Radio Free Europe, which were established by the CIA. Despite these baseless allegations, independent international electoral observers, including the National Lawyers Guild and human rights activists, have confirmed the transparency and fairness of Venezuela's electoral process. They condemned the U.S.-backed opposition's refusal to accept the results, which undermines Venezuela's democracy. Donald Trump, during his presidency, admitted the U.S. aimed to take over Venezuela and its oil. His administration recognised right-wing opposition figure Juan Guaido as the supposed president of Venezuela, despite his lack of electoral participation. The Trump administration's coup attempt in 2019 failed, as Guaido never gained power. The Biden administration continues to back far-right extremists like Maria Corina Machado, who allegedly collaborates with oligarchs and calls for military intervention to overthrow Maduro. Historically, U.S.-backed coup attempts in Venezuela have been violent. After Chavez died in 2013 and Maduro's election, far-right extremists launched another coup attempt in 2014, burning government buildings and attacking supporters of the government. Leaders of these coup attempts, like Leopoldo Lopez and Maria Corina Machado, have close ties to the U.S. government. Despite engaging in violent coup attempts, these opponents walk free in Venezuela, which starkly contrasts with the U.S.'s portrayal of the country as a dictatorship. U.S. sanctions have severely worsened Venezuela's economic crisis. Ironically, these sanctions have led to a U.S. energy crisis, as sanctions on Iran and Russia have made affordable energy scarce for Europe. Despite the high cost and insufficiency of U.S. liquefied natural gas, Venezuelan oil remains blocked from European markets due to the sanctions. In June 2022, the U.S. pivoted its strategy by permitting the transport of Venezuelan oil to Europe to compensate for the void left by reduced Russian supplies. This strategic recalibration paved the way for the Barbados Agreement in October 2023, which initiated a gradual easing of sanctions. The elections held on 28 July were a direct result of this process. However, the U.S. encountered significant challenges in realising its typical political objectives through overt manipulation, while it continued to exert its influence through covert channels. (The writer is a journalist and author. Views are personal) The US has said it expects accountability from India concerning the alleged role of an Indian government employee in the failed attempt to assassinate a Sikh separatist on US soil last summer. In November last year, US federal prosecutors charged Indian national Nikhil Gupta with working with an Indian government employee in the foiled plot to kill Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, who holds dual American and Canadian citizenship, in New York. Gupta, who was arrested in the Czech Republic in June last year, was extradited to the US on June 14. We continue to expect accountability from the government of India in relation to the alleged role of an Indian government employee in the failed attempt to assassinate a US citizen on US soil that occurred last summer, State Department Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters in response to a question at his daily news conference. We continue to raise our concerns directly with the Indian government at senior levels, he said. India has denied the allegations but has constituted an internal investigations team to look into it. Patel, however, declined to comment on a news report alleging that Canadian authorities claim to have arrested five Indian nationals planning to target a Sikh separatist at a wedding ceremony. As it relates to the news that you mentioned out of Canada, I would refer you to the Canadian government to comment on issues that are happening within their law enforcement system, the official said. He said that the US continues to raise our concerns directly with the Indian government at senior levels. Air India on Friday announced suspending flights to Tel Aviv till August 8, amid escalating tensions in the Middle East. The Tata Group-owned airline operates four weekly flights to Israeli city from the national Capital. In view of the ongoing situation in parts of the Middle East, we have suspended the scheduled operation of our flights to and from Tel Aviv with immediate effect up to August 8, 2024, the carrier said in a social media post. The airline also said it was extending support to passengers with confirmed bookings for travel to and from Tel Aviv during this period, with a one-time waiver on rescheduling and cancellation charges. On Thursday, Air India cancelled its flight to Tel Aviv. Tensions continue to remain high in the Middle East amid conflict between Israel and various groups, including Hamas. Earlier this year also, AI had briefly suspended flights to Tel Aviv at different points of time due to the Middle East tensions. After nearly five months, the carrier had recommenced the services to the Israeli city on March 3. Air India had suspended flights to and from Tel Aviv starting on October 7, 2023, after the Hamas groups attack on the Israeli city. Chevron sold its longtime headquarters complex at Bishop Ranch in San Ramon in 2022. Sunset Development Chevron announced Friday that it plans to relocate its corporate headquarters from San Ramon to Houston after 145 years in the Bay Area, becoming Californias latest corporate giant to shift to Texas. The oil and gas titan, worth $286 billion, will relocate on Jan. 1, 2025, with Chairman and CEO Mike Wirth and Vice Chairman Mark Nelson moving to Texas to enable better collaboration and engagement with other executives, employees and partners. The company said it expects all corporate functions to migrate to Houston over the next five years from San Ramon, but that there will be minimal immediate relocation impacts in San Ramon. Jobs supporting California operations will stay in San Ramon, and refinery and other non-office jobs that span Richmond, the San Joaquin Valley and El Segundo wont move. Chevron said the number and types of jobs relocating hasnt been finalized, but expects to complete a review by end of year. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Chevron has a long and proud history in California. We remain committed to our investments in California with our crude oil fields, technical facilities, refineries, retail stations and renewable partnerships, the company said. In 2022, the company sold its longtime San Ramon headquarters complex and significantly downsized by leasing less space nearby. It follows a slew of major Bay Area companies that have moved headquarters to Texas, though most have kept some operations in California, including Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Tesla, Charles Schwab and McKesson. Chevron, the second-largest U.S. oil company, already has a roughly 7,000-person Houston presence that dwarfs San Ramons 2,000 employees. Its larger rival, Exxon Mobil, also moved its headquarters to Houston from Irving, Texas, last year. Texas officials were jubilant Friday after attracting another California firm. WELCOME HOME Chevron! Texas is your true home. Drill baby drill, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said. Advertisement Article continues below this ad California sued Chevron and four other oil giants last year for allegedly downplaying the effects of fossil fuels on climate change. Wirth, the Chevron CEO, told Bloomberg that climate change calls for a coordinated global policy response, not piecemeal litigation that benefits attorneys and politicians. We have previously stated that we believe state policy makers have pursued policies that raise costs and consumer prices, creating a hardship for all Californians, especially those who can least afford it. These policies have also made California investment unappealing compared with opportunities elsewhere in the U.S. and globally, the company said. Chevron has a major refining presence in California and continues to be at odds with the California regulators and the new state legislation that is impacting all companies operating in California, said Andy Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates in Houston. The state of Texas is much friendlier to the energy business, and their moving to the state reflects that. Beyond climate regulations, companies have cited Californias high taxes, as well as the expensive cost of housing and other living expenses, for shifting jobs elsewhere, reasons that Chevron echoed: Texas offers a business-friendly environment, a more affordable cost of living, and better proximity to key counterparts in the service sector, our industry and academia. Texas has no personal income or corporate tax. The median home price in San Ramon was $1.6 million in June, compared with $349,000 in Houston, according to real estate firm Redfin. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Chasing jobs and employers out of California is no way to run the economy, Jim Wunderman, CEO of the business-backed Bay Area Council advocacy group, said in a statement. Its an embarrassment for California that weve lost so many global companies because of misguided policies that make it incredibly difficult to do business here. Californias elected leaders need to take stock of the decisions theyre making that affect millions of families and workers, impact the state budget and have grave consequences for the future economic health of this state. California Gov. Gavin Newsoms spokesperson, Alex Stack, said the relocation is the logical culmination of a long process that has repeatedly been foreshadowed by Chevron. Were proud of Californias place as the leading creator of clean energy jobs a critical part of our diverse, innovative, and vibrant economy. Chevrons history in the Bay Area dates to 1879, when Pacific Coast Oil Co., a predecessor company, was incorporated in San Francisco. The company later became folded into Standard Oil Co. (California), a derivative of John D. Rockefellers original oil giant. In 1984 the companys name became Chevron after its merger with Gulf Oil the largest corporate merger at the time. In 2001, Chevron moved its headquarters from San Francisco where it had a major presence on Market Street to a San Ramon office park. The move was in part to be closer to its Richmond refinery, the company said at the time, though it had also fought what it perceived as high taxes in the city. The Richmond refinery was built in 1902. It was one of the largest refineries in the world at the time and survived the 1906 earthquake. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The companys stock price was down around 3% midday Friday, after it also reported second-quarter earnings that missed Wall Street expectations. Profit fell 26% to $4.4 billion from a year earlier. Chevrons decision to relocate its headquarters underscores the compelling advantages that position Houston as the prime destination for leading energy companies today and for the future, Steve Kean, CEO of the Greater Houston Partnership, said in a statement. He noted that four Fortune 500 companies have moved to the area in the past five years. Amidst the recent NEET paper leak controversy, which has cast a shadow on the quality and management of medical education in India, Union Health Minister JP Nadda defended the examination system, saying the medical education had become an open business before the NEET was introduced and PG seats were sold for `8 crore-`13 crore each. Addressing concerns during a discussion on a private member resolution by DMK Rajya Sabha member M Mohmed Abdulla, Nadda emphasised that the introduction of NEET was a necessary reform to combat rampant corruption in medical education. The Minister said corruption was rife in medical education before the NEET was brought in during his first stint as Health Minister. He asserted that before NEET, the medical education sector was plagued by severe malpractices, including the sale of postgraduate seats for exorbitant amounts ranging from Rs 8 crore to Rs 13 crore. Medical education had become the den of a business. When I was health minister and was bringing NEET, one seat of post graduation was sold for Rs 8 crore each and if you had to opt for a discipline like radiology then it was Rs 12-13 crore, Nadda said. He said that before the NEET came in, students had to travel across the country for medical exams. The minister said that beside the money and time spent, the students also had to deal with huge corruption in the medical education system. The admission list used to be put up for 30-45 minutes and afterwards it used to be said students did not come, therefore, we are using these seats at our discretion. It had become a business. There was a vested interest. The matter was pending before the Supreme Court for a long time, Nadda said. Today, thanks to NEET, exams are conducted at numerous centres. There has been a 65 percent increase in the number of students from social categories who secure seats through NEET. The exam is now available in 13 languages, and students from government schools have also benefited. This year, there are 17 perfect scorers in NEET from various states, including Kerala, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Uttar Pradesh. During the Session, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Raghav Chadha in Rajya Sabha joined the ongoing NEET issue, criticising corruption in exams that aim to produce doctors. He warned that such corruption could lead to the emergence of Munna Bhai MBBS-type doctors. At the same time, Communist Party of India (Marxist) MP John Brittas said, Parliamentarians need to collaborate on this matter, as it directly impacts the young minds and their future. Amid deaths of mentally challenged inmates reported at Asha Kiran shelter home with more than a dozen dead in July alone, Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena on Friday directed the Chief Secretary to furnish a white paper on the running of all shelters homes by the Delhi Government in three weeks and initiate action against the administrator immediately. On her part, Minister Atishi ordered the Revenue Department to initiate a magisterial enquiry and submit a report within 48 hours. Asha Kiran is a Delhi Government-run facility for the mentally challenged and comes under its Social Welfare Department. The department is currently without a head following the resignation of Raaj Kumar Anand. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is currently lodged in Tihar jail, has not assigned the charge of the department to any minister. According to reports, 28 mentally ill inmates have died this year so far. Out of the total 14 deaths reported in July, 10 happened in the last half of the month including the death of a 14-year-old boy. According to the Medical Care Unit of the shelter home, most of the deceased had complaints of difficulty in breathing and loose motions. The L-G ordered a comprehensive enquiry into the state of affairs of all shelter homes being run by the Delhi Government and a report fixing responsibility is presented within one week. Atishi wrote a letter to the Additional Chief Secretary of Revenue Department and stated that these deaths reportedly occurred due to health issues and malnutrition and indicate the lack of availability of requisite facilities to the inmates. National Commission for Women (NCW) chairperson Rekha Sharma blamed the AAP Government for the death. She demanded responsibility from Delhi Minister Atishi in the matter. A team from NCW visited the shelter home following which Sharma said, The shelters run by the Delhi government have become death traps for innocent people. In the capacity for 250 people, Asha Kiran has 450 people staying without proper food, water and medication. Atishi should be made responsible for contaminated water they have been provided, she said, adding that most of the women who died were under 40 years old. Apex child rights body National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) called on Friday called for immediate action in the matter and submission of a fact-finding report within 48 hours. Delhi Congress President Devender Yadav demanded thorough probe into the deaths of inmates of the AAP government while raising question whether a responsible government exists in the Capital, as the AAP ministers were only blaming others for their own lapses and incompetence in effectively administering their Ministries. BJP Northwest MP Yogendra Chandolia raised the issue in the Parliament following his visit to the shelter home. There is no proper ventilation in the dormitory where the inmates live that they have more than the capacity of the shelter. The nurses and women that take care of them are getting paid pennies for working so hard. I demand magisterial inquiry in the matter, he said, adding that the Delhi Jal Board has stopped the supply of water for three months in the shelter. All India BJP Mahila Morcha Vice President Rekha Gupta, BJP Rohini MLA Vijender Gupta and the partys North West district president Satyanarain Gautam tried to enter the shelter home but the gates were not opened for them, following which they staged a protest. The Enforcement Directorate has taken action against Samajwadi Party Member of Parliament from Jaunpur, Babu Singh Kushwaha. The ED seized Kushwahas land worth crores of rupees in Lucknow on Friday. After this, bulldozers will also run on the illegal construction made on the seized land. The ED had registered a case of money laundering in the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) scam during the Bahujan Samaj Party regime. The case also includes land worth crores of rupees on Kanpur Road in Lucknow which allegedly belongs to former minister in the Mayawati government, Babu Singh Kushwaha, now a SP Member of Parliament from Jaunpur. Kushwaha was arrested and lodged in the jail in the NRHM case. Reports said that the ED team took big action in this case on Friday. The ED team seized Babu Singh Kushwahas property located on Kanpur Road near Scooters India Limited campus. The ED sleuths also took a bulldozer with them to demolish the illegal construction made on the said land. This land was purchased by Kushwaha in the name of Vindhya Shakti Cement Company and a printing press of a Hindi newspaper was also opened on it. It may be mentioned that till now, the ED has seized property worth about Rs 250 crores of Babu Singh Kushwaha. Kushwaha had invested billions of rupees earned through corruption in NHRM and UP Rajya Nirman Evam Shram Vikas Sahakari Sangh Limited (UPCLDF) in benami properties. This was revealed by ED in its investigation. It was found in the investigation that many properties are in the name of Babu Singh Kushwahas family members and some in the names of his close ones. Heavy rainfall in Himachal till August 6 MeT office Shimla: The meteorological office on Friday issued a yellow alert for heavy rain, thunderstorm and lightning in isolated places in ten out districts of Himachal Pradesh till August 6. It also cautioned of the possibility of landslides and flash floods in vulnerable areas and damage to plantations and standing crops and houses due to strong winds, and waterlogging in low-lying areas. Meanwhile, light rains continued in parts of the state. Kasol recorded 33 mm of rain followed by 19 mm in Seobagh, 11 mm in Hamirpur, 10 mm in Manali, 7.2 mm in Nahan, 7 mm each in Nadaun and Bilaspur, 6 mm in Jubbarhatti, 3 mm each in Dharamshala, Solan and Keylong and 2 mm each in Mandi and Chamba. Shimla received light showers. Rain-related incidents have claimed 73 lives since the onset of monsoon on June 27 till August 1 and the state has also suffered losses to the tune of Rs 649 crore, according to the state's Emergency Operation Centre. Kukumseri in Lahaul and Spiti was coldest at night recording a low of 12.5 degree Celsius while Una was hottest during the day recording a high of 36.4 degree Celsius. Cylinder Burst in Ferozepur: Punjab Childs panel directs Admn to bear full treatment costs for injured children Chandigarh: Punjab State Child Rights Protection Commission has taken a suo motu cognizance of media reports regarding the injuries of five children due to a cylinder burst at Gurudwara Jamani Sahib in Ferozepur district. The Commission has issued a letter to the District Administration, seeking a comprehensive report on the incident by August 6, 2024. Commission chairman Kanwardeep Singh on Friday said that the District Administration has been directed to ensure all necessary medical services are provided to the injured children, and also instructed to bear the entire cost of the treatment for the injured children. Include regional languages in constitutional appointment notifications: Punjab Speaker to Prez Chandigarh: Citing the recent appointment of Punjab Governor, where the notification was read out solely in English and Hindi, Punjab Vidhan Sabha Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan on Friday urged the President of India to include regional languages in all official notifications related to constitutional appointees. Sandhwan, in a letter to the President, highlighted, On July 31, 2024, during the oath ceremony of the Governor of Punjab, the appointment notification issued by your Secretariat was read in English and Hindi. Unfortunately, the notification was not available in Punjabi. This omission has caused disappointment and concern among the people of Punjab. He proposed that all notifications, related to constitutional appointees, should include the regional language alongside English and Hindi. Punjab VB arrests Police Inspector for accepting Rs 6L bribe Chandigarh: Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) on Friday arrested police Inspector Vijay Kumar, who was earlier posted as in-charge CIA Samana, Patiala district, for accepting a bribe of Rs six lakh in conniving with co-accused Raghvir Singh the assistant sub-inspector (ASI). Spokesperson said the Inspector Vijay Kumar has been arrested in an FIR, dated October 23, 2023, under section 7 of Prevention of Corruption Act registered at VB police station Patiala range. Earlier, ASI Raghvir Singh was arrested in this FIR and after his interrogation Inspector Vijay Kumar was also nominated in this case. The complainant has alleged, in his online complaint, that the accused ASI had demanded illegal gratification of Rs 10 lakh for joining an investigation of a case registered against him in Samana police station and had already taken Rs six lakh as a bribe on April 2, 2023, and asking for the remaining money of Rs four lakh. Hry Speaker raises issue of flaws in voters list with State Chief Electoral Officer Chandigarh: Haryana Assembly Speaker and Panchkula MLA Gian Chand Gupta on Friday met State Chief Electoral Officer Pankaj Aggarwal and demanded to remove the flaws in voters lists. He also handed over a copy of the letter written to the Chief Election Commissioner of India on July 27 and survey documents showing errors in the voters list. On the occasion, he also talked in detail about these errors. According to Gupta, the names of persons who died and left the constituency have not been removed. Names of some persons are being found in two different places. He demanded to remove the errors in the voter's list. JJP appoints district in-charges & district presidents in all 22 districts Chandigarh: Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) on Friday appointed district in-charges and district presidents in all 22 districts under the organization's reconstruction. JJP National President Ajay Singh Chautala, former Deputy CM Dushyant Chautala, JJP State President Brij Sharma and many other senior leaders discussed and released the list of appointments of 29 district in-charges and district presidents. JJP has appointed Mandeep Boparai in Ambala, Sajjan Balali in Dadri, Pradeep Chaudhary in Faridabad, Ravindra Beniwal in Fatehabad, Sheochand Yadav in Gurugram, Gurdev Rambha in Karnal and Kuldeep Jakhwala in Kurukshetra as district presidents. Manish Sharma in Mahendragarh, Devendra Sorot in Palwal, OP Sihag in Panchkula, Ram Niwas Patwari in Panipat, Ashok Verma in Sirsa, Raj Singh Dahiya in Sonipat, Vijay Panch Gurjar in Rewari and Gurvinder Tejali in Yamunanagar will be JJP district presidents. Draft voter list Published; Citizens can check their names, says CEO Haryana Chandigarh: Haryana Chief Electoral Officer Pankaj Agarwal on Friday said that the draft voter list has been published on August 2 in preparation for the upcoming general assembly elections. Any citizen or representative of political parties can check the names and other details of the electors in these draft lists. If there are any errors, claims and objections can be filed through Form-8 by August 16, he added. Agarwal further said that the resolution of claims and objections will be completed through the District Election Officer by August 26. The final voter lists will be published on August 27, 2024. He urged young boys and girls who have completed the age of 18 to register their votes before the Haryana Assembly elections and participate in the democratic process to contribute to the development of the state and country. The Chief Electoral Officer said that the Election Commission of India has streamlined the process for including names in the voter list. Previously, the qualifying date was considered to be January 1, with the process conducted once a year. Now, new votes can be registered four times a year, on January 1, April 1, July 1, and October 1. Hry Transport Minister orders suspension of Power Department Executive Engineer Chandigarh: Haryana Minister of State for Transport, Women and Child Development Aseem Goel Naneola on Friday, while taking a strict cognizance of the improper handling of complainants. has directed suspension of the Executive Engineer of the Power Department. Besides this, he also directed to issue show cause notice to another Executive Engineer of the Power Department and the DETC (District Excise and Taxation Officer) of the Excise Department for being absent without permission. Hry Minister suspends official and assistant for casting fake votes Chandigarh: Haryana Minister of State for Transport, Women and Child Development Aseem Goel Naneola, has directed the suspension of a manager and his assistant for irregularities in the cooperative society elections held in Yamunanagar district. The Minister gave these directions while presiding over the District Redressal Committee meeting in Yamunanagar today. During the meeting, a total of 12 complaints were heard. Of these, 11 were resolved on the spot by directing the officers, while one complaint was deferred to the next meeting. Hry Education Minister felicitates meritorious students, teachers Chandigarh: Haryana Minister of State for Education Seema Trikha said that the true goal of schools is not just to impart bookish knowledge but also to instill values and strengthen moral character. The objective of schools is to foster a sense of respect for the nation among children, she said while addressing district-level School Management Committee (SMC) training-cum-conference in Fatehabad district. She also inspected the exhibition set up by the students. Trikha felicitated students who performed exceptionally well, along with officials of the school management committee and education department officers and teachers, by presenting them with certificates and shields. She directly interacted with the SMC presidents and invited their suggestions. Aclass 9 student was stabbed to death at Arjun Nagar after a dispute with another youth of the area, marks of a sharp weapon edge were found on the chest of deceased. The deceased identified as Brajkant Pandey (16) had a dispute with Sonu Batham. Afterwhich Sonu and his father reported the police detained Brajkant into custody. The police called the minor's family to the police station when the family did not come, he was handed over to the accused and later boy's body was found near the house at night. The short PM report has revealed that the death was caused by a sharp weapon. The police have also taken the accused into custody. The incident took place on Thursday night in Arjun Nagar Basti of TT Nagar area. DCP Priyanka Shukla said, 'There was a dispute between Brajkant (16) and accused Sonu Batham (18) over dominance in the area. Both live in lane number one of Arjun Nagar Basti. A fight broke out between them on Thursday afternoon. Brajkant had stoned Sonu. The people of the locality intervened and pacified the matter. Later Sonu along with his father reached TT Nagar police station with a complaint. Brajkant also followed them. Here also there was an argument between the two. The police took Brajkant into custody and called his father. He was also asked to come to the police station. Brajkant's father expressed his inability to come. He even said that if you want, send the son to jail. Other relatives were also called, they also refused to come. Later Brajkant was handed over to Bhura, Sonu and his father who lived in the area. Both the parties were also counselled. Sonu made up his mind to teach Brajkant a lesson. At around 10.30 pm, Brajkant was standing near the house. During this time Sonu attacked him with a sharp weapon. On receiving the information, the police reached the spot. After the incident, people from both sides came face to face. The matter was pacified by counselling. The injured was taken to the hospital in a bloody condition, where doctors declared him dead. A case of stubbornness is also registered against Brajkant. At the same time, accused Sonu also has four to five cases. Brajkant's father Brajlochan said that Brajkant was studying in class 9 in a private school. I am a class 4 employee in the forest department. Ratlam police have arrested eight persons for cheating lakhs of rupees in the name of crypto currency and recovered Rs 44 lakh which was brought back to India by freezing the accounts of Japan and Singapore based companies. Police are looking for two main accused in this case. Apart from Ratlam, the accused had also cheated people of crores of rupees in Mandsaur, Neemuch, Dhar and Rajasthan by luring them with 30 percent monthly return. On August 24, 2023, Salim Khan complained to Ratlam Police and told that Mohammad, Azam Khan Huzefa Jammali, Alok Pal, Wajid and Wasim cheated Rs 20 lakh by luring 30 percent monthly return on investment in crypto currency through MTFE company. On the complaint, a case was registered against the accused in Police Station Industrial Area Jawara. Similarly, Ashraf Ali complained against Govind Singh and Sandeep Tank in Police Station Station Road for cheating of about Rs 26.5 lakh. People believed in this Ponzi scheme of the accused to earn money easily and after some time the MTFE company cheated people through this scheme and closed the company and people's deposits of lakhs of rupees were lost. A joint team including cyber cell was formed and started investigation in which Rs 1.43 crore was cheated from over 266 victims in Ratlam district . The team exposed the fraud committed by the MTFE company. In both these cases, 8 people including MTFE CEO Huzefa Jamali and Govind Singh Chandrawat were arrested. Important information was obtained regarding cryptocurrency exchange platforms like Binance, Huobi, TRC20 etc. by interrogating Kalin Company's director Yogananda Bamore involved in MTFE fraud. Police obtained information from various mediums/open sources and obtained addresses of about Rs 10.48 lakh TRC 20. In this, a large amount of money was transacted from different countries through MTFE's QR code. On analyzing it, MTFE was found to have committed this type of fraud in India as well as Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nigeria. About 56 counterparty exchanges were used to convert currency from TRC 20. These mainly include Binance, KuCoin, OKX, Huobi, Bybit, USDt~Token, MEX, Sun Crypto etc. Information was obtained by contacting Binance and after analysis the main account UId~301254931 was identified. In this, transactions of about Rs 40 crore of the amount defrauded from India have taken place. The above Binance account is registered in the name of Anaku Peme, the main accused in the case. Apart from India, the Binance account was registered on different devices from Singapore, Malaysia and used. Mobile numbers of Malaysia along with India were also found registered in the above Binance account. Binance has provided about 41 Binance accounts connected to the account of MTFE company, which were frozen by Ratlam Police on the orders of the court. There are about Rs 44 lakh in the above accounts. Since the amount held in Binance is related to crime, correspondence was made with Binance to transfer it to the government account and out of the above amount, Rs 43.77 lakh was refunded to the government accounts in the form of 26 currencies. The main accused in the case, Anaku Peme and Mercy Peme, are being continuously searched. Stating that if no legal obstacles arise, the elections for the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (HSGMC) will be held soon, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Friday urged members of the Sikh community to register as many names as possible in the voter list of the HSGMC. The State Government has abolished the earlier fee of Rs 100 for registering names. A campaign will be launched to create voter IDs, he said. The Chief Minister assured that Assandh would be made a district, stating that a sub-committee of the cabinet has been formed for this purpose. Asandh will be made a district once the necessary norms are fulfilled. Addressing members of the Sikh community led by Jagdish Singh Jhinda in Chandigarh, Saini said that the present state government is committed to spread the teachings of Guru Sahibs to the present and coming generations. He urged everyone to follow the path of goodwill, tolerance, brotherhood, and mutual love shown by the Sikh Gurus in their lives, stating that this is the true mantra for human welfare and the real devotion to the Sikh Gurus. Saini said that during his tenure, the government provided land to Gurdwara Sri Chilla Sahib in Sirsa, where the holy feet of Guru Nanak Dev Ji once touched. He further shared that Prime Minister Modi has made numerous announcements for the Sikh religion over the past decade, including observing December 26 as Veer Bal Diwas', to mark the martyrdom of sons of Sri Guru Gobind Singh - Sahibzadas Baba Zorawar Singh Ji and Baba Fateh Singh Ji. On this occasion, members of the Sikh community also presented a memorandum of demands before the Chief Minister. A Govt institution to be named after Namdev Maharaj In another event on the occasion of Sant Shiromani Namdev Ji's Jayanti, Saini announced to give Rs 21 lakh for the Maham Dharamshala in Rohtak and Rs 31 lakh for Namdev Dharamshalas across various locations in the state. Besides this, a government institution would be named after Namdev Maharaj, he said. Addressing the members of the Namdev community, he praised Sant Shiromani Namdev Ji's lifelong dedication to eradicating social evils and his commitment to the welfare of humanity. During the event, members of the Namdev community honored the Chief Minister by presenting him with a turban. In response, the Chief Minister remarked that this honor belongs to the entire Namdev community and pledged never to diminish the respect associated with the turban. Saini said that the doors of the Chief Minister's residence are always open to every community and class in the state. He also assured the gathering that more than a dozen demands raised by the Namdev community would be addressed promptly. Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Friday extended full support to the investors interested in expanding their businesses into Tanzania and assured that the State Government is committed to facilitating their endeavors by providing assistance through the relevant departments in their areas of interest. The Chief Minister was presiding over a debriefing session with the members of Haryana delegation who recently visited Tanzania, here in Chandigarh. While urging the industrialists to explore possibilities in setting up their ventures abroad, Saini said that the State Government has established the Department of Foreign Cooperation with a view to make Haryana a global identity and to establish Haryana as a preferred destination for investors. It may be recalled that a high-level delegation led by the Additional Chief Secretary, Foreign Cooperation Department visited Tanzania during the 48th Tanzania International Trade Fair 2024 from July 8 to July 15, 2024 along with industrialists, exporters, traders and institutions from various sectors. During the visit, detailed discussions were held between the Haryana businessman and Tanzania government and companies to discuss opportunities in various sectors like plywood, sugarmill, mining, agriculture, home appliances, electrical and electronic goods, Education, security etc. Advisor of the Foreign Cooperation Department, Pawan Choudhary, apprised the Chief Minister that Haryana's exports to Tanzania have increased by approximately 18% between the financial years 2023 and 2024, following the Haryana-Africa Conclave. There is significant potential for business expansion in Tanzania and fruitful efforts are being made to capitalize on these opportunities, he added. Managing Director of HAFED, Dr J Ganesan, shared that HAFED has established a store in Tanzania and is in the process of finalizing the export of 10,000 tonnes of rice within one quarter. This Government-to-Government business is expected to significantly boost rice exports from Haryana. The industrialists expressed their gratitude to the Haryana government for its support throughout the visit, acknowledging the positive impact of the states assistance on their international ventures. They also shared their experiences of the Tanzania visit and submitted a proposal to the Chief Minister for investment in agriculture, home appliances, education, packaging, plywood etc. Providing immediate relief to farmers in distress due to crop loss during the recent floods, the Yogi Adityanath government has released over Rs 150 crore. This amount was allocated based on district demands to cover crop losses. So far, more than 1.25 lakh farmers have received compensation totaling over Rs 71 crore for their damaged crops, with the highest amount of Rs 47 crore distributed to about 70,000 farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri. Relief Commissioner GS Naveen said, Following Chief Minister Yogi Adityanaths directives, surveys are being conducted in the flood-affected areas of the state to ensure timely compensation for farmers. He stated that the floods have had a significant impact, with water released from Nepal and hilly regions affecting 82,126.50 hectares of crops across 18 districts. The survey revealed that 29,243.74 hectares of crops were damaged, providing a comprehensive overview. The relief commissioner added, The government only compensates for crop losses exceeding 33 per cent due to unseasonal rains, hailstorms and floods. According to the relief commissioner, the floods affected the crops of 1,57,444 farmers, and 1,56,952 farmers information has already been uploaded on the portal. So far, 1,25,521 farmers have received payments totaling Rs 71.01 crore, and efforts are underway to process the remaining claims quickly. Lakhimpurs farmers suffered the most, with 88,546 affected. Of these, 88,544 farmers] data have been uploaded, and Rs 47 crore has been disbursed to 70,691 farmers. In Siddharthnagar, 19,805 farmers were affected, all of whom have been registered on the portal, and Rs 7.70 crore has been paid to 15,478 farmers. Hardoi saw 18,010 farmers affected, all of whom have been registered, with Rs 5.42 crore paid to 14,673 farmers. Naveen said, As per Chief Minister Yogi Adityanaths instructions, the government will post lists of farmers with damaged crops at tehsils in flood-affected areas. Although the government compensates for crop damage, delays often occur due to outstanding loans or other dues, leading to confusion among farmers about whether they have received their compensation. To address this issue, the Yogi government will publicly display the names of farmers who have received compensation at the tehsils. The names of farmers who have not yet received compensation will also be announced, along with explanations, he added. The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh provides financial assistance to individuals disabled due to leprosy. Over 12,000 such individuals receive a monthly pension of Rs 3,000 from the state government. Additionally, under the National Leprosy Eradication Programme of the National Health Mission, Uttar Pradesh offers Rs 12,000 to cover loss of wages during free reconstructive surgery for those with leprosy-induced disabilities. Leprosy, caused by the Mycobacterium leprae, primarily affects the skin, nerves, respiratory tract and eyes. If untreated, it can lead to permanent disability. According to Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Narendra Kashyap, a monthly pension of Rs 3,000 is provided to individuals disabled due to leprosy and currently, 12,361 leprosy-affected individuals in the state are benefiting from this scheme. He said, Additionally, under the National Leprosy Eradication Programme of the National Health Mission, Uttar Pradesh offers Rs 12,000 to cover lost wages during free reconstructive surgery for those with leprosy-induced disabilities. Eligible recipients are those disabled by leprosy, whose income is below the poverty line, who are residents of Uttar Pradesh, of any age, and who are not receiving any other government pension. He clarified that the Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities department provides benefits to individuals disabled due to leprosy, not to those currently suffering from the disease. He added, Lifelong leprosy pensions are given to those disabled due to leprosy as livelihood support. Additionally, disabled individuals are offered free travel on Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation buses. Under the National Leprosy Eradication Programme, managed by the Medical and Health department within the National Health Mission, Uttar Pradesh has registered 9,162 leprosy patients who are currently receiving treatment as of June 2024. The minister also noted that the Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities department does not register leprosy patients. The chief medical officer issues disability certificates for those disabled due to leprosy. A Santa Rosa sculpture splashed with pig blood. Two accused of defacing the sculpture and throwing a pigs head and blood at the former home of a Derek Chauvin defense witness were convicted of vandalism charges. Santa Rosa Police Department Two Sonoma County residents were convicted of vandalism this week after pleading no-contest to accusations that they splattered pigs blood on the former home of a defense witness in the Derek Chauvin murder trial and atop a sculpture outside the Santa Rosa Plaza in 2021. Amber Lucas and Colin Metcalfe were found guilty of felony vandalism after reaching plea agreements with the Sonoma County District Attorneys Office, spokespersons for the agency said Friday. Metcalfe and Lucas were two of five Santa Rosa residents accused of carrying out a plan to splash pigs blood on the former home of Barry Brodd, a former Santa Rosa police officer. Brodd testified in defense of ex-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who was convicted of murdering George Floyd by kneeling on his neck for several minutes in 2020. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Chauvin was convicted on three counts second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in April 2021. Prosecutors also accused the activists of splattering animal blood on the Agraria statue, a sculpture of a giant white hand outside Santa Rosa Plaza. Metcalfe is scheduled to be sentenced August 27. Lucas is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 1. While felony vandalism carries a maximum prison sentence of three years, Metcalfe and Lucas could be ordered to serve probation, jail terms or community service, officials for the DAs office said. | Flower petals were showered on kanwariyas from a helicopter in Meerut and Baghpat districts of western Uttar Pradesh by government officials on Friday, as the Yogi Adityanath-led governments gesture for the devotees continued for the third consecutive day. On Thursday, District Magistrate Deepak Meena and Senior Superintendent of Police Vipin Tada had showered flowers on Shiva devotees taking part in the Kanwar yatra from a helicopter in Meerut. Continuing this gesture, on Friday, the auspicious occasion of Shravan Shivaratri, Meerut Divisional Commissioner Selva Kumari J and Inspector General of Police Nachiketa Jha showered flowers on Kanwariyas from a helicopter at Baba Augharnath temple in Meerut and Pura Mahadev temple in Baghpat. In addition to the flower shower, both officers also surveyed the temple premises and reviewed the security arrangements. The kanwariyas, delighted by the aerial display, danced with joy and chanted Bol Bam Bol Bam. Earlier on Thursday, Meerut DM Deepak Meena and SSP Vipin Tada also showered flowers from helicopters at various locations including Meeruts historic Augarnath temple, the Delhi-Dehradun National Highway, Pallavpuram, and the Siway Toll Plaza. This flower showering festivities began on Wednesday when flowers were showered on kanwariyas from a bulldozer in Meerut. The kanwariyas have expressed their happiness with the Yogi governments arrangements along the entire Kanwar Yatra route and have thanked Chief Minister Yogi for the gesture. A large number of Lord Shivas devotees travel from various places with kanwars carrying holy water from the Ganga to perform jalabhishek of shivlings during the Hindu calendar month of Shravan. Many believers shun consuming meat during the month they consider holy. Many do not even consume meals containing onions and garlic. Within a fortnight of alleged accidental firing from the licensed pistol of a sub-inspector during a raid in Aligarh in which a constable was killed and a SI was injured, yet another similar incident was reported from Chitrakoot on Friday. During a surprise visit of a police station by the deputy inspector general of police, a sub-inspectors pistol allegedly went off, seriously injuring two sub-inspectors. Both were taken to hospital and further investigations are on by the senior officers. According to information, DIG (Chitrakoot) Ajay Kumar Singh had come to Pahadi police station of Chitrakoot district for inspection. During the inspection on Friday, the service pistol of Sub-Inspector Nanakau Gautam suddenly went off when he was taking it out of the holster. Sub-Inspector Nanakau Gautam was seriously injured as the bullet hit him on his stomach. Sub-inspector Suresh Bahadur Singh, who was standing next to Gautam, was also hit by the bullet on his hand. Both have been admitted to the district hospital. On behalf of the police, Superintendent of Police Arun Singh said that the incident happened due to the negligence of Nanakau Gautam. No decision has been taken on action against Gautam at the moment. Late in the night of July 17, a police constable had lost his life during a joint raid by Aligarh police and members of the Special Operation Group (SOG) to arrest accused involved in cow slaughtering in Gabhana locality of the district. While loading the arms before the raid, the safety lock of the pistol of Sub-Inspector Mazhar Hasan got stuck. When Sub-Inspector Rajiv Kumar tried to unlock the pistol, it suddenly went off and the bullet pierced his stomach and hit the head of SOG constable Mohammad Yakub who died on the spot. The sub-inspector is being treated in the hospital. AIIMS Bhopal continues to lead the way in academic excellence and innovative medical practices. Emphasizing a culture of knowledge-sharing and continuous learning, AIIMS Bhopal has garnered significant achievements across various academic platforms. Recently, Dr Ketan Mehra of the Department of Urology, AIIMS Bhopal, did a two-month clinical visit from June 01 to July 31, 2024 at the Medical University Vienna, Austria, one of the oldest universities in Europe. During this, Dr Mehra found that various specialties like oncology, radiology and pathology can be adopted in a integrated manner to improve patient care and management. Apart from urological disorders, he also learned to use advanced techniques in cases like prostate cancer, bladder cancer and kidney stones. These advanced techniques included imaging methods, endoscopic procedures and surgical procedures. Imaging methods included - MRI, CT scan and ultrasound while surgical procedures included robotic surgery in which laparoscopic surgery is done with the help of robots. During this time, Dr. Mehra also learned the use of advanced laser techniques for stone management and other surgeries. Professor (Dr) Ajai Singh, Executive Director, AIIMS Bhopal said that this experience of Dr. Ketan will be helpful in enhancing clinical practices at AIIMS Bhopal. By adopting these advanced procedures, strengthening educational programs, promoting research collaboration and integrating new technologies, AIIMS Bhopal will significantly improve patient care and benefit health professionals. Professor (Dr) Singh congratulated Dr. Ketan Mehra for his achievement. Chinese Consul General in Mumbai Kong Xianhua has said his country is ready to work with India to bridge the gap between the people of the two neighbours, recalling the Indian help during the Sino-Japanese war. The senior diplomat on Thursday visited the Indian Coast Guard Headquarters (West) to express gratitude to the maritime security agency for saving Chinese mariners over the past two years, an official statement said. Kong met Inspector General Bhisham Sharma, Commander of Indian Coast Guard (West), and said China is ready to work with India friends to bridge the gap between the people of the two countries and strengthen friendship. ... Our two peoples will walk together like brothers and sisters, he said. The Indian Coast Guard and Indian Navy have jointly carried out a successful rescue mission to evacuate a Chinese mariner who was critically injured and suffering heavy blood loss on July 24, the statement said. The Indian Coast Guard responded immediately to the medical emergency. The rescue team overcame the strong wind and high waves to evacuate him to hospital. Thanks to the Indian Coast Guard's prompt rescue and professional treatment, the mariner recovered very well and has already been back to China, Kong said. Today I come here on behalf of the Chinese Consulate General in Mumbai to express my heartfelt gratitude to you and all the officers and pay my highest tribute to the Indian Coast Guard, Kong told IG Sharma, as per the statement said. Kong recalled that in 1938, an Indian medical mission went to China to help Chinese people fight against Japanese aggression. Dr Kotnis, one of the doctors who was from Solapur (in Maharashtra), sacrificed his life for the great cause of Chinese people's liberation. Many Chinese people also gave their firm support for India's independence, the diplomat said. In the current context, these rescue missions for Chinese citizens carried out by the Indian Coast Guard are of great significance and importance and strengthen the friendship between the two neighbours, he said A Chinese idiom goes compassion knows no borders'. We are ready to work with our Indian friends to bridge the gap between our two peoples and strengthen our friendship and our two peoples will walk together like brothers and sisters, the diplomat said. He said the Indian Coast Guard has saved three Chinese mariners in the consular district of the Consulate General alone over the past two years. Kong said, These rescue missions not only fulfil the (Coast Guard's) motto of Vayam Rakshamah' (we protect), but also demonstrate the common philosophy of People First, Life First in both China and India. Sharma said over the past decade, the Indian Coast Guard has saved 27 Chinese citizens. Target plans to close its East Palo Alto store, a favorite among Stanford University students, citing poor sales. Scott Olson/TNS Target plans to close its East Palo Alto store, a favorite among Stanford University students, citing poor sales. The closure will lead to 85 permanent job cuts, according to regulatory filings. However, affected employees will have the option to transfer to other Target locations in Mountain View and Redwood City, a spokesperson for the retail giant said. Advertisement Article continues below this ad After much consideration, we have decided to close our East Palo Alto store due to prolonged underperformance, said Target spokesperson Joe Unger. He did not specify how the store, which opened seven years ago, failed to meet its benchmarks. A shopper browses inside a Target store. The store closing in East Palo Alto is in an area classified a food desert because there are so few grocery stores. David Zalubowski/Associated Press The Target location was the first to open in East Palo Alto in 2017. The area is classified as a food desert by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, according to Palo Alto Online, and the impending closure will remove one more store that sold groceries. Target operates approximately 2,000 stores in the U.S. and plans to open 300 new locations in the next decade. Advertisement Article continues below this ad In October, Target closed three Bay Area stores, citing theft and organized retail crime concerns, resulting in 200 job cuts. China issues regulations for settlement of veterans Xinhua) 11:18, August 02, 2024 BEIJING, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- China's State Council and the Central Military Commission have issued a set of regulations for the settlement of veterans, aiming to better protect their rights and interests. The document, which will take effect on Sept. 1, outlines the settlement procedure for veterans, and clarifies that the location for veterans' settlement should be determined according to their needs for work and the locations of their families, with their contributions during their period of military service taken into consideration. Highlighting support for employment and starting up businesses, the regulations urge joint efforts from the military and civilian sectors to conduct skills training before and after retirement from the military. The document specifies that after leaving active duty, veterans are entitled to enjoy related benefits according to law. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) The historic Anchor Brewing building and taproom in San Francisco is seen on May 30. A foul smell has been coming from the brewery in recent days. Lea Suzuki/San Francisco Chronicle Neighbors of the closed but soon to reopen Anchor Brewing Co. on San Franciscos Potrero Hill were accustomed to the earthy, bready aroma of brewing beer before the Mariposa Street brewery shut down last year. But the pungent stench emanating from the brewery this week is something entirely and disgustingly different. It smells like poop, to be blunt, or manure to be more polite. But theres nothing pleasant about the smell. The worst of the odor seems to be coming from the backside of the brewery near the corner of Mariposa and Carolina streets, kitty corner from Jackson Park. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Alexis Roemmer, who works in the neighborhood, took a walk in the park on Wednesday. It really smelled, she said, scrunching up her nose. I had to look at my shoes. Her friend, Casey Gruber, visiting from Connecticut, had her own unpleasant take on the smell. It smells like farm, she said. It reminds me of the smell of a chicken coop. Gruber would know; she has family in Nebraska. Advertisement Article continues below this ad On social media, neighbors complained of the smell. Greg Slovacek wrote on Threads that it smells as if someone is resodding Jackson Park with pure human feces. He said he had heard that Anchors new owners the family office of Hamdi Ulukaya, founder and CEO of Chobani yogurt were cleaning up a mess left behind by the previous owners, Sapporo, and speculated that it involved gallons upon gallons of foetid old beer. Thats not the case, said Ben Boyd, a spokesman for Shepherd Futures, the Ulukaya family office. The foul smell comes instead from a collection of old wastewater treatment tanks on Anchors property. The tanks were part of a system that cleaned the wastewater from the brewing process before it was dumped into the city sewer system, he said. Advertisement Article continues below this ad While the inside of the brewery was thoroughly cleaned by a company hired by Sapporo to shut down the plant, the wastewater tanks were not decommissioned and the water sat there as smelly sediment collected at the bottom of the tanks. Crews have demolished the tanks and are cleaning up the sediment. Our expectation is this project will be completed and all related odors will be gone within a weeks time, Boyd said. If the deadline slides and the smell sticks around, Boyd said, We have every intention of updating the community. The sale of Anchor Brewing and its 2.1 acre campus to the Chobani founder was announced in May. Boyd said that Ulukaya met with community members the following day and told them the sites treatment towers, which many neighbors dislike, would be removed. Advertisement Article continues below this ad But they didnt expect the stink. Boyd said Sapporo was not to blame for the faulty cleanup and apologized to the community. Wild horses graze along Jenny Creek near Iron Gate Dam in Siskiyou County. Managers of the Klamath River dam-removal project say the horses are interfering with efforts to revegetate areas where the dams are coming down. Carlos Avila Gonzalez/The Chronicle UPDATE: Major California river will flow freely this week as historic dam removal concludes The massive dam removal project on the Klamath River, near the California-Oregon border, has faced all sorts of challenges. The newest one may be the most unexpected: wild horses. In recent months, more than 100 free-roaming horses have descended on the dam sites, eating and crushing the new grasses and shrubs being planted in areas where the dams once held reservoirs. The plants are intended to help revegetate the formerly submerged lands and prevent soil from slipping into the newly flowing river. While the horses possess a distinct rugged beauty and are cherished by some, managers of the dam removal say the equines could undermine the vast replanting effort thats vital to the project. As the dismantling of four dams nears completion, the revegetation of 2,200 acres of reservoir footprints with billions of seeds and thousands of shrubs and trees, costing tens of millions of dollars, remains the last step before the Klamath is completely restored. The rivers rewilding is a longtime goal of tribes, environmentalists and fishing groups. Advertisement Article continues below this ad We are seeing a growing number of feral horses, and horses of uncertain ownership, degrading the restoration sites, said Dave Meurer, director of community affairs for the Resource Environmental Solutions LLC, or RES, which is doing the revegetation work. The horses eat what we have planted and their hooves trample the plants. Additionally, Meurer said, the animals are bringing in non-native seeds, both on their hooves and in their feces, which introduce weeds to places where crews have been working to get rid of them. In spite of these issues, though, only so much can be done. Wild horses nibble on newly planted grasses and shrubs along Jenny Creek in Siskiyou County, near Iron Gate Dam. A revegetation effort is seeking to restore river banks as part of the dam removal project on the Klamath River. Carlos Avila Gonzalez/The Chronicle Officials in Siskiyou County say the horses have every right to roam and graze freely on public and private property as part of the countys open range policy. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The issues with the replanting fall squarely on the replanters or the owners of the property to fence (the animals) out, Jim Smith, the countys agricultural commissioner, told the Chronicle. The person who the county recognizes as the owner of the horses says the animals are actually benefiting the landscape, not hurting it. William Simpson, who has a ranch in the area and runs a nonprofit horse advocacy called the Wild Horse Fire Brigade, describes the animals as a heritage herd of wild horses, some with a long history on the land and all of them with a knack for clearing overgrown, combustible vegetation and reducing wildfire danger. Of course, the animals are going down into the (reservoir) footprint because thats where the water is, Simpson said. On any given day, as many as 130 horses turn up at the former Iron Gate Reservoir. Its the southernmost of the reservoirs that have been drained to facilitate dam removal and allow the river to return to its historic channel. Horses also have been spotted where nearby Copco Lake was emptied. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Simpson said he expected managers of the dam removal to put fences around the reservoirs last year, before they were drained. After the drawdown, the reservoir footprints became muddy bogs where animals, including deer, got stuck and even died. With fences, Simpson said, he expected project managers to ensure animals had access to water. A wild horse grazes along Jenny Creek in Siskiyou County. While some cherish the freely roaming horses, managers of the Klamath River dam removal project say the animals are interfering with revegetation of the dam areas. Carlos Avila Gonzalez/The Chronicle While the origins of the horses are disputed, Charlie Schelz, a retired ecologist for the nearby Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, said some may have lineages dating to early European settlement, when domestic horses famously strayed into the wild. Most of the horses in the area, though, were let go more recently by local landowners or are descendents of those released animals, he said. Schelz said the horses do not benefit the region. They are just reproducing really fast out there, he said. Theyre just stomping and chomping all sorts of things. Its disheartening. If theres any way we could get rid of them it would be fantastic for the ecology of the area. Advertisement Article continues below this ad RES has begun moving forward with what officials hope will be 18 miles of fence around the former Iron Gate Reservoir, to try to keep the horses out. The company, which is getting help with the fencing from the conservation group Trout Unlimited, also plans to put up 4 miles of fence at the former Copco Lake, on the side where horses generally approach. Areas that have been trampled by horses will be replanted this fall, company officials say. Another round of planting had already been scheduled. The company is contracted to manage the revegetation until at least 2030. Since January, when the draining of the reservoirs began, 66,000 pounds of seeds have been spread, 27,000 acorns have been planted and 78,000 trees and shrubs have been put in the ground, according to RES. The aim is to restore the grasslands, oak woodlands and conifer forests that existed before dam construction. The revegetation work represents about a quarter of the dam removal projects $500 million budget. The dam demolition is the result of a decades-long push to reclaim the 250-mile Klamath River, largely for fish and wildlife, notably salmon. The area is about a six-hour drive north of San Francisco. The dams were built between 1911 and 1962 for power generation, but the owner, Portland, Ore.-based PacifiCorp, decided they werent cost-effective. Advertisement Article continues below this ad In a deal negotiated with the states of California and Oregon as well as area tribes, environmental organizations and fishing groups, PacifiCorp agreed to hand over the facilities. The Klamath River Renewal Corp. was established to manage the dam removal. RES is a subcontractor. Funding for the project is being provided by PacifiCorp and California voter-approved bonds. The bulk of the dam removal is expected to wrap up by early September. An arrest was made in connection with Berkeleys second homicide of the year. Yalonda M. James/The Chronicle 2021 Berkeley police arrested a man in connection with a fatal shooting near the Ashby BART Station last month. The shooting occurred on July 3 on the 2900 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Way, where police found a bloody trail that led to a man with gunshot wounds. The man later identified at Matthew Gullette, 55, of Alameda was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police. After a weeks-long investigation, Berkeley police arrested 57-year-old Steve Addison in north Oakland on Wednesday. He was booked without the possibility of bail on suspicion of murder and is being held at Santa Rita Jail. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The fatal shooting was Berkeleys second homicide of the year, police said. Police said they do not believe there are other suspects connected to the case. Addison is scheduled for arraignment on Monday. Annie Vainshtein contributed to this report. The 2020 elections were a verified sham. Anyone who was watching the results saw the sudden shift in votes for Biden out of absolutely nowhere. The 2024 US Elections will most certainly prove to be another sham election. The corruption and dishonesty is so thick here that it all stinks to high heaven. With millions of illegal immigrants registered to vote, the Democrats are ensured another election win like 2020 in Americas sham elections. Americas Sham Elections We can safely state that due to the corrupt practices of the Democrat Party, democracy does not exist in the United States any more, which is kind of ironic in a weird way seeing as the name of the party that is cheating democracy suggests some sort of democratic value to it. NON-CITIZENS REGISTERED IN GA Footage obtained by @realmuckraker shows numerous non-citizens admitting to being registered voters. A staggering 14% of the non-citizens spoken to admitted to being registered to voters. pic.twitter.com/0p38irDBZH Oversight Project (@OversightPR) July 31, 2024 If you ever wondered why Joe Biden and Kamala Harris let in 20 million illegal immigrants into the USA, this is why they did it. Many of the illegal immigrants are utilised by Democrat funded NGOs and bribed with phone cards, cash, food and alcohol to register to vote. These illegal immigrants are also shipped around city to city by the authorities so they can register in multiple states and cities. We attempted to locate these individuals on GA voter rolls and were unable to find them. Non-citizens have shoddy address history records and often use fake documents and names. It is unclear exactly what information these individuals gave when registering to vote. Oversight Project (@OversightPR) July 31, 2024 There is also a very good reason why Democrat run states have banned in person voting only, IDs needed to vote, and registration cards needed to vote. In the UK, for example, valid photo IDs are needed to vote, and postal votes are only given to registered householders through the council tax register. All votes are counted by hand, whereas in the US none of these points are mandatory. Democrat Party Election Technique: Ballot harvesting, illegal immigrant voter registration and postal vote fraud 47 states have the option of early in person voting No ID is required to vote in the US elections, and some people can vote as many times as they want, unlike the UK where to vote one needs valid ID The earliest state allows you to vote 50 DAYS BEFORE the election i.e. last week of September Average is 27 days before In addition, anyone can request a postal ballot, including illegal immigrants Most states allow these to be lodged from 45 working days before election day, i.e. Sept 15 Paid Democrat operatives on the ground start pounding pavement in September, getting as many as possible to vote early Financial incentives are offered by Democrat operatives to voters for their positive Democrat postal votes Often by mid-October the race is already over. Unless it is super close, so much of the lead will have already been banked it will be impossible to overturn Hundreds of thousands of deceased people, and millions of partially completed votes, along with illegal immigrants votes are accepted by Democrat controlled states The Democrat Party utilises an organised system of Ballot Harvesting which ensures their candidates win elections Francis Ford Coppola arrives at the Oscars on March 27, 2022, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. Jordan Strauss/Associated Press Two Megalopolis actresses offered contrasting testimonies regarding director Francis Ford Coppolas problematic behavior, a week after the director was accused of harassing female extras on set. The allegations were based on a video taken during the filming of the $120 million movies bacchanalian nightclub scene shot in Atlanta in February 2023. The video shows the Napa Valley filmmaker making his way through a crowd and stopping to kiss actresses on the cheek. A cast member also witnessed Coppola grabbing and kissing actresses during a different scene, according to Variety, while the Guardian reported Coppola may have engaged in inappropriate behavior towards female co-workers, including pulling women to sit on his lap. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Actress Rayna Menz, who identified herself in the video, denied that Coppola acted inappropriately in an Instagram story. However, Lauren Pagone, who said she was also captured in the video, told Variety that the 85-year-old director hugged and kissed her without her consent. Neither of the films two intimacy coordinators were on set for the nightclub scene, which involved nudity, according to Variety. Laurence Fishburne, left, director Francis Ford Coppola and Giancarlo Esposito pose for photographers at the premiere of the film Megalopolis at the 77th Cannes Film Festival on May 16, 2024. Millie Turner/Associated Press Pagone said she decided to speak out after reading Menzs interview with Deadline, Varietys sister publication, in which the actress testified that Coppola did nothing to make me, or for that matter anyone on set, feel uncomfortable. She doesnt know what other people were feeling, Pagone said. My experience was different. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The Deadline article by Mike Fleming Jr. that quoted Menz accused Variety of publishing its earlier story for clicks and called it a pseudo-salacious video reveal. Fleming Jr. joined Deadline in 2010 after working at Variety for 20 years. Deadline and Variety are both owned by the Penske Media Corporation. One wonders why journos are working so hard trying to tarnish one of the greatest living filmmakers America has produced, at a time when he is grieving the loss of his wife, Fleming Jr., Deadlines co-editor-in-chief, wrote about the director of The Godfather trilogy. An orange blossom matcha latte from Boats and Beans, a new coffee shop on Oaklands waterfront. Mario Cortez / The Chronicle Boats and Beans, a new coffee shop on Oaklands waterfront, is now open. Mario Cortez / The Chronicle July kept up the steady stream of new restaurant openings around the East Bay. New places for ramen, fresh oysters and Brazilian fare opened their doors. Also welcoming their first customers are two new spots to get a morning cup of coffee. Click here for a list of notable new restaurants that opened in June in the East Bay. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Small coffee bar sets sail Oaklands waterfront got a new coffee shop. Open Monday through Saturday, Boats and Beans is now serving drip and espresso drinks out of a cute, colorful shack a few steps away from the historic restaurant Quinns Lighthouse. The bar inside the bright yellow structure uses coffee from local roaster Mother Tongue Coffee and pastries come from Lake Merritts Haddon Hill Cafe. 43 Embarcadero Cove, Oakland. instagram.com/boatsandbeans_coffee The torta del Chavo at Brothers Deli in Oakland. Mario Cortez / The Chronicle Oaklands new sandwich shop Advertisement Article continues below this ad Theres a new spot for sandwiches on Oaklands Park Boulevard. Brothers Deli & Co. is now luring in neighbors with sandwiches ranging from hot paninis to cold cut classics like Italian subs and vegetable sandwiches. The house special Brothers Choice comes stacked with roasted turkey, chicken, bacon and vegetables, while the torta El Chavo fits plenty of thin-sliced ham along with lettuce, tomato and a thick slab of queso fresco on a soft roll. 2700 Park Blvd., Oakland. instagram.com/brothers.deli.and.co Brazilian food vendor sets up shop Theres a new food tenant at the Berkeley Organic Market & Deli. Casa do Petisco is now cooking Brazilian bites like meaty empanadas stuffed with your choice of ground beef or shredded chicken as well as pao de queijo, a gluten-free cheese bread, in five-piece or 10-piece orders. There are also sandwiches and salad bowls. East Bay Nosh reported the opening. 2642 Ashby Ave., Berkeley. casadopetisco.com Advertisement Article continues below this ad Oysters and shrimp at Small Change Oyster Bar, a new seafood restaurant in Oakland. Santiago Mejia/The Chronicle Awaited oyster bar arrives in Temescal After a long wait, Small Change Oyster Bar opened in Oaklands Temescal. The crudo bar is well-stocked with freshly shucked oysters on the half shell chilled over ice. There are also broiled oysters topped with house-made kimchi, as well as classic oysters Rockefeller. The menu isnt limited to bivalves; also on offer are lobster rolls, shrimp Louie salads and hot clam chowder served in a mug. Expect sparkling wines and micheladas garnished with crab claws to sip alongside trays of shellfish. 5000 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. smallchangeoyster.com Tri-Valley gets new taqueria Advertisement Article continues below this ad Pleasanton has a new spot for tacos and casual Mexican food: Taqueria Extra. Tacos with fillings like carne asada, pork and chicken, among others, are the main draw, but burritos and tortas also feature on the menu, Yelp users report. 6762 Bernal Ave., Ste 630, Pleasanton. taqueriaextra.com New sandwich shop 02 Eatery has opened in the former Delirama space at 1746 Solano Ave. in Berkeley. Yalonda M. James/The Chronicle Popular sandwich shop gets new tenant A new restaurant has taken over the old Delirama space on Berkeleys stretch of Solano Avenue. O2 Eatery is now scrambling eggs and toasting sliced bread to top with avocado. Other items include eggs Benedicts, bowls and waffles. Coffee beverages are made with beans from East Bay roaster Mr. Espresso. East Bay Nosh reported the opening. Advertisement Article continues below this ad 1746 Solano Ave., Berkeley. instagram.com/o2.eatery Bakery moves into permanent space Hayward Farmers Market vendor Bake It Up Bakery announced the launch of its brick-and-mortar shop in Castro Valley. The shop will offer owner Fatima Mohameds special carrot cake, along with baklava croissants and Yemeni-style honey bread. 3443 Castro Valley Blvd., Castro Valley. instagram.com/bakeitupbakery4u/ Japanese dishes arrive in Lake Merritt New restaurant Tada Ramen & Yakitori opened its doors in late July to diners in Oaklands Grand Lake neighborhood, East Bay Nosh wrote. The restaurant has a classic spread of ramen choices, including tonkotsu and miso broths. Yuzu, soy cream and a spicy vegan broth are also available. Grilled skewers come in pairs and feature a variety of chicken cuts. Other dishes include salads and rice bowls topped with eel, chashu pork and karaage chicken. 3415 Grand Ave., Oakland. tadaramen.com Highwire Coffee Roaster co-founder Rich Avella, photographed in 2019, operates a Ground Control batch brew coffee maker in Berkeley. Highwire just opened a new Walnut Creek location. Paul Chinn/The Chronicle Oakland roaster expands east Highwire Coffee Roasters announced its newest location is now open a few steps from the Walnut Creek BART station. Find drip and espresso drinks made with single origin beans and blends inside a stylish space at the base of a new apartment complex. The new location is the seventh in Highwires 13-year history. 200 Station Way, Walnut Creek. highwirecoffee.com Mexican plates and seafood spot opens Also landing in Walnut Creek is Mexican restaurant La Eskina. East Bay Times reports the menu features dishes like chicharrones paired with a flight of salsas; tacos; and carne asada plates. Seafood offerings include fish tacos made with beer-battered cod, an adobo-smoked octopus and a halibut kiwi ceviche. AI language tools are increasingly being used by doctors such as Dr. Alice Woo to transcribe and condense everything from patient visits to radiology impressions. They save time and money and help prevent doctor burnout. Lea Suzuki/The Chronicle The next time you go to the doctor, dont be surprised if an artificial intelligence program is listening in and transcribing what you and your doctor say. And if a summary of your next X-ray or MRI scan pops up more quickly than expected in your health app, AI could be the reason why. Technology boosters talk of AIs potential to improve and accelerate medicine, from constructing new proteins to improving disease diagnostics. Many such uses are fraught with potential risks and are still locked away in labs or awaiting government approval. But short of such esoteric breakthroughs, AI is starting to entrench itself in the parts of health care that involve communicating with patients: uses that take advantage of the technologys strengths in parsing and condensing language. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Some doctors already are harnessing AI to get their work done faster and keep burnout at bay, although, as with any new technology, there are occasional glitches. It is life-changing, said Dr. Alice Woo, a plastic surgeon with Sutter Health in San Francisco who specializes in hand injuries and has used a software tool from a company called Abridge AI since April. The program automatically records, transcribes and condenses Woos patient visits, cutting down on the time she has to spend dictating and documenting what happened during her roughly 40 patient visits a day. After reviewing the summaries, Woo checks and signs off on them before sending them out to patients. Abridge AI, based in Pittsburgh, recently opened a San Francisco office and is working with health providers across the U.S., including UC Irvine and University of Chicago Medicine, in addition to Sutter. Dr. Alice Woo, a plastic surgeon with Sutter Health in San Francisco who specializes in hand injuries, meets with a patient during a postoperative visit at California Pacific Medical Center on July 23. She calls AI-based transcription life-changing. Lea Suzuki/The Chronicle Kaiser Permanente Ventures, the venture capital arm of the Oakland health care giant, has invested in the company, but Kaisers hospital system wouldnt confirm whether it is using Abridge software, saying only that it is currently evaluating ambient listening technology, with patient consent. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The time savings are immediate. Woo said she used to spend up to half her workday writing up the results of patient meetings with the help of a nurse. Now its more like 25%. Time savings also translate to cost savings. A 2019 Mayo Clinic study found that ER doctors spend more than two hours during and after their shift charting patient visits if they dont have an assistants help. That can add up to a cost of $600 per day, the study found. Abridge also delivers more than just transcription. As it listens in on patient appointments, the software can capture discussion of previous medical problems, mentions of medications, and even information about issues such as drug and alcohol use comments the doctor might have missed during the meeting. When the visit is over, Abridge summarizes any exams performed and helps write up the physicians assessment and treatment plan. A different kind of AI is helping Dr. Nicholas Galante, a radiologist and the chief medical informatics officer at Radiology Associates of North Texas, which includes around 300 practitioners. Galante and his group have been using a program from San Francisco company Rad AI that takes his dictated findings from a scan and runs them through an AI language program to condense them into the summary, called an impression, that gets passed on to a patient after a thorough check by their physician. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Were all facing this intense tsunami of imaging, Galante said. Using tools like those made by Rad AI means he can spend more time reading images and diagnosing issues and less time writing. The program saves Galante and his colleagues around an hour of work time a day, penciling out to a 10% to 20% productivity gain, he said. Efficiencies of that sort help doctors like Galante and Woo avoid overwork, which is a growing problem in the U.S., studies have found. In the past, they might have written up clinical notes after hours and on weekends. Burnout is a very real thing, said Galante. Dr. Alice Woo says she used to spend up to half her workday writing up the results of patient meetings with the help of a nurse. Now, with Abridge software, its more like one-quarter of her time. That helps her stave off burnout from overwork. Lea Suzuki/The Chronicle Of course, the AI programs are not infallible. They can and do make mistakes in transcribing speech or condensing information. Doctors like Woo and Galante said they are careful to read back over what the programs spit out to make sure its accurate. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Galante said he has never actually seen the Rad AI program trip up. If the summary is off that means your findings were a bit off, he said, recalling a time the program caught him conflating a patients lateral and medial meniscus when dictating what he saw in a scan. Woo said sometimes Abridge doesnt write down everything perfectly, especially in Mandarin and Cantonese, languages she speaks fluently and which the program does not always master. Sometimes it types up gibberish, she said, showing one such transcript in Chinese on her office monitor. It is better at capturing conversations in English. While Abridge might occasionally hallucinate, Woo said, it lets her focus on what the patient is saying instead of having to make hurried notes and parse them later. It also captures things that may slip through the cracks during a hectic day in the clinic. Twice since April, Woo said, she forgot something a patient said during an appointment, realizing it when Abridge picked up the information and added it to the visit recap. That caused her to update the patients treatment plan in both cases, she said. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Just how often AI programs more generally get it wrong in medical contexts is something Stanford researchers have been looking into. A recent study used chatbots made by OpenAI and Meta to summarize findings from radiology scans. A panel of five Stanford radiologists rated the summaries on completeness, consistency and correctness. Researchers asked the participants in a blind test which they thought were generated by doctors, which were spun up by the bots, and which they preferred. The physicians preferred the AI-generated summaries over those written by people more often than not, said Akshay Chaudhari, one of the studys authors. AI can capture things that slip through the cracks during a hectic day in the clinic. Twice since April, Dr. Alice Woo said, she forgot something a patient said during an appointment, realizing it when Abridge included the information in the visit recap. Lea Suzuki/The Chronicle Programs made by Abridge and Rad AI are fine-tuned with medical terminology. Even without that speciality training, ChatGPT was able to fool trained radiologists by sounding convincingly human, the study found. Still, I dont think I would feel comfortable as a company providing these (responses) without human oversight, Chaudhari said of the results of his study, which did not use Abridge or Rad AI products. Trusting the summaries from his study blindly without a doctor checking them would make me not sleep well at night, he said. For now, Sutter Health is using Abridge in pilot form only, asking patients to consent to the program being used during their visits. Woo said among hundreds of patients, only a couple have opted out. Sutter wouldnt say how many of its doctors are now using Abridge. Getting doctors to opt in could be another issue. While Woo was enthused about the time-saving technology, Sutter Health manager Angela Bates cited an older doctor she knew who still preferred to work up patient reports the old-fashioned way with the help of an assistant. Not every patient is thrilled about allowing Abridge to eavesdrop on their appointments, either. A man in the parking lot outside Woos office who gave his name only as Dan said he was a patient of Woos, sporting a bandaged hand he said was from a laceration. He said he signed the Abridge consent form, adding Its going this way anyway and comparing it to the nearly unavoidable use of facial recognition technology at the airport. It has been confirmed that Derry Girls star Louisa Harlands Disney+ show Renegade Nell has been cancelled after one season. Harland played the titular character, Nell "Nelly" Jackson, a quick-witted fugitive operating in 18th-century England. The show launched earlier this year and was received well by critics and audiences alike, with an IMBd rating of 7.4 out of 10 and an average audience score of 88% on Rotten Tomatoes. However, it failed to meet the streaming giants threshold for a renewal, which is based on a number of metrics. A cast including the talents of Adrian Lester, Nick Mohammed, and Joely Richardson, along with Harland, who starred as Orla McCool in Derry Girls, has been informed of the decision. The Dublin-born actress garnered much praise for her lead performance in the show as a superpowered highwaywoman. A Disney spokesman told Deadline: Disney+ original series, Renegade Nell, will not be returning for a second season on the service. Were incredibly proud of the world created by Sally Wainwright and lead director Ben Taylor. "Wed like to thank them, our production partners at Lookout Point, the entire castled by Louisa Harlandand crew for their incredible work on this series, all of whom we hope to work with again in the future. At the same time the series aired on the streaming platform from March until June, Harland was starting at the West End in London at Wyndhams Theatre in the production of Long Days Journey into Night alongside a cast including Brian Cox. A Peep Show fan account released their quintessential best 10 UK-made sitcoms in a recent post on X, formerly known as Twitter, but it led to much heated debate. There was much debate and confusion from fans of the show based in our city, with Derry Girls missing from their list. But is Derry Girls the best UK-made sitcom ever? Derry Girls The Lisa McGee creation was widely praised, and Channel 4's most successful comedy since Father Ted receiving countless accolades, including Best Comedy from the IFTA Gala Television Awards, Best Scripted Comedy from the British Academy Television Awards, and Best Comedy Series from the International Emmy Awards. Following the lives of five teenagers as they try to navigate living in mid-1990s Derry while attending Our Lady Immaculate College at the tail end of the Troubles. The careers of the main cast have gone from strength to strength since the show, with Nicola Coughlan starring in Bridgerton, Saoirse-Monica Jackson, a key cast member in Netflixs The Decameron', and Jamie-Lee O'Donnell in Screw. The sitcom transcended all across the world, becoming a major hit when the rights to show it went to Netflix, creating a large fan base across America, Spain, and Australia, to name a few. Father Ted Another sitcom based in Ireland was considered among the best ever produced in the UK. A comedic look and dissection into the lives of three Roman Catholic priests and the church in Ireland, with the key character, Father Ted Crilly, dealing in schemes to either deal with a situation on fictional Craggy Island or to win games of one-upmanship against his enemy, Father Dick Byrne of the nearby Rugged Island parish, capturing the zeitgeist of the Catholic Church in the 1990s. The show starred the comedic talents of Dermot Morgan, Ardal O'Hanlon, Frank Kelly, and Pauline McLynn. It has become an important piece of Irish culture, as demonstrated recently in the recreation of the famous 'small, far away scene with O'Hanlon by the Irish government in their Dont Feed the Deer campaign. The show has a number of notable fans, including director Steven Spielberg and actors Jim Carrey and Steve Martin, while Maurice Gibb of the Bee Gees was buried with a copy of the DVD box set. Peep Show The fan page believed this show, starring David Mitchell and Robert Webb, was the best show ever produced in the UK. It follows the lives of Mark Corrigan (Mitchell) and Jeremy "Jez" Usbourne (Webb), two dysfunctional friends living in a flat in Croydon, London. The show has been considered a cult classic, with a number of iconic scenes and characters, including Super Hans and Alan Johnson. Peep Show has been remembered fondly by many, including Ricky Gervais, who believes it is the best sitcom since Father Ted and the Guardian claimed it was the best comedy of the decade. The Office It would be remiss if this show was not mentioned. The brainchild of Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, launching them into the stratosphere of the comedic scene. It was a mockumentary-style comedy following the day-to-day lives of office employees in Slough. The show may have only lasted two seasons, but a spin-off film following main character David Brent was released in 2016, and the comedy inspired the much-loved 'Modern Family', while there is the US spin-off of 'The Office' that is considered one of the best sitcoms ever. The Inbetweeners A coming-of-age comedy following the misadventures of suburban teenager William McKenzie (Simon Bird) and his friends Simon Cooper (Joe Thomas), Neil Sutherland (Blake Harrison), and Jay Cartwright (James Buckley) trying to navigate that awkward stage in life between GCSE and A-Level at a high school. In an incredibly relatable situation, it was well received by the nation and helped launch E4 as a major channel in the UK. The show launched the career of Greg Davies as a beloved comedic talent across British TV, along with stars Bird and Thomas. Unlike all on the list, bar one, the show would have to feature-length films on the big screen that were mammoth financial successes for Film4. The show, like the rest on this list, has had a lasting legacy due to its empathetic qualities. Mr. Bean Potentially the most accessible show in the history of television. Rowan Atkinson and Richard Curtis created this juggernaut of comedy for the TV screen in the 1990s after the idea came to Atkinson at Oxford University while studying electrical engineering. From there, the rest is history. The character is one of the most recognisable people from the UK, with two feature-length films starring the almost mute character, apart from a few sounds and mumbles, a cartoon series that is beloved by children on ITV, and helping to make the London Olympic opening ceremony one of the most revered in the history of the competition. The original TV series on ITV consists of only 15 episodes, but this is all that was needed to create this colossus of British comedy. Im Alan Partridge Similar to Mr. Bean, the character has transcended the show and become synonymous with the actor who played them, creating opportunities across the world for Steve Coogan. Since the inception of the character and series by Coogan, Peter Baynham, and Armando Iannucci, the tactless and inept broadcaster has created fear amongst real broadcasters of suffering a Partridge moment on air. Coogan plays the role flawlessly, with many people unaware that Partridge is just a character of Coogans creation. The cringe comedy that the show and character is famous for has become a staple of the modern landscape, and so the show and character finds new life and fans continuously, which explains the 2013 film Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa. Blackadder The four-season series is another Atkinson juggernaut, with this sitcom exploring the history of the UK in a farcical manner through the Blackadder family line. Creating stars from the likes of Hugh Grant, Stephen Fry, and Tony Robinson, the 1980s show examining the reigns of three monarchs before Blackadder goes fourth takes a look at the First World War. The show was viewed as the 20th best TV series ever by Empire, beaten by the comedic royalty of The Simpsons and Friends. Peter Kays Phoenix Nights Another show that only required two seasons to become a major part of the British comedic nobility was originally a spin-off from a spoof documentary series. In the Club. While it may be the complete opposite of regency, with it being set in a working men's club in the northern English town of Bolton,. And from the show, there was a beloved spin-off with Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere. The show helped elevate the already massive reputation Peter Kay had within Britain due to his stand-up and previous roles. Rumours of a third series persisted for years, but nothing ever came of this icon of British comedy. Only Fools and Horses A show spanning across three decades is set in working-class Peckham in south-east London. Starring David Jason as ambitious market trader Derek "Del Boy" Trotter and his younger half-brother Rodney (Nicholas Lyndhurst). It follows their highs and lows and their struggles to make it rich. Like other shows on this list, it has a massive cult following and has become pivotal in Britain's pop culture, with the Reliant Regal in the show becoming an iconic car in the country. Like The Office', the show had international remakes, including in the Netherlands, Portugal, and Slovenia. The sitcom won countless comedic awards and was voted Britain's Best Sitcom in a 2004 BBC poll. A Co. Derry pensioner has been ordered to stand trial accused of having a cache of weaponry uncovered almost 50 years ago during an investigation into a police officers murder. Appearing in the dock of Limavady Magistrates Court, sitting in Coleraine on Wednesday, 71-year-old Gerard Joseph Kelly confirmed he was aware of the four charges against him and that he did not object to the Preliminary Enquiry, the legal step by which any criminal case is elevated to the Crown Court. Kelly, from OCahan Place in Dungiven, is accused of having explosives and firearms with intent to endanger life and under suspicious circumstances at Brockaghboy, Garvagh on February 16, 1976. The charges relating to explosives accuse the pensioner of having two electric detonators and two improvised pressure mat switches while the charges in relation to firearms allege that he had two Walther pistols, one Browning pistol, a 0.22 rifle No C21075, a Remington shotgun and a quantity of ammunition. None of the alleged background facts giving rise to the charges were opened in court today (wed) but during an extradition hearing in Dublin High Court in relation to another man accused of the same charges, it was claimed the weapons were uncovered during an investigation into the murder of 25-year-old RUC Constable Robert John McPherson and the attempted murder of his colleague on July 26, 1975. The extradition hearing in relation to 73-year-old Seamus Christopher O'Kane, from Scalestown in Dunshaughlin, heard how a military observation team identified suspicious activity at the Garvagh farmhouse which at the time was owned by a retired farmer. According to OKanes extradition warrant, officers observed three males approaching the farmhouse and that one of the males was carrying a backpack. Officers called to the farmhouse and the householder told officers he was alone in the property. The warrant continues that during searches of the property and surrounding outhouses explosive substances, firearms and ammunition were recovered including two electric detonators, two improvised pressure mat switches, two Walther pistols, one Browning pistol, a 0.22 rifle, a Remington shotgun and 104 rounds of ammunition. "Seamus Christopher O'Kane and two other males were found hiding in an upstairs bedroom in the property and were subsequently arrested," the warrant reads. The warrant further states that forensic examinations confirmed that the electric detonators recovered from the property at Brockaghboy, Garvagh were explosive blasting accessories, used to initiate charges of high explosive. The pressure mat switches were of a type used in the electrical firing circuits of "booby-trap" explosive devices. Pressure on the mat by an unsuspecting person completed the electrical circuit and fired the detonator, thereby initiating an explosive charge. The Dublin court also heard a claim that one of the firearms found during the Garvagh operation had been taken from Const. McPherson when he was gunned down the previous year. Const. McPherson, who was from Leck, outside Coleraine, was shot dead in an INLA ambush in Dungiven Main Street around midday on July 26, 1975. He was hit by a single shot when he and a colleague were ambushed as they investigated a report of a suspect car and while, tragically, the 25-year-old victim died at the scene, his fellow officer was hit multiple times but fortunately survived. In Limavady Magistrates Court on Wednesday a prosecuting lawyer submitted there was a Prima facie case against Kelly, a submission which was conceded by defence solicitor Don Mahoney. The court clerk told Kelly that although not obliged to he had the right to comment on the charges and to call evidence on his own behalf but he declined to exercise those rights. As the case is a Diplock, no jury case, District Judge Francis Rafferty returned the case to be heard at Belfast Crown Court and although he did not set a date for the arraignment, he freed Kelly on his own bail of 500. Detectives investigating the murder of a man in Belfast have made an appeal about an altercation. Kevin Davidson, 34, was found dead in the back yard of a house on Donegall Avenue in Belfast. His body was covered by bin bags and a sleeping bag, which was held in position by weight lifting bars. Police believe Mr Davidson was strangled with a clothes line. Two people have already appeared in court charged with his murder. Detective Inspector Jennifer Rea said: While two people have been charged with Mr Davidsons murder, our inquiries are ongoing. I am making a specific appeal for information, and have today released images of a car, in respect of an incident that occurred in the early hours of Tuesday July 9. At around 12.24am, there appears to have been an altercation on the Lisburn Road, at the junction of Elmwood Avenue, which we believe involved the occupants of a white car. I am appealing to the driver and passengers of this car to contact officers on 101 as soon as possible. In addition, I am asking the driver and/or occupants of a dark-coloured car, which was being driven and may have stopped in the Lisburn Road/Elmwood Avenue area between 12.22am and 12.30am, to please get in touch as I believe you may have information that could assist our inquiries. Colm Barry McClenaghan, 32, of no fixed abode, and Jade Mary Anna Harrison, 35, of Donegall Avenue, appeared before a district judge at Belfast Magistrates Court last month charged with Mr Davidsons murder. The court heard that Harrison is Mr Davidsons former partner. They both deny involvement in the murder. The court heard the victim and two accused were drug users and they had all been squatting in the same house in Donegall Avenue a property owned by a man currently in prison. The court was also told that McClenaghan had intervened after Davidson was assaulted by another man on the Lisburn Road in the hours before his death. Churches and trade unions have urged against a suggestion of anti-Islamic protests in Northern Ireland this weekend. Earlier this week, Chief Constable Jon Boutcher said police are working to establish if the protests mooted on social media will materialise on the ground. He also urged people in society to push back against the poisonous nonsense being propagated by those seeking to organise demonstrations against the Islamic faith, adding if they do happen they will be policed effectively. It comes after came after disorder in England following the fatal stabbing of three young girls in Southport on Monday. Violent unrest has been witnessed in Southport as well as in London, Hartlepool and Manchester. Church of Ireland Bishop of Down and Connor Alan McGuckian described disturbing scenes of violence, rioting and protest, often motivated by Islamophobia, xenophobia and racism, organised and mobilised by social influencers. It is particularly concerning that some individuals and groups have deliberately used the recent attack in Southport, in which three children lost their lives and many others injured, to misinform and inflame fear within the local community and beyond, he said. He urged against those in Northern Ireland that are similarly stoking the coals of fear and mistrust against Muslims. Particularly in Northern Ireland, we have journeyed so far from a history of conflict and live now in a place that is rightly moving towards mutual respect, dialogue and tolerance, he said. There is no place for racism and sectarianism in a modern civil society. Those who promote mistrust and fear do not speak in the name of Christianity. Standing in solidarity and seeking an honest dialogue with our sisters and brothers from different cultures and religions is the only authentic Christian way forward. I make an appeal calling for all to remain calm, to seek peace and to promote community harmony. Let us not be influenced by messengers of fear and misinformation. Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland Rev Trevor Gribben urged anyone considering taking part in such protests to think again. As the police service seeks to establish what may or may not happen on Saturday, Mr Boutcher referred to the calls to protest as poisonous nonsense. Hatred against any section of the community is indeed poisonous, and is not only wrong, but entirely anti-Christian, he said. It is my prayer, that those seeking to undertake this misguided course of action think again, and understand that we are called by Jesus Himself, to love your neighbour as yourself. Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) president Justin McCamphill described whipping up hate and fear as not acceptable. We endorse the assertion of our friends in the TUCs North-West region that Southport and our communities do not need to meet violence with further violence, he said. Whipping up hate and fear is not acceptable. As trade unions in the region, we will continue to work with our members in workplaces across Southport and beyond, to provide practical support and solidarity and defeat the narrative of hate. The playbook being spread around the UK this week is the same as the lies and fearmongering after a similar attack on children in Dublin last November. The message from trade unionists then is the same today we stand with all victims of hate crime; we support our public servants who defend the vulnerable and we have zero tolerance for divisive misinformation or attempts to spark violence. 1. Redmi 12 5G Digit Rating 6.7 /10 Battery Score 7 /10 Screen Size: 6.79 u0022 Rear camera : 50 MP Storage: 128 GB Battery capacity: 5000 (mAh) Feature 7.1 Performance 6.5 Value 6.7 Design 6.6 PROS: Minimalistic, sleek design, Brilliant battery backup, Decent cameras CONS: Slow charging, Plenty of bloatware, Display feels dull Xiaomis Redmi 12 5G marks a significant return to its roots, presenting one of the most affordable 5G smartphones on the market. Embracing a premium aesthetic with its glass back and IP53 rating, this device caters to budget-conscious consumers seeking both style and durability. Powered by Qualcomms latest Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 chipset, coupled with up to 8GB of RAM, it excels in multitasking and demanding tasks such as gaming. With an impressive AnTuTu score of 452,431, the Redmi 12 5G stands out as one of the top performers in the sub-Rs 12,000 price segment, offering a compelling blend of affordability and performance. 2. iQoo Z6 Lite 5G Screen Size: 6.58 u0022 Rear camera : 50 MP Storage: 64 GB Battery capacity: 5000 (mAh) The iQOO Z6 Lite 5G was the first smartphone in India to come with Qualcomms last-gen entry-level chipset, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 4 Gen 1. The iQOO Z6 Lite 5G also has a 120Hz refresh rate display, which is a feature all mobile gamers will appreciate since it enables gaming on a high frame rate. The new Qualcomm chip with a highly responsive display makes the iQOO Z6 Lite 5G a brilliant value for money option in this list. We also get a pretty decent set of cameras with the 50MP primary and 2MP macro dual rear camera setup. Furthermore, with 5,000mAh battery we get about a day and a halfs backup, but the 18W charging isnt the fastest we have seen in this range. The iQOO Z6 Lite 5G is a great smartphone for those looking for something powerful yet efficient in the sub- 15,000 segment. 3. Samsung Galaxy M14 5G Digit Rating 7.4 /10 Battery Score 7 /10 Screen Size: 6.6 u0022 Rear camera : 50 MP Storage: 128 GB Battery capacity: 6000 (mAh) Feature 7.2 Performance 7.3 Value 7.3 Design 7.6 PROS: Fantastic battery life, Decent performance, Good primary and selfie cameras, Bright 90 Hz display CONS: Dated teardrop notch and large chin bezel, No bundled charger, Not for hardcore gamers, No ultrawide lens One of the most recent budget smartphones in this list, the Samsung Galaxy M14 5G impressed us with the performance numbers the device is able to achieve, thanks to the 5nm Exynos 1330 chipset. Paired with 6GB of RAM, the Exynos 1330 SoC helps the Galaxy M14 5G achieve an AnTuTu score of 411,340. While on paper, the performance of the Samsung Galaxy M14 5G looks very good, in real life the situation is far from it. The smartphone feels slow and takes a while to run demanding apps or games as compared to some other competing devices. The display on the Samsung Galaxy M14 5G is also a PLS LCD display with 90Hz refresh rate. Despite an average performance, what makes the Samsung Galaxy M14 5G one of the top devices in our list of the best smartphones under 15,000, is the smartphones brilliant battery backup with the 6,000mAh battery that supports 25W fast charging. For our power user friends, this massive 6,000mAh battery will make a huge difference in terms of the overall package. 4. POCO X5 5G Screen Size: 6.67 u0022 Rear camera : 48 MP Storage: 256 GB Battery capacity: 5000 (mAh) Another recently-launched smartphone, the Poco X5 5G is powered by the tried and tested Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 SoC, which has kind of become the go-to choice for OEMs in the budget 5G segment. The Snapdragon 695 chip allows the Poco X5 to achieve an AnTuTu score of over 400,000, which is great for a sub-15,000 smartphone. Apart from the performance figures, we also get a stunning and responsive super AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate! Apart from this, the Poco X5 also has a standard 5,000mAh battery which supports 33W fast charging, which takes about an hour to charge the smartphone to full. In terms of optics, we get a triple rear camera with a 48-megapixel primary shooter, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide angle lens, and a 2-megapixel macro shooter. With a good mix of performance and premium features, the Poco X5 makes for a great choice for those who want a balanced experience out of their smartphone. advertisement 5. Motorola Moto G62 5G Digit Rating 6.2 /10 Screen Size: 6.5 u0022 Rear camera : 50 MP Storage: 128 GB Battery capacity: 5000 (mAh) Feature 7.1 Performance 5.6 Value 6.3 Design 6.5 PROS: Great battery life, 120 Hz refresh rate support, Dolby Atmos-certified stereo speakers, Reliable performance CONS: Mediocre cameras, LCD display, Screen legibility in sunlight isnt good, Slow 20 W charger Moto G62 5G makes it to another top 10 list on Digit.in! The younger brother of our Zero1 winner for the budget smartphone category, the Moto G62s performance figures, paired with a vibrant display and a super clean Android experience makes the Moto G62 5G hard to ignore in any top 10 list that talks about sub-15,000 smartphones. The device comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 SoC paired with up to 8GB of RAM. We also get a 120Hz IPS LCD display, which has a nice and vibrant colour tone, along with a responsive refresh rate. Apart from this, we also get a 50MP triple rear camera setup, which we found to be rather mediocre in our review. The battery life, however, is very good with the 5,000mAh unit, but the charging is quite slow. With a fairly powerful processor and a super clean software, the Moto G62 5G is a good bet for those looking for a safe option under 15,000. 6. Lava Storm 5G Digit Rating 6.7 /10 Screen Size: 6.78 u0022 Rear camera : 50 + 8 MP Storage: 128 GB GB Battery capacity: 5000 (mAh) Features and specs 7 Build and design 6.7 Performance 6.5 Value for money 6.7 PROS: Exquisite design Responsive display Smooth performance CONS: Bad camera Slippery grip Only 1 year of software update The Lava Storm 5G is one of the latest budget phones that comes with an impressive design, a fast 120 Hz display, and good battery life. The camera capabilities are not the best in the segment, but if you are looking for a reliable 5G option on a budget, this can be a good choice. The Dimensity 6000 series chipset is decent enough for everyday operation and the massive 5,000 mAh battery lasts for a day with ease. 7. Motorola Moto G34 Screen Size: 6.5 u0022 Rear camera : 50 + 2 MP Storage: 128 GB GB Battery capacity: 5000 (mAh) The Moto G34 5G is a budget-friendly smartphone that offers impressive features for its price point. It boasts a large 6.5-inch display with a 120Hz refresh rate, providing smooth scrolling. Despite its affordable price, it doesnt compromise on performance and offers 5G connectivity. It comes with 128GB of storage as standard, which can be further expanded via microSD. However, the cameras are average and it has slow charging. The display resolution is also relatively low at 720p. Nevertheless, the Moto G34 5G is considered a great value, especially for those looking for a budget phone with modern connectivity options. Its an excellent choice for anyone buying for a relative or child, or as an additional work phone. advertisement 8. Vivo T2x Screen Size: 6.58 u0022 Rear camera : 50 MP Storage: 128 GB Battery capacity: 6000 (mAh) The Vivo T2x 5G is Vivos recently-launched sub-15,000 5G offering. It makes its way in our top 10 list of smartphones under 15,000 given that this too, offers a complete Android experience to its users. We get a nice MediaTek Dimensity 6020 SoC, which is also present on the Realme Nazro 60 5G, along with 8GB of RAM. The Vivo T2x 5G also has a 5,000mAh battery with support for 18W fast charging. For our power user friends, we get a good chipset and battery combination. However, the Vivo T2x 5G doesnt make for the best complete package, since the display specs are underwhelming. We get a 6.58-inch IPS LCD display with 60Hz refresh rate. Now, this may not be as responsive as competition, but the 60Hz refresh rate will save battery on this smartphone. 9. Realme C65 Digit Rating 6.4 /10 Screen Size: 6.67 u0022 Rear camera : 50 + 2 MP Storage: 128 GB GB Battery capacity: 5000 (mAh) Build and Design 6.9 Features and Specifications 6.6 Performance and Camera 6 Value for Money 6.4 PROS: Reliable performance for day-to-day use Excellent battery life Smooth 120 Hz display Well-designed for the price 5G on a budget CONS: Frame drops during heavy gaming Low-light photography is mediocre Only 64 GB internal storage in base variant Bloatware The Realme C65 5G is a budget-friendly smartphone that offers excellent value for money, priced at just 10,499. It boasts smooth performance, long-lasting battery life, and good daylight photography, addressing the key aspects most users look for in a phone. Despite its competitive edge, the Realme C65 has some drawbacks, such as excessive bloatware and a base variant with only 64 GB of storage, which is considered insufficient by 2024 standards. Notable features include a MediaTek Dimensity 6030 processor, up to 6 GB RAM, 128 GB storage, and a 120 Hz refresh rate display. However, the display resolution is lower than its predecessors. The device also offers IP54 protection and a fast side-mounted fingerprint sensor. Overall, the Realme C65 is a commendable option in the affordable 5G segment, making minimal compromises to deliver 5G connectivity at a low price point. 10. POCO M6 Pro 5G Screen Size: 6.79 u0022 Rear camera : 50 MP Storage: 64 GB Battery capacity: 5000 (mAh) PROS: Well-designed phone with a glass back, Impressive battery life, Cheapest 5G phone yet CONS: Cameras dynamic range could be better, Only 18 W charging, Tons of bloatware The POCO M6 Pro is an affordable 5G device that offers reliable performance and exceptionally good battery life. It democratises 5G for the masses while also not compromising on the overall quality of the phone. There are a few misses in the camera department, but those are nitpicks for what is an extremely capable budget 5G phone. The Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 chipset provides a smooth experience for the price and you can do low graphics gaming on this phone with relative ease. Overall, a solid option for anyone considering a 5G phone on a budget. Disclaimer: Digit, like all other media houses, gives you links to online stores which contain embedded affiliate information, which allows us to get a tiny percentage of your purchase back from the online store. We urge all our readers to use our Buy button links to make their purchases as a way of supporting our work. If you are a user who already does this, thank you for supporting and keeping unbiased technology journalism alive in India. AMD boosts AI data center GPU revenue forecast to US$4.5 billion amid surging demand AMD has further raised its full-year revenue forecast for AI data center GPUs to US$4.5 billion, underscoring the surging demand for computing power driven by generative AI. The chipmaker is ramping up its investments in both hardware and software solutions to capture this growing market. For the second quarter of 2024, AMD reported data center revenue of US$2.83 billion, comprising 49% of its total revenue and marking a staggering 115% year-over-year increase. Despite a rise in R&D expenses, operating income soared to US$743 million, up 405% from the previous year, pushing the operating margin up 15pp to 26%. CEO Lisa Su attributed the robust growth to the rapid adoption of the Instinct MI300 series GPUs, built on the CDNA 3 architecture. These GPUs generated over US$1 billion in quarterly revenue for the first time, with Microsoft expanding its deployment of MI300X accelerators to power GPT-4 Turbo and various Copilot services. AMD is accelerating its Instinct product roadmap, planning to launch the MI325X later this year, which is expected to boost fourth-quarter revenue. Looking ahead to 2025, AMD will unveil the MI350 series, leveraging the new CDNA 4 architecture, promising a 35-fold performance increase over CDNA 3. The MI400 series, expected in 2026 with the CDNA Next architecture, is also making significant strides in development. Su noted that AMD's Instinct GPUs and its ROCm software stack have received "extremely" positive feedback from customers, prompting the company to raise its data center GPU revenue outlook from the previously estimated US$3.5 billion to US$4 billion, to over US$4.5 billion. Looking to the future, Su emphasized that generative AI and the development of increasingly powerful models are fueling the surge in computing demand. AMD is optimistic about its growth prospects over the coming years and is increasing investments in its software, hardware, and solutions portfolio. The company aims to release at least one flagship data center GPU annually, incorporate AI capabilities across all product lines, and strengthen the ROCm platform through collaborations with the open-source community. In addition to its data center gains, AMD's client segment, which includes its PC business, also posted significant growth in the second quarter. Revenue rose 49% year-over-year to US$1.5 billion, with operating income reaching US$89 million, resulting in a 6% operating margina notable improvement from the negative 7% margin in the same period last year. Su sees AI PCs as an emerging growth engine for the broader PC market and anticipates a wider price range for AI PCs by 2025, creating more business opportunities. However, when questioned about the potential impact of Arm-based PCs entering the market, Su maintained that while the PC market is large, AMD is still underrepresented and will approach competition cautiously. Regarding the MI300 series supply chain, Su acknowledged ongoing challenges, with supply expected to gradually increase in the latter half of the year, though tight conditions are likely to persist into 2025. On the competitive front with Nvidia, Su addressed concerns about AMD's position in rack-level performance, an area where the company may be lacking critical architecture. She highlighted that as systems grow more complex, particularly for large training clusters, customers will increasingly rely on suppliers for integration assistance. AMD's solution includes its Infinity Fabric technology, the foundation for UALink, and broader system-level integration capabilities. AMD continues to invest heavily across its portfolio, from CPUs and GPUs to networking technologies acquired from Pensando, aiming to accelerate its customers' time to market. Lili Xu, 60, who was killed in what police described as a murder-for-hire shooting, is seen in a photo taken during ballet two weeks ago by her teacher, George Shi, at a vigil following her death. The man accused of killing Xu was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison. Jungho Kim/Special to the Chronicle 2022 Regarding A slap in the face: Victims son slams plea deal in murder-for-hire shooting of Oakland dentist (Crime, SFChronicle.com, July 30): For five years, I volunteered weekly to moderate a peer counseling group at a maximum-security prison in San Luis Obispo. My group of 12 murderers had sad lives, suffering all manner of hardship. In their long prison sentences, they eventually found education, work ethic and skills. This led to stable, productive lives, which over time, in prison, they grew to value. Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price has repeatedly reduced murder charges under the perverted notion the same communities that twisted them into killers are also going to embrace them with stability. In place of the prison system (which keeps us safe), we expect a cadre of disorganized and unqualified nonprofit organizations, with no accountability to the public, to imbue these men with the tools the rest of us need to be safe. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Her recent decision to charge hit man Hasheem Bason with second-degree murder is evidence of moral rot. We are not a compassionate society when we allow hit men to not face the full consequences of their actions. And when leniency for murderers is based primarily on considerations of race, we can no longer expect equal justice under the law. Christopher Weber, Oakland Not funny anymore I used to think Rob Schneider was a funny guy. I met him while sitting a row behind him at Giants games. He once reluctantly signed my sons scorecard saying he didnt want to ruin it. This was before I heard Schneiders unfunny words. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Besides his anti-vaxxing stance and other questionable political statements, Schneider is now channeling former Saturday Night Live alumnus Dana Carveys Church Lady character, claiming that the Paris Olympics opening ceremony was a celebration of Satan. Schneider wants us to boycott watching athletes whove spent years preparing for these games and had nothing to do with this brief, misinterpreted segment of the lavish opening ceremonies. I am sorry to say to ALL the worlds GREATEST ATHLETES, I wish you ALL THE BEST, but I cannot watch an Olympics that disrespects Christianity and openly celebrates Satan, Schneider said on X. I sincerely hope THESE @Olympics get the same amount of viewers as @cspan. Really? Has Schneider ever sat through one of his movies? The guy who starred in Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo and The Hot Chick wants to lecture us on disrespect and poor taste. Well, isnt that special? Mitchell Goldman, Richmond Advertisement Article continues below this ad Mix in affordable housing Regarding This wealthy S.F. neighborhood hasnt added new housing in 50 years. That could soon change (San Francisco, SFChronicle.com, July 30): Once again, the privileged residents of Presidio Heights can avoid integrating their neighborhood with affordable housing. The builder at 3700 California St. is paying a fee rather than include below-market-rate units, and new city regulations allow the developer to reduce units for low-income seniors at 3333 California St. Any hope of seriously addressing the unconscionable disparity of wealth and opportunity in our beloved city requires the economic and class integration of all our neighborhoods. Michael Rooke-Ley, San Francisco Advertisement Article continues below this ad Get rid of fountain Regarding People hate this huge S.F. fountain. Heres why the city absolutely should keep it (San Francisco, SFChronicle.com, July 28): Urban Design Critic John King acknowledges that the Vaillancourt Fountain sculpture is an oft-ridiculed concoction of overscale concrete pipes bent and contorted in angles and is one of urban Americas truly bizarre works of public art yet he urges its perpetuation in a reimagined Embarcadero Plaza park. About Opinion Guest opinions in Open Forum and Insight are produced by writers with expertise, personal experience or original insights on a subject of interest to our readers. Their views do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Chronicle editorial board, which is committed to providing a diversity of ideas to our readership. Read more about our transparency and ethics policies The reason, he claims, is history: It was built to provide a visual distraction to the elevated ramps of an ugly double-deck roadway built in 1958 and torn down after the 1989 earthquake damaged it. But do we want to perpetuate one blight, the only significance of which is that it was built to hide another blight? Advertisement Article continues below this ad In 2023, over 4,200 people and 1,200 businesses in counties Louth and Meath participated in upskilling with a Skillnet Ireland Business Network. Figures from the Skillnet Ireland Annual Report 2023, reveal the national agency for workforce development delivered over 27,800 training days in counties Louth and Meath last year. 52% of those who undertook training were women and 48% were men, while those aged 30 to 39 years were the largest group of people availing of upskilling supports. The vast majority (96%) of the Louth and Meath companies that upskilled their workforce with Skillnet Ireland in 2023 were small and medium enterprises. The greatest uptake came from the Food & Drink sector followed by Services, Health, Agriculture, Manufacturing, Financial Services and Retail. Companies based in Louth and Meath undertook upskilling programmes with more than 50 of the 70 Skillnet Business Networks based on the sector in which their company operates, or with one of the Networks in their region, which include Dundalk Chamber Skillnet, M1 Drogheda Chamber Skillnet, Learning Waves Skillnet and Positive2Work Skillnet. In 2023, Skillnet Ireland provided upskilling and training programmes to the value of 83.4 million to over 26,600 businesses and more than 97,700 workers nationally, across the Irish economy. Companies contributed 31.4 million or 37% of the total investment towards upskilling their staff, a 4.9 million increase on 2022, signalling a high level of buy-in from industry sectors to develop their teams in partnership with Skillnet Ireland. Commenting on the uptake of Skillnet Ireland supports from businesses in 2023, Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Patrick ODonovan TD, said: The Irish economy continues to benefit greatly from Skillnet Irelands delivery of industry-led upskilling initiatives for businesses of all sizes. More than 97,000 people working in companies across Ireland took part in upskilling with Skillnet Ireland in 2023, across areas of increasing importance such as sustainability, digitalisation, innovation, and leadership. These results demonstrate the significant work that is ongoing to nurture and support our nations greatest asset, our talent. Skillnet Ireland Chief Executive, Paul Healy, said: As we celebrate the 25th anniversary of the establishment of Skillnet Ireland, there is increasing recognition among employers of the importance of upskilling in a competitive and rapidly evolving business landscape. By investing in staff, through the cost sharing approach with Skillnet Ireland, businesses in this region, and throughout the country, are more agile and adapt to technological advancements more seamlessly. Upskilling is proven to increase employee retention and creates a pipeline of future talent. Read Next: Man (70s) taken to hospital following Dundalk collision "I would like to commend the almost 27,000 companies that chose to work with Skillnet Ireland in 2023 and for putting the development of their teams centre stage. We look forward to continuing to support businesses, and the Irish workforce into the future. As the national talent development agency, Skillnet Ireland is making substantial progress in futureproofing businesses in Louth and Meath, as well as enhancing the specialist skills of the Irish workforce through talent development. Established 25 years ago this year, Skillnet Ireland provides programmes to businesses of all sizes in key areas such as digital skills, skills for a green transition and enterprise leadership. Every business, large or small, is facing challenges, from the need for digital advancement, to talent shortages and skills gaps. The upskilling and lifelong learning supports offered by Skillnet Irelands 70 Business Networks and National Initiatives - Skillnet Climate Ready Academy, Skillnet Innovation Exchange and MentorsWork are all designed to bridge skill gaps, empower individuals, and drive innovation. 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. Ardee's Cllr Dolores Minogue has said that not including the reopening of the Dunleer Train Station in the Final Report of the All-Island Strategic Rail Review is "a missed opportunity" and said its reopening would greatly benefit the community and boost the local economy. Cllr Minogue was commenting following the publication of the Final Report of the All-Island Strategic Rail Review, which was published this week. Included in the report are recommendations that could see, if implemented, Dundalk seeing the benefit of new 200kmh (125mph) intercity trains between Dublin and Belfast, as well as train services at least hourly between cities and at least every two hours on regional/rural routes. While the reopening of Dunleer Train Station is not specifically mentioned in the report, there are still hopes that it has not been ruled out. Commenting on the publication of the report, Cllr Minogue told the Dundalk Democrat that, "I welcome this announcement and its potential benefits for the country. "However, as an active councillor who has consistently advocated for the reopening of Dunleer railway, I believe it is a significant missed opportunity not to include Dunleer in this review. I hope it is not too late to rectify this and include our area in this important review. "Reopening Dunleer station would be a significant day for the people of Ardee, Mid Louth, and surrounding areas, facilitating travel to work, college, hospital appointments, and day trips. This would greatly benefit our community and boost the local economy." 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Jack Ohman/The Chronicle Elon Musk, meet Marc Murphy. Im quite certain youve never met Marc Murphy. But you will now. You see, Murphy is an influential political cartoonist in Kentucky, where they arent inclined to mince words. Not only that, Murphy is a law professor at the University of Louisville. Hes an Army veteran, a former prosecutor and, unlike Musk, courageous. Advertisement Article continues below this ad A few years ago, Murphy had 30,000 followers on Musks dreadful hate-spewing platform, X (nee Twitter). Murphy, being courageous, was and is drawing cartoons as a freelancer for the Louisville Courier-Journal. As Musk is well aware, X is the stage for crazy right-wing garbage that he openly encourages and promotes. Murphy, being the hard-hitting commentator that he is, doesnt hesitate at the plate. He slugs it out of the park in Kentucky four days per week, while he engages in the practice of law and being a professor. If I were giving out Pulitzer Prizes for sheer local impact, Murphy would be an obvious choice. So how did Musk, the hypocritical free speech poseur that he is, treat Murphy? He shut down Murphys X account for nebulous reasons. Oh, you know, violating the terms of service, or some other B.S. like that. Of course, his buddy former President Donald Trump, a felonious mendicant and Twier poster boy, would say stuff six times per day that violated Musks vague terms of service. Advertisement Article continues below this ad What did Murphy do? Well, being the tenacious advocate of the First Amendment, he started a new X account. Until a few days ago, he had 1,300 followers on this open sewer of a platform. Thats about a 95% decrease. Murphy drew a cartoon the other day about Sonya Massey, a Black tax-paying resident of Springfield, Ill., which you may recall, is the home of President Abraham Lincoln, who signed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. Massey reported a prowler, and Sangamon County Sheriffs deputies responded. Upon their fateful arrival, Deputy Sean Grayson told her to move a pot of boiling water from her stove, because, for some reason, he thought it was a fire hazard. Note Massey didnt call the Springfield Fire Department. Not sure what kind of fire hazard the deputy thought a pot of boiling water might pose as they responded to a prowler call, and she was cooperating fully, even saying she loved them for coming. Advertisement Article continues below this ad When Massey followed this ridiculous, non sequitur order, Deputy Grayson shot and killed her. He also didnt want Massey, a mother of two, to get medical attention. The community and the nation responded with outrage but, hey, thats just another day at the office for Black Americans, who are shot and killed routinely by poorly-trained police. Murphy also responded with outrage and drew a cartoon about the incident. He then posted it on X. Murphy isnt quite certain what algorithm he violated by criticizing the Sangamon County Sheriffs Office, which, incidentally and correctly, fired Grayson, yet another trigger-happy police officer who killed a Black American for no obvious reason. Murphy thinks the usual MAGA suspects in Kentucky reported this truth-telling, but hes not quite sure who. Murphy has had a target on his back for years in Louisville for doing what a political cartoonist should do: expose hypocrisy and hold accountable the powers that be. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Murphy thinks it was probably Christian nationalists and the supremacists, and the Liberty Republicans in Kentucky. Liberty Republicans are a powerful MAGA cult (oxymoron) in Kentucky. In the paraphrased words of normal former Republican President, George W. Bush, They hate freedom. So Musk took down Murphys X account again, with no recourse. Lets review: Musk tweets and retweets all sorts of asinine drivel, all far right-wing of course, because the native South African apparently wants to make Pretoria Great Again. Advertisement Article continues below this ad This week, Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has handled Musk like the live hand grenade that he is, called out Musks tweet featuring Vice President Kamala Harris AI-doctored voice saying something she did not say. At all. Not remotely. Newsom responded by saying he was going to support legislation in California banning deep fake impersonations in political content. How did Apartheid Boy respond? He tweeted (Xd?) this bon mot back at Newsom: I checked with renowned world authority, Professor Suggon Deeznutz, and he said parody is legal in America. Hey, thanks, 12-year-old with a 233.8 billion bucks. Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar noted that Musk violated his own terms of service, which reads, in part, that any synthetic, manipulated or out-of-context media that may deceive or confuse people and lead to harm is prohibited. Klobuchar, who is undeniably nice, since shes from Minnesota, said in a tweet that Musk will be unleashing an entire election season of fake AI voice and image-altered content with no limits, regardless of party. Note also that Musks damaged brand had also taken down the new White Dudes for Harris account and brought it back seven hours later. Hmm. A pattern emerges. What does Murphy have to say? I mourn the loss of what was a functioning and very interesting public square enterprise I mourn the loss because it was ruined, on purpose, by the very worst among us for a very specific reason. About Opinion Guest opinions in Open Forum and Insight are produced by writers with expertise, personal experience or original insights on a subject of interest to our readers. Their views do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Chronicle editorial board, which is committed to providing a diversity of ideas to our readership. Read more about our transparency and ethics policies I dont know that (Musk) himself is a fascist, but he enables fascists. Three GOP House members sent a letter to UCSF warning that alleged acts of antisemitic harassment and intimidation could cost it participation in Medicare and Medicaid. The campus was the scene of pro-Palistinian rallies this spring, such as this one on May 13. Nanette Asimov / The Chronicle Three House Republicans are warning UCSF that allegations of pervasive acts of antisemitic harassment and intimidation could violate federal law and cost the San Francisco medical center its participation in Medicare and Medicaid. In a sternly worded letter sent Wednesday to UCSF Chancellor Sam Hawgood, members of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce said they are investigating hundreds of complaints of antisemitism and/or a hostile work environment by UCSF employees and patients, which they learned of through confidential sources. Any provider not compliant with federal civil rights laws is at risk for losing the right to participate in federal health care programs, says the letter from the members of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, signed by Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash.; Morgan Griffith, R-Va.; and Brett Guthrie, R-Ky. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Their letter gives Hawgood until Aug. 14 to answer seven probing questions about what, if anything, UCSF is doing to prevent and hold people accountable for antisemitism on its campuses. The questions echo those that House Republicans have been asking officials at other prominent universities including Harvard, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Pennsylvania, Columbia and UCLA during tense Congressional hearings held from December through this spring. The intimidating tone of the hearings has succeeded, in some cases, at pushing academic leaders to harshly crack down on pro-Palestininian protesters and contributed to the ouster of the presidents of Harvard and Penn. The letter from Congress took a similarly intimidating tone and sounded as if the lawmakers had already concluded their investigation, as when they told Hawgood that it was unacceptable for UCSF leadership to permit calls for violence on campus. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Asked to comment on the range of allegations contained in the letter, including that Jewish patients feel unsafe or uncomfortable with coming in for treatment, UCSF spokesperson Kristen Bole offered only a brief response: We have received a letter from the House of Representatives Committee on Energy & Commerce and are responding to its request for information. Among the allegations included in the letter: An encampment in front of UCSFs medical center caused great distress to patients who witnessed pro-terror and pro-violence statements and symbols. Calls for violence can be heard from patient rooms. At UCSF Mission Bay, cancer patients have to walk by antisemitic graffiti. Antisemitic public statements by faculty, staff, and students include assertions that patients should fear Jewish doctors. Medical professionals wear pro-Palestine pins and symbolism when interacting with patients and refuse to remove the symbols when patients express discomfort. Im really disappointed in hearing about the rhetoric thats coming from a very small segment of faculty who do not represent the large majority of people at UCSF, said Jess Ghannam, a UCSF psychiatry professor who is Palestinian American and wears a watermelon pin whose colors red, black and green are those of the Palestinian flag. Jess Ghannam, a UCSF psychiatry professor and Palestinian American, speaks at an anti-war rally at UCSF on May 13, opposing Israels ongoing war in Gaza. He calls claims of antisemitism rubbish. Nanette Asimov / The Chronicle The watermelon has come to represent Palestinian rights. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Were being labeled as antisemitic, and frankly, thats rubbish, said Ghannam, who speaks out against the ongoing Israeli war in Gaza that has killed some 38,000 Palestinians and devastated the territory since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7. Tyler Gregory, chief executive of the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Bay Area, praised the Congressional investigation. If you mention Paul Verhoeven to a group of film fans, each one will respond differently. For many, he is an icon of the 1980s, famed for his epic futuristic action dramas Robocop and Total Recall. Others may be more excited about the critically panned Showgirls, which later became a cult classic and found an audience in the LGBTQ+ community. Of course, there will be those familiar with his early work, made in his home country, the Netherlands, where he first plied his trade and received an Oscar nomination for Turkish Delight in 1973. However, it was the films he made in America that really brought him to prominence in the industry. These films are set to be celebrated by the Triskel Cinema this August. After making a slew of successful films, Verhoeven left the Netherlands in the mid-1980s and headed to Hollywood. His early work was often violent and sometimes distasteful, and working at home no longer afforded him the opportunity to make big films. Hollywood was a different beast. The first film in Triskels programme is Verhoevens first Hollywood film, Robocop. Made in 1987, it is more relevant today than ever as it follows the story of a part man, part robot designed in response to the growing number of police fatalities in the not-too-distant future. The robot is made from the body of Murphy (Peter Weller), a police officer who was killed in the line of duty. Once resurrected as a cyborg, Murphy is plagued by memories of his human life and is hellbent on catching his murderers. Violent, compelling, and satirical, Robocop became an instant classic which has been remade but never equalled. It is pure 1980s in tone and aesthetic, but with AI now so prevalent, it is a cautionary tale. Director Paul Verhoeven Loosely based on a Philip K Dick short story, We Can Remember It for You Wholesale, Total Recall was Verhoevens next big American success story. Released in 1990, it is set in 2084 and stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as Douglas, a construction worker who experiences strange dreams each night. Despite living a happy life with wife Lori (Sharon Stone), Douglas cant shake his dreams, so he goes to Recall Inc., which specialises in providing its customers with virtual holidays by placing programmed implants in their brains. It sounds like a great idea: no fuss, no packing, and your brain gets to take a holiday. What is meant to be a virtual trip to Mars turns into a real-life fight for survival in this bloody, funny, and satirical sci-fi action film. Verhoeven throws everything into this one, making it one of the defining sci-fi films of its era. It was nominated for many awards and helped solidify Schwarzeneggers star power. 1992s Basic Instinct was a real eye-opener. It introduced steamy sex scenes into mainstream cinema, causing quite an outcry. San Francisco Detective Nick Curran (Michael Douglas) is investigating a gruesome murder when he comes across Catherine Tramell (Sharon Stone), a novelist who had written a similar type of killing. Instead of thinking it might be a copycat killer, Curran becomes fixated on Tramell and is determined to prove she is the murderer. He doesnt want to bring her to justice; Curran wants Tramell, who uses his desire as a weapon. Is she messing with his head, or is he using his authority as a policeman to lure her into his bed? It was bold, daring, and played with boundaries. A film like this could never have been made today, but in 1992, audiences could not get enough of it, and it is regarded as one of the best erotic thrillers ever made. There is so much to say about Showgirls that it is impossible to devote just a few paragraphs. When it came out in 1995, it was panned by critics and laughed at by audiences. It was so bad that it won several Razzie Awards, which reward terrible films rather than the best. Verhoeven, typically bold, turned up to collect the awards. Such is the conversation about it that a documentary about the film, You Dont Nomi, became a huge success. This sex-laden drama has atrocious dialogue, unsexy sex, and some very controversial scenes. For all that is bad about it, millions adore it, and the film has found a special connection with the LGBTQ+ community who relate to the outcast characters . Elizabeth Berkley plays Nomi, an exotic dancer in Las Vegas who sets out to be the star attraction, engaging in plenty of sex to get there. There has always been a question: did Verhoeven intentionally make a bad film? Is it a satire, a commentary on Americas lust? The final film in the series, 1997s Starship Troopers, was another to suffer harsh words from critics. Like Showgirls, it has also become a cult classic. Set in the future, Starship Troopers imagines a world under attack by arachnid aliens, where a military regime has taken control to rid the world of the beast. Young people are encouraged to enlist and join the fight, but really, there is little choice. Enlistment is all but compulsory. We follow young adults Casper Van Dien, Dina Meyer, and Denise Richards as they join the fight in a film that is total irony. In 1997, it was seen as a joke, but fascism and its propaganda dont look too funny in todays ever-right-leaning world. Paul Verhoeven - The Hollywood Years runs throughout August in Triskel cinema, see triskelartscentre.ie Cobh councillors are hopeful that the closure of a childcare facility in the area could be reversed if additional funding is found. Pobal are currently liaising with Cork County Childcare as Cork TDs are working on sourcing additional funding streams for the facility, which has been in the community for over 20 years. Councillors met with the board of management of Lus Na Greine Preschool, part of the Cobh Family Resource Centre, this week after parents protested against the closure outside the facility on Tuesday. Labour Party councillor Cathal Rasmussen, who organised the meeting, said: It was a very open meeting, and it was made clear that the problem was with substantial issues in funding. Parents have criticised a lack of transparency around the closure of the preschool, saying the letter sent last week to inform them left very little time to find a new school before September. Mr Rasmussen, and Dominic Finn, a Fianna Fail councillor who was at the meeting, said that they would speak to their TDs, who are now also working on the issue, while Pobal and Cork County Childcare also had a meeting this week about the future of the centre. Mr Rasmussen said: I am very sorry that the situation has got to this, but I am hopeful, now that talks are happening behind the scenes between relevant stakeholders and agencies. The board wants to keep the place viable, and we are going to keep the pressure on through our resources, he said, but added, until we are advised that something has changed, nothing has changed. Mr Finn agreed, saying, There appears to be a genuine difficulty with funding for both preschool and after-school services. If we can secure the required funding, they would be hoping to keep it open, he said, adding, basically we have two weeks to come up with a solution. I am engaging with my TD colleagues at the moment to see if we can find a resolution. Pobal administers funding programmes and a range of supports for both early-years and after-school services. A spokesperson for Pobal told The Echo, Pobal is aware of the proposed closure of the early years service in Cobh Family Resource Centre. Pobal is working closely with Cork County childcare committee to engage with the board of directors of Cobh Family Resource Centre on support options. A man in his 40s, who was arrested in connection with an investigation into the seizure of illegal drugs valued at approximately 75,000 in Cork, is due to appear in court this morning. On Wednesday, gardai attached to the Anglesea Street Divisional Drugs Unit, targeting the sale and supply of controlled drugs in Cork City, carried out a search under warrant, of a premises in Blackrock. During the course of the search, approximately 1 kg of suspected amphetamine with an approximate value of 15,000, and 3 kg of suspected cannabis valued at 50,000 were seized, along with a number of mobile phones and a quantity of cash. The drugs seized were due to be sent to Forensic Science Ireland for analysis. Gardai said the seizure is part of Operation Tara, an enhanced national anti-drugs strategy launched by Garda Commissioner Drew Harris which focuses on disrupting, dismantling, and prosecuting drug trafficking networks at all levelsinternational, national, and localinvolved in the importation, distribution, cultivation, production, local sale, and supply of controlled drugs. A man (40s) was arrested in connection with the investigation and gardai say he has since been charged. He is expected to appear before a special sitting of Cork City District Court this morning. Cork County Council has announced that it has published the tender for the motorway section of the M28 Cork to Ringaskiddy Project. It said the scheme, which forms part of the Core TransEuropean Transport Network will enable the strategic development of the Port of Corks facilities in Ringaskiddy whilst also supporting the economic development in the local area and nationally. Funded by Transport Infrastructure Ireland, The design and build contract is funded by Transport Infrastructure Ireland and will see the construction of approximately 11km of mainline motorway from the Bloomfield Interchange to Barnahely. A construction contract for the delivery of 1.5 kilometres of single-carriageway from Barnahely to the Port of Cork in Ringaskiddy is expected to be awarded later this year. Cork County Council said the initial enabling works phase of project have been under construction for the past two years. This has involved diversions of major utilities, archaeology investigations, and environmental mitigation works in line with commitments outlined in the Schemes Environmental Impact Statement. Mayor of the County of Cork, Cllr Joe Carroll, welcomed the announcement. This represents a significant milestone for Cork County Council and Transport Infrastructure Irelands project team. It will also feature a number of active travel measures with an interface with the Lee to Sea greenway planned. Cork County Council said it is anticipated that, subject to Cabinet approval, the works will commence in 2025 and will have a 36-month construction programme. In an effort to address shortages of student accommodation, and high rents charged by some providers, the Government is to tell universities like University College Cork (UCC) to directly build more such accommodation, the Minister for Further and Higher Education has said. Further and Higher Education Minister Patrick ODonovan was visiting Cork last week and was asked by The Echo about the citys shortage of student accommodation, and the rents charged by some providers. Mr ODonovan said the Government had done a considerable amount in terms of direct financial exchequer funding, and he said he had signalled to the Department of Expenditure and Reform that further investment would be required. He said he would be reminding the traditional universities, by inference those such as UCC, that they had the ability to build direct student accommodation themselves. Such institutions, he said, have access to the European Investment Bank, they have access to their own funds, [and] we know they have significant financial resources, and they should also be in collaboration with the city council and the private sector. Increase digs A graduate of UCC, Mr ODonovan said he had stayed in digs in the city during his time in college. Digs accommodation is by far and away in a different space now in terms of the volume of people that are using it, and we will need more of it, he said. I cant say to you that Im going to wave a magic wand and magic up 6,000 places between MTU and UCC, thats not the reality, however, what I will be asking the Minister for Finance and my colleagues in Government, is to look at the tax reliefs that are available for the rent-a-room scheme, which has been hugely successful. We actually had a surplus amount of rooms in Cork at the end of the last academic year, so for people who wanted a room, there were rooms available, and we want to do more of that. He said while some people saw private sector involvement in student accommodation as a heresy, he did not. I dont see anything wrong with someone renting out accommodation and making a profit on the back of it, he said. Mr ODonovan added that the Government had recently introduced legislation to prevent universities and private companies from charging students for 52 weeks accommodation when they are only in college for 40 weeks. Those extra 12 weeks [are] the equivalent amount of the non-adjacent third level grant, which is a huge amount of money so weve done away with that now, and anybody who does that can be prosecuted, Mr ODonovan said. That Bill will be effective for this current group of people who are going to get their Leaving Cert results in the next two or three weeks and go on to UCC or MTU. Minister's commitment welcomed A spokesperson for UCC said the university welcomed the ministers commitment to seek more funding for third-level accommodation. UCC has built accommodation that provides 1,536 beds in Cork which are consistently offered at affordable and below-market rates for purpose-built student housing in the city. The funding for some of this development was secured via borrowing from the European Investment Bank, they said. They added that UCC had last year opened its 255-bed accommodation complex at the Crows Nest, which was funded via a loan from the Housing Finance Agency, and the university continued to explore options in consultation with the ministers department. Ryanair has this week celebrated carrying over 20 million passengers through Cork Airport since it began operations to and from Cork in 1987. Ryanair was the first low-cost airline to operate at Cork Airport. It has grown from a single route to/from London Luton to a 33-route operation connecting nine countries across Europe, underpinned by Ryanairs four Cork-based aircraft with an investment of $400 million or 370 million. Ryanair said that its Cork presence supports over 120 highly paid aviation jobs and over 1,700 local jobs at Cork Airport. This summer, the airline has been undertaking its largest ever schedule at Cork Airport with 33 routes, including five new ones. Ryanairs Head of Communications, Jade Kirwan said, We are proud to mark this milestone of over 20 million passengers through Cork Airport. This significant milestone resounds Ryanairs continued growth and investment at Cork Airport an investment of over $400m. This summer, we are operating our biggest ever schedule to/from Cork Airport with almost 300 weekly flights across 33 routes, including Ryanairs five new summer sunshine routes to Barcelona, Brussels, Paris, Rhodes and Zadar. She added: We look forward to carrying millions more passengers on Ryanairs low-fare flights to/from Cork over the years to come. The milestone this week came ahead of what is expected to be a busy weekend at the airport, with 65,000 passengers expected to travel to and from the facility. Overall passenger traffic at Cork Airport is up 11% year to date, compared to the same period last year. The Irish Coast Guard, RNLI and Water Safety Ireland have appealed for people to take care when they are on or near the water this August Bank Holiday weekend. It comes as organisations say they are seeing a rise in the number of incidents this summer involving paddleboarders, people becoming stranded due to incoming tides, recreational boater groundings, and several diving incidents. RNLI Water Safety Lead, Linda-Gene Byrne said that it is important for people to be aware of simple safety advice which could save their life. If you are heading out on the water, we would always advise you to wear a suitable personal flotation device for your activity. If you are on a paddleboard, choose the right releasable leash for the location you are paddling. Always check the weather forecast and tide times as this can affect your paddling, and always tell someone where youre going and when youll be back. Keep a means of calling for help attached to you in a waterproof pouch or close to hand so that in an emergency you can call 999 / 112 and ask for the Coast Guard. Water Safety Irelands CEO, Joanne Walsh said rip currents can be a danger at Irelands beaches and swimmers are advised to know what to do if they encounter one. If you do get caught in a rip current, remain calm and dont try to swim against the current. Instead, swim out of the current in a direction parallel to the shoreline and then back towards shore. If still in difficulty, call for help and float on your back like a starfish. Kevin Whitney, Operations Manager with the Irish Coast Guard, said if people are participating in any diving activities, then it is highly recommended that you file a float plan with someone ashore or the Coast Guard so that emergency services are aware of your location and can assist if need be. Joe Garofoli is the San Francisco Chronicles senior political writer, covering national and state politics. He has worked at The Chronicle since 2000 and in Bay Area journalism since 1992, when he left the Milwaukee Journal. He is the host of Its All Political, The Chronicles political podcast. Catch it here: bit.ly/2LSAUjA He has won numerous awards and covered everything from fashion to the Jeffrey Dahmer serial killings to two Olympic Games to his own vasectomy which he discussed on NPRs Talk of the Nation after being told he couldnt say the word balls on the air. He regularly appears on Bay Area radio and TV talking politics and is available to entertain at bar mitzvahs and First Communions. He is a graduate of Northwestern University and a proud native of Pittsburgh. Go Steelers! 7.40pm Gardai in Midleton are investigating all of the circumstances surrounding the death of a woman in her 20s following an incident at a domestic residence in Midleton, County Cork, on Friday, 2nd August 2024, a spokesperson has confirmed. "Shortly after 4:15 pm, Gardai and Emergency Services responded to reports of an incident at an apartment off Main Street, Midleton. The woman was found at the scene with serious injuries and received emergency medical treatment but was pronounced deceased short time later. "A man in his 30s has been arrested and is currently detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984, at a Garda Station in the Southern Region. "The scene has been preserved for examination by the Garda Technical Bureau. The local Coroner and the Office of the State Pathologist have been notified. An incident room has been established at Midleton Garda Station, and a Senior Investigating Officer (SIO) has been appointed to lead the investigation. A Family Liaison Officer (FLO) has also been assigned to support the family. "Gardai are appealing for witnesses to come forward. Additionally, they are appealing to those with camera footage, including dashcam recordings from motorists in the Connolly Street / Main Street areas of Midleton this afternoon." Anyone with information is asked to contact Midleton Garda Station at 021-462 1550 or the Garda Confidential Line at 1800 666 111. 7.20pm A man has been arrested on suspicion of the murder of a 27-year-old mother of two whose body was found at an apartment in Midleton, Co Cork this afternoon. The 29-year-old man is being detained in Midleton Garda Station under the provisions of Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act. Investigations are continuing. Meanwhile, Midleton based Sinn Fein TD Pat Buckley said that death of the woman in tragic circumstances had shocked and saddened locals. I only knew (the victim) her to see. I am thinking of her two children. Their lives destroyed. Life is very fickle. It has affected the town. My phone has been hopping. People cant understand it. Our hearts go out to the family of this woman and they will be in our thoughts and prayers over the coming days. Meanwhile, the fire at the apartment was brought under control shortly after 5pm. Firefighters remained on site for a period afterwards in order to monitor the situation. The Garda Press Office has said in a statement that gardai and the emergency services attended at the scene of the incident. Inquiries are ongoing, and no additional information is available at this time. Further updates will follow as they become available. 6.30pm A spokesperson for An Garda Siochana said: "Gardai and emergency services are currently at the scene of an incident at a domestic residence on Connolly Street, Midleton, Cork. "Inquiries are ongoing, and no additional information is available at this time. "Further updates will follow as they become available." 6pm A 27-year-old woman was found dead at an apartment in John Barry House in Midleton, Co Cork this afternoon. The woman, who is married and has children, is believed to have sustained injuries. A postmortem examination will be carried out at Cork University Hospital by Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster. The course of the investigation will be determined by the post mortem results. It is understood the woman lived in the apartment. The apartment is set to be forensically examined. Gardai went to the scene shortly after 4pm today after they received a call that a woman had sustained injuries at an apartment. When they arrived onsite they found that she was dead. Firefighters were also called to the scene at the same time as a section of the property was on fire. They rushed to the site in order to contain the flames. Gardai and firefighters remain in the area and traffic diversions are in place. Gardai are expected to start a door to door inquiry to determine if anyone in the area noticed anything suspicious this morning and in to the afternoon. Earlier Two units of the Fire Brigade were called to the scene of what has been reported as a house fire in Midleton on Friday afternoon. Early reports indicate that a woman in her 20s has been found dead at the scene while a man is being treated for his injuries. According to a spokesperson for Munster Fire Control, units of the Fire Service in Midleton and Cobh were called to the scene after being alerted at 4.30pm today. More to follow The development of a Roma Health Action Plan has been announced by Minister for Public Health, Wellbeing and the National Drugs Strategy, Colm Burke TD. The initiative is among seven health actions in the new National Traveller and Roma Inclusion Strategy 2024-2028 launched this week by Minister Roderic OGorman. They aim to address the social determinants of Traveller and Roma health through tailored and affirmative measures to promote health and reduce inequalities. Health actions include the development of a Roma Health Action Plan, delivery of the National Traveller Mental Health Implementation Plan, and a funding call in conjunction with the Slaintecare Healthy Communities Programme to allocate 710,000 to address social determinants of health for Travellers. Minister Burke, a TD for Cork North Central, said that through his work as a public representative, he has become very familiar with the unique challenges faced by Traveller and Roma communities that make it difficult to access healthcare. We must listen and respond to these communities by developing targeted, tailored healthcare supports that appropriately address their needs, removing barriers to healthcare, and supporting improved physical and mental health and wellbeing. Under the new National Traveller and Roma Inclusion Strategy, we will develop a Roma Health Action Plan that will specifically address needs in relation to health literacy, mental health, medical card and pregnancy supports. The National Traveller Mental Health Implementation Plan is bolstered by the announcement of additional funding of approximately 470,000 announced by Minister Mary Bulter. Mr Burke said: While there is much work to be done to ensure that our underserved communities get equity of access to healthcare, I am confident that the initiatives were announcing today will help to support improved population health. Activist and former Roma Education Worker Rachel Hurley Roche told The Echo she was glad to see the announcement from the Minister. Ms Hurley Roche, who ran in the local elections with the Workers Party, explained: The community faces a diverse range of barriers in being able to access and maintain contact with the health service, namely discrimination and financial cost. There are aspects of the health service that at their foundation must be reformed in order to implement any plan, focusing on safe staffing and more access to primary care, she said, explaining that families across Ireland are finding it difficult to access GPs. Capacity has not been increased so while I am pleased to see specific funding announced for these initiatives, I do not think it is enough. I hope to see maternal and infant health as well as support for those with literacy challenges heavily prioritised in any announced initiatives, she said. In order to bridge barriers relating to discrimination and social inclusion, it is essential that there are satisfactory staffing levels, primary care that can support positive relationships, and a trauma-informed approach, she added. Olivia Kelleher A father who spent years searching for his missing son has passed away without finding out what happened to him. Michael Deely of Naas, Co Kildare and formerly of Loughrea in Galway died on Thursday surrounded by his loving family at the TLC Centre in Maynooth. His death notice reads that he is survived by his wife Ann and their adult children Mark, Michele, Pamela and Trevor who is described as being still missing. He is also survived by his beloved grandchildren, his siblings, in laws, nephews, nieces and friends. In December of 2015, Mr Deely told the Irish Times that if you give up hope you give up everything. Mr Deely said that he tried to stay positive in relation to seeing his son again. "You have to keep some positivity. That's our biggest problem: to remain focused and positive and not give up hope. We dont want people to forget about him, he said. Its terrible, absolutely terrible. And you can see the effect on all the family at this time of year. Everybody is feeling worn out by it. We say to people to keep watching and keep listening; keep an eye for Trevor and keep his name out there. We wont let him be forgotten about : thats the main thing. Meanwhile, on the 7th December 2000, Trevor attended his work Christmas party at the Hilton Hotel in Dublin. He then went to Buck Whaleys nightclub on Leeson Street which he left between 2.30am and 3.25am on December 8th. The weather on the night in question was extremely wet and there was a taxi strike in progress. At 3.35am, Trevor called to his place of work at Bank of Ireland in Fitzwilliam Place in Dublin. Trevor Deely was last sighted on CCTV passing the Bank of Ireland ATM on Haddington Road at 4.14am. Trevor Deely was 6ft 1, slim build, short red/brown hair, fair complexion last sighted wearing a mustard and brown checked shirt, beige/grey corduroy flared trousers, dark deck shoes with white stripes, a green padded jacket, carrying a large dark blue umbrella with white ACC Bank lettering. Gardai at Pearse Street Garda station are appealing for information that will assist the Garda investigation into the disappearance of Trevor Deely. Even the smallest piece of information, which may seem insignificant, may assist the investigation. Anyone with information can call Pearse Street Garda Station on 01 6669000, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111 or Crimestoppers on 1800 250 025. Meanwhile, Mr Deely will be laid to rest tomorrow (Sat) at St Corbans cemetery following 10am mass at the Church of Our Lady and St David, in Naas. Cate McCurry, PA Protesters in Dublin have taken part in a silent demonstration to mark 300 days of the war in Gaza. The protest, organised by a dozen solidarity, anti-war and student groups, began at the Dail with demonstrators wearing dark clothes. A number of people held 70 individual native Irish Ox-eye daisy wildflowers with one flower for each of the 70 children killed on average per day in Gaza. Those taking part in the peace march made their way to the Spire on OConnell Street in silence where they joined a vigil with 70 life-size child silhouettes. The event is co-organised by the Apartheid Free Arts; Irish Artists for Palestine; Irish Creative Arts Therapists for Palestine; Irish Occupational Therapists for Palestine; Irish Health Care Workers for Palestine; Irish Psychologists for Palestine; Mothers Against Genocide; Pals for Palestine; Teachers for Palestine; The Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC); The Irish Anti-war Movement and The Union of Students in Ireland. Mahmoud Al-Azab, a Palestinian refugee from Jordan, who has lived in Ireland for five months, told the crowd that innocent people in Gaza are suffering under the brutal acts of genocide perpetrated by the Zionist regime. The atrocities in Gaza are a stain on the conscience of the international community, he added. We cannot remain silent in the face of such overwhelming evidence of human rights violations. It is our moral duty to speak out, to protest, and to demand action. Today, I call upon the Irish Government to intensify its efforts and take a firm stance against these crimes. Ireland has a proud history of standing up for justice and human rights. IPSC vice chairwoman, Fatin Al Tamimi, whose sister remains trapped in Gaza said: Today marks the 300th day of apartheid, Israels relentless genocide against my people in Gaza. For 300 days we have seen on our screens, the live-streamed murder of children, men and women on an unprecedented and cruel scale while the western powers do nothing to stop it. Almost 40,000 Palestinians have been confirmed killed, with many thousands more missing, maimed or dying of thirst, starvation and disease. The health, education, sanitation and transport infrastructure has been eradicated, homes reduced to rubble and almost the entire population of Gaza has been forced to flee repeatedly. Children have suffered more in this assault than in any other modern war. On average, 70 children have been killed every day since the genocidal assault on Gaza began. Ten children a day, on average, have had limbs amputated. Daily the people of Gaza face severe lack of water, food and shelter as well as the constant threat of attack, injury and death. We are calling on the Irish Government to take action to sanction Israel for these terrible crimes including enacting the Occupied Territories Bill, the Illegal Israel Settlements Divestment Bill, and the Arms Embargo Bill to ensure that all US planes that go through Shannon are inspected for weapons. The Irish Government has a duty to ensure that Ireland is not in any way complicit in genocide, apartheid, or occupation. In the face of possible transport of arms through Shannon, inaction is complicity. The export of dual use goods which can be used in the killing and oppression of the Palestinian people must also end immediately. 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. Sunrise over Arthur's Harbor on Anvers Island in the Palmer Archipelago of Antarctica on April 22, 2024. Randal Rhodes / U.S. National Science Foundation Far above Earths poles, swirling in the frigid stratosphere, are the polar vortexes: massive, freezing whirlwinds that strengthen in the winter and weaken in the summer. Right now, despite being in the dead of winter, Antarcticas vortex is undergoing an unprecedented weakening, causing a massive heat wave across the continent. This heat wave is a near-record (or record) event for the region of Antarctica its having the biggest impact on, Edward Blanchard, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Washington, told The Washington Post in an email. Antarcticas vortex has weakened significantly in July, causing temperatures on massive swathes of the continent to soar to more than 50 degrees (10C) above normal levels while pushing massive amounts of freezing air toward the equator. These vortex weakenings are usually caused when warm air very quickly rises to the top of the vortex, destabilizing it. Amy Butler, an atmospheric scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told The Washington Post that atmospheric waves have jostled the vortex this year, leading to high-altitude temperatures to soar in a sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) event. Every winter, the polar vortex, a ring of stormy weather, forms high above Antarctica in the stratosphere. This year, the vortex is showing signs of warming & being disturbed A disturbed vortex may contribute to stormier conditions in NZ & Australia in late July & August. pic.twitter.com/AUxVd60ytk NIWA Weather (@NiwaWeather) July 13, 2024 This years Antarctic SSW is already leading to unusually cold temperatures in the southern hemisphere, with Australia, New Zealand and the Southern Cone of South America experiencing unusual cold fronts. SSWs may not be the only factor in the vortexes destabilizing, however. Earth has seen record high temperatures since July, which scientists believe may have been a factor here. Antarctica has been warming twice as fast as the rest of the planet, according to a 2023 article in the journal Nature, as The Washington Post reported. SSWs can have immense consequences on their respective hemispheres. In January 2014, an SSW led to a harsh winter in the U.S., causing subzero temperatures in multiple states. 2021s SSW was particularly brutal, leading to a devastating winter when much of the continental U.S. saw temperatures dip well below zero and during which most of Texas electrical grid infamously went dark. Theres typically a delayed effect between an SSW and colder weather farther from the poles, which can take up to a month. With the Antarctics record-high temperatures and SSW continuing, its hard to say to what extent this will have on conditions in the southern hemisphere or how far toward the equator areas will be affected in the coming weeks. The United States extremely cold winter in 2021. NOAA Michael Dukes, director of forecasting at MetDesk, told The Guardian that most scientists have thought that the most significant effects of human-caused climate change would happen at the poles. This is a great example of that, he said. In Antarctica generally that kind of warming in the winter and continuing in to summer months can lead to collapsing of the ice sheets, he added. China's human rights delegation visits Tajikistan, Uzbekistan Xinhua) 11:21, August 02, 2024 TASHKENT, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- A delegation led by Jiang Jianguo, executive vice president of the China Society for Human Rights Studies, visited Tajikistan and Uzbekistan for bilateral human rights exchanges from July 25 to Aug. 1. In Tajikistan, the delegation met with Commissioner for Human Rights in Tajikistan Umed Bobozoda, Minister of Justice Muzaffar Ashuriyon, and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Farrukh Sharifzoda, respectively. They also held discussions with representatives from Tajikistan's religious, youth, and other departments, as well as university presidents, experts, and scholars. In Uzbekistan, the delegation attended a roundtable meeting on trends in international and regional human rights and met with Akmal Saidov, the first deputy speaker of the Legislative Chamber of the Parliament of Uzbekistan and director of the National Human Rights Center of Uzbekistan, as well as with leaders from the Supreme Court, Prosecutor General's Office, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the Agency of Information and Mass Communications. During the exchanges, the delegation presented Chinese President Xi Jinping's important discourses on respecting and protecting human rights, and the important arrangements for adhering to the correct outlook on human rights and strengthening human rights protection through law enforcement and administration of justice, as outlined in the resolution recently adopted at the third plenary session of the 20th Communist Party of China Central Committee. The delegation also explained China's contemporary outlook on human rights and its related achievements and experiences, expressing commitment to following a Chinese path of human rights development and promoting a comprehensive advancement of human rights. At the same time, they fully affirmed and actively coordinated with Tajikistan and Uzbekistan for their alignment with China in stance and actions on international human rights issues. People from various sectors in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan praised China's remarkable achievements in the new era, which feature a people-centered approach, comprehensive deepening reforms, and high-quality development. They also praised China's human rights development path and experiences, noting many similarities between their own and China's human rights concepts. They also expressed willingness to continue strengthening human rights exchanges, mutual learning, and cooperative development with China, and to jointly promote global human rights governance. In Tajikistan, Sharifzoda said during the meeting with the delegation that the country would implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state of Tajikistan and China, and firmly oppose the politicization of human rights issues and double standards. In Uzbekistan, Saidov noted that he has repeatedly read the Russian version of a book of extracts from Xi's discourses on respecting and protecting human rights and strongly agreed with the viewpoints expressed in the book. He believed that China's achievements in poverty reduction and human rights have made significant contributions to the world's poverty reduction and human rights development. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) A BART patron passes through the new hardened fare gates BART recently installed as a person without a ticket is seen trapped behind the new hardened fare gates at San Franciscos Civic Center station. Lea Suzuki/The Chronicle BART patrons go through the exit gate at the Civic Center station, while one person evading fare goes over the turnstile. New gates are expected to reduce fare evasion. Lea Suzuki/The Chronicle The space next to the new hardened fare gates BART installed at San Franciscos Civic Center station is an area where station workers have seen people without tickets jump over to gain entry. Lea Suzuki/The Chronicle BARTs new reinforced fare gates have arrived in San Francisco. The regional rail agency is installing the sturdier, 7.5-foot-tall entry gates at Civic Center/UN Plaza Station, one of the systems most popular stations where fare evasion is common. Last week, the agency finished installing the new gates at the first of the Market Street stations three entry points near Seventh Street. Construction on Civic Center stations second entry point near UN Plaza is scheduled to start the week of Aug. 11, according to BART. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The new gates are defined by their towering doors that leave would-be fare cheats little room to vault over or crawl under to get through. The reinforced fare gates come equipped with mechanical locking systems unique to BART that are meant to withstand attempts to force the doors open. The gates feature steel-framed polycarbonate doors that cover most of the structures height. BART patrons use the new hardened fare gates BART installed at San Franciscos Civic Center station. Lea Suzuki/The Chronicle BART remains under a tight deadline, though, to replace the old knee-level shark-fin turnstiles, that are easy for fare evaders to bypass, at all 50 stations by the end of 2025. That goal isnt arbitrary. BART must meet that deadline to receive $352 million in state subsidies awarded last year by the California Legislature. The rail agency is using that money to pay for operations and forestall a massive budget shortfall starting in 2026. Given where the project stands, BART has 17 months to replace the fare gates at 49 stations. Advertisement Article continues below this ad BART officials told the agencys board of directors in July that design refinements on the mechanical locking system and the material used for the gates doors impacted the projects timeline. Several board directors expressed concern that the agency was not further ahead in construction. A BART patron uses the new hardened fare gates BART recently installed at San Franciscos Civic Center station. Lea Suzuki/The Chronicle The new gates, though, seem to be doing what theyre intended to do preventing people from cheating a fare. At West Oakland Station, where the new gates debuted in late December, the agency says it has captured about 120,000 more entries and exits through June 2024 compared to the same period last year. This means more people at that station were tapping their Clipper cards to pay a fare to either access the stations platforms or complete a fare payment. BART patrons use the new hardened fare gates installed at San Franciscos Civic Center station. Lea Suzuki The Chronicle Its unclear how much fare revenue that increase in captured entries and exits equates to for BART, but fare evasion is a pervasive issue that costs the agency millions of dollars in lost revenue each year. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Civic Center station has yet to realize the benefits seen at West Oakland Station because the agency has only installed the new fare gates at one entry point. The impact of the new gates, though, is obvious. A person with a scooter squeezes through an old entry gate at the BART Civic Center station. The new recently installed reinforced fare gates are in the background. Lea Suzuki/The Chronicle On a recent weekday afternoon inside the Civic Center station mezzanine between UN Plaza and Seventh Street, almost all riders chose to pass through the finlike turnstiles rather than go through the new, much taller fare gates. Several people could be seen either shimmying past openings in the turnstiles or jumping over them without paying a fare. Other problematic stations for fare evasion will be the next ones to get the new gates: Oaklands Fruitvale Station, San Franciscos 24th Street station and Richmond Station, the terminus for the Red and Orange lines. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The companys The Underdogs: OOO (Out of Office) short gets pulled over criticism of stereotyped characters. Apple pulled the latest short film in its The Underdogs: OOO (Out of Office) series set in Thailand. The tech giant scrubbed it over complaints about stereotypical portrayals of Thailand and its people in certain scenes. The Bangkok Post reports that Apple issued an apology to the people of Thailand for the fifth film in its Underdogs series. The ad series features a group of travel weary office workers navigating the world using Apples various products. Several viewers posted comments criticizing the films use of a sepia filter to make Thailand seem underdeveloped. The comments also called out the costuming and scenery decisions in its airport scene using outdated representations of Thailands citizens. Sattra Sripan, the spokesman for the Thai House of Representatives committee on tourism, called for a boycott over the ad. Thai people are deeply unhappy with the advertisement, Sripan said in a statement. I encourage Thai people to stop using Apple products and change to other brands. Apple issued an apology for the ad shortly after pulling it off of YouTube. Lawmakers have also invited Apple representatives to visit with them to discuss the ads and how they portray Thailand on film. Our intent was to celebrate the countrys optimism and culture, and we apologize for not fully capturing the vibrancy of Thailand today, the statement read. This is the second time this year that Apple has apologized for a commercial. Apple pulled an ad back in May that it told AdAge missed the mark for its new thin iPad Pro. The commercial features a giant pneumatic press crushing a large collection of items used in or to represent creative endeavors such musical instruments, paints, a generic arcade cabinet, and camera equipment. The steel crusher smooshes everything flat and lifts up to reveal an intact iPad sitting on the lower steel block that a voiceover describes as the most powerful iPad ever is also the thinnest. Artists, musicians and other creators took offense to the ads implied tone that generative AI would replace human artistic endeavors. Apple vowed not to air the ad on TV but its still on its YouTube page with the comments section disabled. Instagram is blocked in Turkey amid a dispute over Hamas-related content on the platform. The app has been inaccessible in the country since Friday morning. Netblocks, an organization that tracks internet and social media outages, confirmed that Instagram had been restricted in the country. Turkish regulators didnt specify why the block was in place but, as Bloomberg reports , the crackdown on Instagram appears to be related to its handling of Hamas-related posts on the platform. On Friday, Turkeys head of communications Fahrettin Altun, said in a post on X that Instagram is actively preventing people from posting messages of condolences for Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas leader who was killed earlier this week. Meta hasnt publicly commented on the block. Dr. David Persing, shown in 2008, is the executive vice president/chief medical and scientific officer for Cepheid in Sunnyvale. The company has announced layoffs. Michael Macor/The Chronicle Bay Area molecular diagnostics giant Cepheid has announced plans to eliminate 626 positions at its Sunnyvale headquarters by Sept. 27, according to regulatory filings. The cuts will affect approximately 13% of the companys 4,800-strong workforce. Cepheid, founded in 1996 and now part of the Danaher Corporation based in Washington, D.C., is famous for its GeneXpert System. The cutting-edge technology packs all the lab processes needed for diagnostics into a small cartridge, which can then be placed into a machine to read the results. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The layoffs will affect positions ranging from manufacturing associates to senior management roles. Additionally, the company plans to lay off 11 employees at its East Bay Logistic Center in Fremont by the same date. Days after resigning abruptly, the mayor of DeRidder, Louisiana, has been charged with third-degree rape and contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile. Misty Roberts, who was in her second term, was investigated after the Beauregard Parish Sheriff's Office requested Louisiana State Police look into a complaint against her. According to the LSP in a press release Thursday, Clanton was accused of having sexual relations with a juvenile. Two juveniles confirmed the 42-year-old was intimate with one juvenile victim while employed as mayor. After an arrest warrant was issued, the mayor surrendered to authorities, per the 'New York Post.' "On August 1, 2024, Roberts turned herself in to Investigators without incident. She was booked into the Beauregard Parish Detention Center on the charges of LRS 14:43 - Third degree rape and LRS 14:92 - Contributing to the delinquency of juveniles. This case remains under investigation," the press release announced. Roberts was booked into Beauregard Parish Sheriff's Office Jail. According to jail records, she was later released on a $75,000 bond over one hour later. Adam Johnson, Roberts' attorney, said the embattled mayor is innocent. "We trust the public will respect her constitutional presumption of innocence which is fundamental to our system of justice," he added, per 'KPLC-7.' "Misty and her family are very grateful for the support they have received from their friends and neighbors and we look forward to putting this unfortunate situation behind them." She submitted a letter of resignation to the council on July 27. "For nearly 15 years, my love and passion for DeRidder has been my foundation while serving as Mayor," Roberts wrote. She added: "This role has rewarded me with many great relationships. I am humbled to have witnessed the hard work that took a community to come together and overcome through unprecedented times. However, I must adjust my focus and priorities." DeRidder, a city of just over 10,000 people, according to the 2010 census, is situated on the Texas-Louisiana border. It's 247 miles north of New Orleans. A Montgomery County judge in Ohio, who is currently suspended without pay, is being accused of unlawfully securing public contracts. Judge James Piergies allegedly worked with Montgomery County Clerk of Courts Mike Foley to do so, according to 'WHIO-7,' who has legal issues of his own; 12 to be exact. Foley is accused of theft in office, unlawfully asking public employees for political contributions, and one count of unauthorized use of computer, cable or telecommunication property, amongst others. Judge Piergies, 72, was indicted on three counts of attempted unlawful interest in a public contract between April 26, 2021, and May 3, according to his indictment. The pair was investigated by the Special Investigations Unit of the Ohio Auditor's Office in October 2022 after receiving an anonymous complaint about solicitation of campaign contributions from employees. RELATED : Louisiana Mayor Misty Roberts Charged With Raping A Minor After Surprise Resignation State Rep. Phil Plummer, Montgomery County Republican Party Chair, called their indictments "disheartening." "Unlike some other people who speak before they have the details, I want the details first," he added. "But this is on the surface it's terrible and we don't tolerate this. And I think you know where this is headed." Mohamed Al-Hamdani, Montgomery County Democratic Party Chair, said "We should hold public office holders to a higher standard, to see those kind of indictments come not just against Mike Foley, but a sitting judge is a bit disappointing." "We've known for a while that Foley and other Republicans have been misusing the courthouse for their own gain," he claimed, according to 'Dayton Daily News.' According to Foley's lawyer, his client will not step down as "he feels like he did nothing wrong." Foley, 56, and Piergies will be arraigned on Aug. 15 in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court. Jared James Dicus has been sentenced for decapitating his wife. Back in January 2023, Anggy Diaz was decapitated and parts of her body were scattered across a home owned by her in-laws. According to 'PEOPLE,' one year after the crime, Dicus, plead guilty to murder. The two, who were living in Waller County, Texas, had only been married for 3 months. Dicus' father called the police after finding his son's new wife murdered. When authorities arrived on the scene, Waller County Sheriff Troy Guidry said that they found "a portion of a body, dismembered and a residence that was covered in blood." The head of Diaz, who was 21 years old, was found "in the shower." Dicus was sentenced to 40 years in prison after he confessed to the crime during a Waller County police interrogation. Through his plea bargain, he also waived the right to appeal the verdict. He's not eligible for parole until 2043. Criminal District Attorney Sean G. Whittmore said "Heinous crimes like this one will not go unanswered, we will seek justice for the victims of domestic violence and send a message to the perpetrators that here, we fight for our victims," per 'Fox 26.' "The best you can say is that's the world we live in today. It's a gruesome scene," Sheriff Guidry said, per the outlet. "And both sides of these families are gonna be altered by it, either way, suspect and the victim's. It is gruesome. It's a gruesome crime. Hopefully, everything turns out to end up the best way it can at this point." Completed months before Republican presidential nominee Donald Trumps appearance at the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Chicago on July 31, the second Black Census Project billed as the largest survey of Black Americans in more than 150 years found that a dismal 5% of respondents had a favorable view of Trump, compared to 71% of respondents who had a favorable view of Vice President Kamala Harris. The Washington Post via Getty Images Vice President Kamala Harris, who secured the Democratic Party presidential nomination on Friday, dismissed Republican presidential nominee Donald Trumps false claims about her identity as the same old show. National polling conducted before she replaced President Joe Biden on the ticket showed Black voters strongly preferring her to Trump. Mark Felix/AFP via Getty Images In a disastrous interview with the National Association of Black Journalists on Wednesday, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump falsely claimed Vice President Kamala Harris used to hide her Black identity, said without evidence that undocumented immigrants were taking Black jobs and repeated his audacious sales pitch to Black voters. I have been the best president for the Black population since Abraham Lincoln, he said to jeers and scattered claps. According to whats billed as the largest survey of Black Americans since Reconstruction, Black voters overwhelmingly disagree. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The Black Census Project, a survey of more than 200,000 Black people in the U.S. spearheaded by left-leaning civic engagement organization Black Futures Lab and data-research firm Socioanalitica Research found a dismal 5% of their respondents held a favorable view of Trump, compared with 71% of respondents who viewed Harris favorably. The census was conducted over a 20-month period that ended Oct. 31, 2023, well before the presidential contest crystallized in July between Trump, who accepted the Republican Partys nomination for the third straight time, and Harris, who became the presumptive Democratic nominee after President Joe Bidens withdrawal. While the census didnt pull a representative sample of the Black American public 69% of respondents were women and 60% lived in the South it did poll a politically engaged one. Nearly 80% of respondents said they were likely to vote in the coming presidential contest, with 77% having said they voted consistently in past presidential elections. Black voters show up, said Black Futures Lab Field Director Natishia June. We show up despite voter suppression and intimidation. We show up risking illness in the face of a pandemic and all of its unknowns. We show up for them, hoping, praying even, that at some point these candidates will show up for us. Other national polling from the National Black Voter Project out of Sacramento State University, and from the New York Times and Siena College had been showing Black voter support for Trump at about 15%, almost double what he received in 2020. More crucially, it showed Biden winning 62% and 73% of Black voters, respectively, well below the 92% he achieved four years ago. Advertisement Article continues below this ad All of the polling occurred before Harris unexpected rise, and before Trump took the stage in Chicago this week, where he insulted his hosts and Harris. She was Indian all the way, and then all of a sudden she made a turn, and she went, and she became a Black person, Trump falsely claimed in response to a question about whether he agreed with racist attacks that Harris was a diversity, equity and inclusion candidate. And I think somebody should look into that too, when you ask, continue in a very hostile, nasty tone. According to the Pew Research Center, the number of eligible Black voters in the U.S. is poised to reach 34.4 million by November 2024, or 14% of eligible voters. Nearly a quarter (8.1 million) live in three states Texas, Georgia and Florida that have enacted numerous voter restrictions since 2021 particularly affecting communities of color. In Georgia, voting rights organizations are currently battling a Fulton County Registration and Elections Board member who wants the power to overrule election results. In North Carolina where nearly 630,000 Black people voted in 2022, second to white voters in both raw numbers and turnout voters are once again being asked to repeal unenforced literacy test requirements by amending the state constitution. Project 2025, the far-right agenda for a second Trump term, envisions greater restrictions on voting on the unproven premise of widespread voter fraud. It calls for a Republican president to erode the independence of the Federal Election Commission and dismantle the ability of the FBI and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to combat election interference or misinformation. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Under Project 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice would aggressively look for cases of voter fraud to prosecute, which the policy document itself says could take the form of restricting access to mail-in ballots. Trump has attempted to distance himself from Project 2025, but is linked to it in numerous ways. More than 100 former Trump administration staffers worked on the 900-page plan released by the Heritage Foundation; Trump appeared to reference the plan in a 2022 keynote he gave at a Heritage event in Florida; Heritage sponsored the Republican National Convention; and Trumps pick for vice president, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, wrote the forward for Heritage president Kevin Roberts new book. During a virtual launch event for Project Freedom on July 25, a seven-state voter mobilization effort responding to Project 2025, representatives of several Black-led organizations brought up voter suppression efforts in their states and said they were more focused on defeating Trump than electing Harris. This is not about a party, not about a candidate. This is about our people, said the Rev. Michael Blake of the Kairos Democracy Project, a New York nonprofit encouraging people of color to vote. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Police are appealing for more information after criminals caused 2,000 worth of damage to crops on an East Dorset farm. The farmer discovered that damage had been caused to crops to his field near Shapwick, Dorset Police Rural Crime Team said. The estimated cost of the damage is around 2,000, the force added. Police Constable Kate Schofield, of the team, said the incident has had "a significant financial impact on the farmer during a challenging summer due to the weather". I would ask anyone who may have information about the damage caused to please come forward and contact Dorset Police," she added. "Anyone with information is asked to contact Dorset Police at www.dorset.police.uk or by calling 101, quoting occurrence number 55240111570. "Alternatively, independent charity Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously online at Crimestoppers-uk.org or by calling Freephone 0800 555 111." It comes as the cost of rural crime cost the UK nearly 53 million last year, new NFU Mutual figures show. The rural insurer's new report, published on 1 August, reveals that rural crime cost increased by over 2 million in 2023 compared to the previous year, Scottish farmers and food producers are being encouraged to apply for grants of up to 5,000 to champion produce from their local area. The Scottish government's Regional Food Fund has launched again, with 100,000 available to increase the promotion of local produce. Since 2018, over 770,000 has been provided to the fund, which has supported 167 collaborative projects. These have varied from food and drink tourism trails, festivals, new equipment and regional marketing campaigns. Food and drink is one of Scotland's largest industry sectors, and the country's largest employer with an industry value of over 15 billion. Agriculture Minister Jim Fairlie said the engagement of regional markets was vital in achieving industry strategy and growth ambitions for the next ten years. He said: Scotland has a highly successful and influential food and drink sector and this fund allows us to demonstrate that through the development of creative food and drink projects. "These grants allow opportunities to increase the promotion of local produce, the chance for businesses to engage and educate local communities about what is available and showcase some of our most exciting food and drink ventures. Eligible businesses and groups are being encouraged to apply for a grant and to work collaboratively with others to engage communities and achieve regional food and drink success. In the past, the fund has helped bring to life food and drink festivals, promotion campaigns for Scottish produce, market weekends, cook schools and other initiatives. The closing date for applications is 5pm on 30 August 2024. Weather models predict a mix of wet and dry thunderstorms across the Sierra Nevada on Friday. While the thunderstorm threat is low in the Bay Area and Central Valley, the chance cannot be completely ruled out. Baron/Lynx UPDATED FORECAST: Another hot week in Northern California, but change on the horizon While parts of California face a high fire risk this weekend, others may experience flash flooding. Another surge of monsoon moisture is the culprit for the potentially wide-ranging weather impacts statewide this week. A weak atmospheric disturbance known as an easterly wave began drawing humid air from Arizona toward Southern California on Thursday. Advertisement Article continues below this ad This southeast-to-northwest moving disturbance will lift northward Friday, providing enough energy for scattered thunderstorms, especially in the mountains. A mix of wet and dry thunderstorms will present a risk of lightning-sparked wildfires. On Saturday, the thunderstorm threat will persist across the Sierra Nevada and the southern Cascades. Any lightning-sparked fires could smolder for a day or two before hot, dry and windy weather returns Sunday through Tuesday. Lightning risk The thunderstorm threat will be highest in Californias mountains Friday and Saturday, although the chance cannot be completely ruled out elsewhere. Thunderstorms are most common in the mountains because wind tends to rise up slopes during the day. Rising motion is a necessary ingredient for thunderstorm development. The Storm Prediction Center forecasts a general chance of thunderstorms across the higher elections of California on Friday. A mix of wet and dry thunderstorms are expected, posing both a fire and flash flooding risk. Baron/Lynx A red flag warning signaling serious wildfire risk is in effect until 8 p.m. Friday in portions of Central and Southern California due to the threat of dry lightning, primarily in the mountains and deserts. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Scattered light rain showers are possible over the San Joaquin Valley on Friday, but without strong rising air, the thunderstorm threat is low. If enough lift materializes, a few thunderstorms may pop in the valley and along the Central Coast. Lift will be stronger east of the Sierra Crest, where the Weather Prediction Center forecasts a marginal risk of flash flooding from slow-moving thunderstorms and heavy rain. Firefighting conditions could be difficult on the Park Fire both Friday and Saturday as weather conditions present new challenges. Heat from the fire could locally enhance the development of thunderstorm clouds, known as pyrocumulonimbus. These clouds are dangerous because they loft embers and ash high in the sky before falling downwind, which can spark new fires. A massive smoke plume from the Park Fire appears in Chico (Butte County) on Friday, July 26. Jessica Christian/The Chronicle The thunderstorm threat will shift to Northern California on Saturday, in the Klamath Mountains, Cascade mountains and the northern and central Sierra. Mount Shasta, Lassen National Park and the Lake Tahoe area are at risk for a mix of wet and dry thunderstorms. Any lightning strikes that arent accompanied by sufficient rainfall may spark a wildfire. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Hot, dry, gusty winds next week Following the thunderstorm threat Friday and Saturday, hot conditions are expected to return to a large swath of California, with high temperatures in the 90s to 100s inland. The air mass will also dry out as the monsoon moisture exits California. Relative humidity could drop below 10% in parts of the Sacramento Valley on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday afternoon. Gusty afternoon winds of 15-25 mph are also expected in this period. The National Interagency Fire Center forecasts a high risk of significant wildfire potential Monday in northeast California, including the northern Sierra, due to dry, gusty winds. Fire weather watches and red flag warnings have not yet been issued by the National Weather Service for the Sunday through Tuesday timeframe. Bay Area weekend breakdown San Francisco: The pattern of morning fog and afternoon sunshine will continue throughout the city from Friday through Sunday. Highs will be close to 70 degrees downtown, while areas west of Twin Peaks should remain in the low 60s with periods of fog. Fog-free locations will likely be treated to a vibrant sunset Friday night as mid-level clouds spread in. Afternoon and evening wind gusts around 20 mph are expected each day. Lows will be in the mid-50s. Advertisement Article continues below this ad North Bay: Increasing clouds Friday morning will precede a weak atmospheric disturbance moving toward the North Bay from the southeast. Skies will become partly to mostly cloudy by the late afternoon, with a slight chance of a light shower. There is also a slim chance of a thunderstorm over the mountains. Highs will be in the mid- to upper 80s throughout Wine Country and mid-90s in Fairfield and Vacaville. The coast and the immediate bay shoreline will be in the 60s and 70s, respectively. Lows will be in the mid-50s to low 60s. A very slight chance of thunderstorms will continue in the mountains Saturday, but clear skies should return Sunday. Temperatures will drop slightly from Fridays mark, but remain about 3-5 degrees above normal for early August. East Bay: Skies will begin partly sunny Friday, but clouds are expected to increase as the day progresses. A few light showers cannot be ruled out in the late afternoon and evening, but accumulations will be spotty. There is a very slight chance of a thunderstorm over the Diablo Range. Highs will be in the 70s to low 80s along the bay shoreline and upper 80s to low 90s inland. Overnight lows will be in the upper 50s near the bay and low to mid-60s inland. Fog is expected both Saturday and Sunday morning in Oakland and Berkeley. Partly sunny skies are expected Saturday afternoon, with mainly clear skies Sunday. Highs will be similar both days, in the 70s along the bay shoreline and mid-80s to low 90s inland with an evening sea breeze gusting 15-20 mph. Lows will be in the upper 50s. Pacific Coast and Peninsula: Foggy August weather is expected in Pacifica and Half Moon Bay from Friday through Sunday. Filtered sun may emerge in the afternoon as the fog thins slightly, but cool conditions will continue, with highs in the low 60s. Afternoon gusts of 10-20 mph will make it feel even cooler. Lows will be in the mid-50s. Advertisement Article continues below this ad In eastern San Mateo County, patchy morning fog is expected to quickly burn off each day. On Friday afternoon, clouds will increase as an atmospheric disturbance draws monsoon moisture toward the area. A few light showers may manifest over the Peninsula in the evening, but they will be brief. Some clouds will linger Saturday before a sunny Sunday. High temperatures will increase heading southward, from the mid-60s in Daly City to the low 80s in Redwood City. South Bay and Santa Cruz: Filtered sunshine is expected across Santa Cruz and Santa Clara counties Friday as a smoky haze, in addition to mid- and high-level clouds, moves in. A light rain shower cannot be ruled out in a few localized areas, especially up near Mount Hamilton and in the Diablo Range. Highs will be in the low to mid-80s in the South Bay and Santa Cruz Mountains and the 70s in Santa Cruz and Scotts Valley. Scientists are planning to send frozen samples of endangered animals to the Moon to make sure humanity survives global catastrophe. Animal samples could be send to the Moon for the sake of humanity's survival Experts have proposed a 'biorepository' on the lunar surface to safeguard the frozen cells of species ranging from mammals to amphibians. Should life on Earth be wiped out, the cells could be cloned to create new life on the moon and ensure the survival of civilisation. The Moon is far enough away from our planet to survive a climate disaster that would wipe out most animals and also has cold enough temperatures to keep the animal cell samples frozen. Mary Hagedorn, lead author of the research and a cryobiologist at Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute in Washington D.C., said: "Initially, a lunar biorepository would target the most at-risk species on Earth today. "But our ultimate goal would be to cryopreserve most species on Earth." Britney Spears' memoir is being turned into a feature film. Britney Spears is working on a feature film The 42-year-old pop star has joined forces with producer Marc Platt to make a feature film based on 'The Woman in Me', her 2023 memoir. A source told The Sun newspaper's Bizarre column: "Britney has had an unbelievable career and it will be a major challenge to fit everything into one feature film. "But she has been told in no uncertain terms that things wont be sugar-coated and it will very much show all of her lows, as well as her career-defining highs." Britney is heavily involved in the project and has already been a part of the decision-making process. The insider continued: "That is going to be hard for her to watch but she is being involved in all aspects of the film and was part of the team deciding who would get to move forward in bringing her story to the big screen." Britney has also hinted about the film project on social media. The 'Womanizer' hitmaker wrote on X: "Excited to share with my fans that I've been working on a secret project with #MarcPlatt. Hes always made my favorite movies stay tuned (sic)" In 2023, Britney revealed why she decided to release her tell-all memoir, suggesting that it was the ideal time to share her story with the public. The blonde beauty - who is one of the best-selling pop artists of all time - told PEOPLE: "It is finally time for me to raise my voice and speak out, and my fans deserve to hear it directly from me. No more conspiracy, no more lies - just me owning my past, present and future." Justin Timberlake has had his driving licence suspended after a hearing in New York. Justin Timberlake has had his license suspended The 43-year-old pop star was arrested in Sag Harbor, New York, in June for driving while intoxicated, and Timberlake has now had his licence suspended, after he attended the latest hearing via a video link from Antwerp, Belgium. Timberlake - who is currently on tour in Europe - pleaded not guilty to a revised misdemeanour charge of driving drunk, according to PEOPLE. Sag Harbor Village Justice Carl Irace also sent a warning to Edward Burke Jr, Timberlake's lawyer, accusing him of making "irresponsible" comments about the case. The judge explained that the comments "come off as an attempt to poison the case before it even begins". The judge actually threatened to issue a gag order against Burke Jr if he continued to make similar remarks. During a previous hearing, Timberlake's attorney denied the allegation and asked for the case to be dismissed outright, alleging that errors were made by the arresting officer. Before his arrest, Timberlake enjoyed a a meal with friends in The Hamptons. A source previously told DailyMail.com: "Justin was out to dinner with friends and there were cop cars stationed outside the restaurant, like there are most nights. "They look for people who are leaving after midnight who might have been drinking. "Justin left at 12:30am and was pulled over as soon as he left. Nobody was hurt and there was no drama at the scene." Timberlake claimed he had "one martini" after being arrested for driving while intoxicated. According to documents seen by PEOPLE, Timberlake told the authorities: "I had one martini and I followed my friends home." However, in the police report, it was claimed that the pop star drove through a stop sign, and that he failed to "keep on the right side of the roadway". Rachel Leviss was "deeply saddened" to learn about Jax Taylor's mental health struggles. Rachel Leviss has expressed her support for Jax Taylor The 45-year-old star recently entered a mental health facility and Rachel has now taken to social media to express her support for Jax, who has Cruz, three, with his estranged wife Brittany Cartwright. In a message posted on her Instagram, Rachel said: "I am deeply saddened to hear of Jaxs mental health struggles and I wholeheartedly support his decision to seek treatment." Rachel, 29, actually spent time at a mental health facility last year, following her months-long affair with Tom Sandoval. And the reality star has now encouraged her followers to show Jax some support. Rachel said: "I pray that his news is met with the open-mindedness that mine lacked, as I faced mockery and accusations of simply being in a spa. I hope he finds the healing that I did through my own journey." What's more, Rachel suggested that reality TV stars should receive more help and support with their mental health. She explained: "Taylors situation highlights the urgent need for mental healthcare and accessible treatment for reality TV stars [stars emojis] Wishing you a speedy recovery. (sic)" Jax recently checked in to an in-patient facility for care and support. His representative said in a statement: "Jax has always been candid about his mental health struggles, especially during the past few months on his podcast. "He has made the decision to seek in-patient treatment. This is a particularly sensitive time for him and his family. They ask for privacy and respect until he is ready to speak more on this matter." Brittany and Jax announced their split earlier this year - but she subsequently admitted that a reconciliation remained possible. The 35-year-old beauty told Us Weekly: "Theres definitely a chance. But I wont waste my time and get back into a toxic situation. "Now the veil has been lifted and I see how much I was always cleaning up Jaxs messes. Im thrown in the middle of all these fights and constantly forced to apologise for him in the media and to friends. Its hard." Ryan Reynolds has insisted Jamie Lee Curtis didn't need to apologise for her dig at the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Ryan Reynolds has defended Jamie Lee Curtis The 'Everything Everywhere All At Once' actress has pledged to "do better" after making the "stupid" quip that the franchise was currently in a "bad" phase when asked by MTV during San Diego Comic-Con, but the 'Deadpool and Wolverine' actor has defended the Oscar-winning star and suggested people should be able to voice their opinions on the comic book series without fear of reprisal. He quoted Jamie's apology on X and wrote: "Wait, is everyone expected to apologize for slamming Marvel post-Endgame?(sic)" The 65-year-old actress had revealed she has spoken to MCU boss Kevin Feige and pledged not to be part of any "game play". She wrote on X: "My comments about Marvel were stupid and I will do better. I've reached out to Kevin Feige and will no longer play in that mud slinging sandbox of competition we call the internet nor will I engage in the toilet paper promotion or game play that is designed for clicks not content or conversation. (sic) In recent years, the 'Freaky Friday' star has complained about the state of the franchise openly on social media. She previously compared 'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness' unfavourably to her own movie 'Everything Everywhere All At Once', for which she won an Oscar. Jamie wrote on X, formerly Twitter, in 2022: Is it JUST me? Does it seem STRANGE that our tiny movie that could and did and continues to do ##1movieinamerica and is TRULY MARVELOUS, out marvels any Marvel movie they put out there @everythingeverywheremovie has a Marvel movie coming out with a copycat poster? Is this one of those Internet feuds?(sic)" She later wrote of her own film: MARVELOUS! It has a deep BEATING heart and BRILLIANT visual treats, EXTRAORDINARY performances and FANTASTIC BEASTLY FIGHT SCENES...... AND it COST LESS than the ENTIRE craft service budget on Doctor Strange and/or any other Marvel movie. (sic) Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex have shared their commitment to helping make the internet a safer space for young people. The royal couple will attend a conference in Colombia about 'creating safer physical and digital spaces' The royal couple - who stepped down as senior members of the British Royal Family to embark on a financially independent life in the US in 2020, with their two young children, Prince Archie, five, and Princess Lilibet, three - have given a rare joint interview where they highlight the impact online bullying can have on mental health. In a new interview set to air on 'CBS Sunday Morning', Meghan, 42, said: "Our kids are young they're three and five. They're amazing. "But all you want to do as parents is protect them." She continued: "So, as we can see what's happening in the online space, we know that there's a lot of work to be done there, and we're just happy to be able to be a part of change for good." Host Jane Pauley said: "You hope that when your children ask for help, someone, you know, is there to give it." Referring to deaths linked to online bullying, Harry, 39, replied: "If you know how to help. "At this point, we've got to the stage where almost every parent needs to be a first responder. And even the best first responders in the world wouldn't be able to tell the signs... "That is the terrifying piece of this." The interview - their first since their explosive 2021 tell-all with Oprah Winfrey - came as the couple were revealed to be embarking on a tour of Colombia later this year, where they will help to set out plans to tackle cyberbullying through their Archewell Foundation. Vice President of Colombia Francia Marquez said: "I am pleased to announce that Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, have kindly accepted my invitation to visit our beautiful country. "During their trip, The Duke and Duchess will join me in visiting Bogota, as well as the Caribbean and Pacific regions of Cartagena and Cali. "In these vibrant locations, they will have the exceptional opportunity to engage with leaders, youth, and women who embody the aspirations and voices of Colombians committed to progress. "Their visit comes at a particularly significant time, as it precedes the first Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children, to be held in Colombia this November. "The Archewell Foundation, founded by The Duke and Duchess, is renowned for its global leadership in fostering a safer online environment. "The forthcoming conference will unveil a comprehensive framework for creating safer physical and digital spaces, tackling issues such as cyberbullying, online exploitation, and the mental health impacts of these threats. "It will offer actionable solutions and commitments for countries around the world." The tour will follow their three-day visit to Nigeria in May. Indonesia aims at wrapping up negotiations on the Indonesia-Gulf Cooperation Council Free Trade Agreement (I-GCC FTA) in 2026, according to the countrys trade minister Zulkifli Hasan. Hasan and GCC secretary general Jassim Mohammed Al-Budaiwi signed the agreement to start the talks in Jakarta recently. The first round of the negotiations will be held in September. Indonesia aims at wrapping up talks on the Indonesia-Gulf Cooperation Council FTA in 2026, trade minister Zulkifli Hasan has said. The total value of trade between both sides last year reached $15.7 billion, still small, he noted. Differences in standards for products and services remain the biggest obstacle along with the lack of a trade agreement, he said. A seminar involving large business players Indonesia and GCC countries will be organised after the second round of negotiations to determine the potential of trade that both sides can carry out, a news agency reported. The total value of trade between both sides last year reached $15.7 billion, still small, the Indonesian minister noted. Differences in standards for products and services remain the biggest obstacle to trade along with the lack of a trade agreement, he said. Al-Budaiwi said GCC is certain that this will pave the way to raise the trade volume even further. GCC comprises Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, and Qatar. The proposed I-GCC FTA will be Indonesia's third trade agreement in the Middle East region following agreements with the United Arab Emirates and Iran. Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS) Big news for Britney Spears fans. Universal Pictures has just snagged the movie rights to Britney's memoir, The Woman in Me, and theyre gearing up to turn it into a biopic. The studio won the rights after a heated auction and has tapped Jon M. Chu, the director behind Crazy Rich Asians and In the Heights, to helm the project. Marc Platt, known for hits like Wicked and La La Land, is set to produce. Britney herself shared her excitement on X, hinting at her collaboration with Marc Platt and promising fans some thrilling updates. Her memoir, which has sold over 2.5 million copies since last October, dives into her journey from Disney to pop superstardom and her battle with conservatorship. With music biopics buzzing in Hollywood lately, like those of Elvis Presley and Amy Winehouse, Britneys story is sure to be a hit! Britney herself shared her excitement on X, hinting at her collaboration with Marc Platt and promising fans some thrilling updates. Her memoir, which has sold over 2.5 million copies since last October, dives into her journey from Disney to pop superstardom and her battle with conservatorship.With music biopics buzzing in Hollywood lately, like those of Elvis Presley and Amy Winehouse, Britneys story is sure to be a hit! SINGAPORE, Aug. 2, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Formed in October 2016, the Judicial Insolvency Network (JIN) is a network of insolvency judges from across the world. It serves as a platform for sustained and continuous engagement for the furtherance of the following objectives: to provide judicial thought leadership, develop best practices and facilitate communication and cooperation amongst national courts in cross-border insolvency and restructuring matters. JIN comprises insolvency judges from Australia, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, Canada, the Cayman Islands, England and Wales, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and the United States. The members from the Singapore Courts are two of the founding members, Justice Kannan Ramesh and Justice Aedit Abdullah. The 5th Conference was held in Singapore on 12 and 13 June and was hosted by the Supreme Court of Singapore. The 5th Conference also saw a record attendance of 32 participants. Since the inaugural meeting of the JIN in Singapore in October 2016, the network has continued to promote the adoption of the JIN Guidelines to address the key aspects of and the modalities for communication and cooperation amongst courts, insolvency representatives and other parties involved in cross-border insolvency proceedings. The overarching aim of the JIN Guidelines was the preservation of enterprise value and the reduction of legal costs. To date, 18 jurisdictions around the world have adopted the JIN Guidelines. The JIN recognised that some judges may prefer, as a prelude to JIN membership, to first observe and experience the JIN's deliberations. Adoption of the JIN Guidelines is not a prerequisite to membership in the JIN and, conversely, a court which does not have representation in the JIN may also adopt the JIN Guidelines. It is in this context that the JIN had worked towards and obtained the attendance of Bahrain, China, India, the Netherlands and a number of South-east Asian courts, and that the presence of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand signalled a strong foundation for the development of judicial cooperation in cross-border insolvency and restructuring matters in the region. There were a number of topics discussed that were central to the theme of cross-border insolvency and restructuring, such as a survey of landmark international insolvency judgments in the past three years, focusing on matters that have invoked the JIN Guidelines and Modalities. Visit News and speeches (judiciary.gov.sg) for more details. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2473736/GROUP_PHOTO__1.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/judicial-insolvency-network-held-its-5th-conference-in-singapore-on-12-and-13-june-2024-302213095.html Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - August 1, 2024) - INCA ONE GOLD CORP. (TSXV: INCA.H) (OTC Pink: INCAF) (FSE: SU92) ("Inca One" or the "Company") announces that, further to the Company's June 4, 2024 and June 14, 2024 press releases, on July 25, 2024 and pursuant to the Companies Creditors Arrangement Act ("CCAA"), the Supreme Court of British Columbia extended the Stay Period under a Second Amended and Restated Initial Order (the "Second ARIO") until August 26, 2024. DIP Loan The Second ARIO approved the Company to enter into an interim financing to be provided by a private lender in the form of a Debtor-In-Possession Term Loan ("DIP Loan") for the principal sum of up to US$1 million. The DIP Loan will be for general working capital, including legal, restructuring, administrative and general corporate costs in connection with the CCAA proceedings and the Court approved cashflows. The DIP Loan will have priority security ranking over all secured creditors. The terms of the DIP Loan will allow Inca One to drawdown funds in two tranches, the first in the amount of US$750,000 and the second in the amount of US$250,000. Each tranche is subject to a 5% drawdown fee payable at the time of each drawdown. Interest accrues at a rate of 20% per annum calculated monthly and undrawn amounts are subject to a 2% standby charge, both are payable upon maturity. The maturity date is the earliest of, the date on which the lender demands repayment after the occurrence of an event of default, the implementation of a Court approved Plan of Arrangement and Compromise within the CCAA proceedings, the termination of the CCAA proceedings and November 30, 2024. In connection with the DIP Loan, the Company will issue an aggregate of 5,000,000 share purchase warrants (the "Warrants") to the lender. Each Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one common share of the Company at an exercise price of C$0.10 for a period of 12 months from the issue date. Since the Company was forced to enter CCAA, it has made significant efforts to reduce costs. Currently both plants are on care and maintenance and preparing to restart operations once the Company emerges from CCAA proceedings. With a robust gold price and strengthening precious metals market Inca One is using the time granted by the CCAA process to restructure its existing liabilities and secure a significant new funding package. Additional information regarding the CCAA proceeding can be found on the Monitor's website at http://cfcanada.fticonsulting.com/incaone. About Inca One Inca One Gold Corp is an established gold producer operating two permitted, gold mineral processing facilities in Peru. The Company possesses a combined 450 TPD permitted operating capacity at its two fully integrated plants, Chala One and Kori One, generating over US$200 million in sales from its processing operations. Inca One is led by an experienced and capable management team that has established the Company as a trusted leader in servicing permitted, Artisanal and Small-scale Gold Miners (ASGM). Peru is one of the world's largest producers of gold, and its ASGM sector is estimated by government officials to be valued in the billions of dollars annually. Through the Company's partnerships with the UN backed PlanetGold Program and the Swiss Better Gold Initiative, Inca One supports the sustainable development and mining practices of the ASGM sector and the responsible gold supply chain from mine to market. To learn more, visit www.incaone.com. Figure 1. Inca One's gold processing facilities in Peru (left: Chala One facility; right: Kori One facility To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/2645/218612_c20afeab14e489d8_001full.jpg On behalf of the Board, Edward Kelly President and CEO Inca One Gold Corp. NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS NEWS RELEASE. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/218612 SOURCE: Inca One Gold Corp. New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - August 1, 2024) - EV.com, a leader in the online electric vehicle marketplace for electric vehicles, is thrilled to announce the launch of upgraded customization options for electric cars. These options make it easier for consumers to design a vehicle that perfectly fits their lifestyle and personal preferences. As the demand for electric cars grows, EV.com sets the standard by providing tailored solutions that empower buyers to create their unique driving experience. The company's upgraded customization features allow customers to choose from an extensive array of options, including exterior colors, interior materials, wheel designs, and additional tech features. Whether customers prefer a sleek, modern aesthetic or a more rugged appearance, the new EV build tools at EV.com ensure that every driver can create a vehicle that reflects their individual taste. In addition to the aesthetic options, the platform offers enhanced functional choices, including battery upgrades for increased range, smart technology integrations for seamless connectivity, and performance variations for those who desire a more spirited drive. EV.com recognizes that each driver has unique needs, and the customization options cater to that diverse range. "As electric cars become an integral part of the future of transportation, we believe that everyone should have the opportunity to own a vehicle that is not only environmentally friendly but also uniquely theirs," said Joel Li, Founder & CEO at EV.com. "Our enhanced customization options signify our commitment to providing a comprehensive and satisfying EV-buying experience." EV.com also ensures that buyers can easily compare prices of electric cars, enabling them to find the right model within their budget. Customers ready to start their journey can visit the website to explore new and used electric car options and connect with local dealers. With the latest electric car news rolling in regularly, visiting EV.com will keep customers informed and ready to make the best choice in the fast-evolving electric vehicle landscape. For more information about customized electric cars or to build a car today, please visit the website. About EV.com EV.com is a premier destination for everything related to electric vehicles. The company offers resources for finding, comparing, and purchasing the latest electric cars on one convenient online platform. With a commitment to sustainability and innovation, the company strives to power the future of automotive transportation. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/218522 SOURCE: Media Feature Montreal, Quebec--(Newsfile Corp. - August 2, 2024) - Vogue Decor Furniture announces the launch of its new line of restaurant furniture, designed to provide restaurants in Canada with a modern style and comfortable atmosphere. The new collection aims to enhance the dining experience with high-quality chairs, durable tables, and a versatile barstool collection. VOGUE Decor To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8846/218249_5a273605a4f7294e_001full.jpg The new line features a range of stylish and durable chairs, including the Santos 9 Chair, Van Chair, Valencia Chair, and Sara Chair. Each chair is designed for comfort without compromising on style, available in various designs, colors, and materials. Easy-to-clean surfaces ensure restaurants maintain a pristine appearance. Customers will find the chairs' padded seats and sturdy backs offer the right blend of comfort and aesthetics, making them a suitable choice for any dining establishment. VOGUE Decor Chairs To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8846/218249_5a273605a4f7294e_002full.jpg Vogue Decor's new restaurant tables are built to last, with rock-solid bases available in different sizes to accommodate various dining arrangements. Options include round, square, and long bases that pair with laminate, wood, glass, or resin tops. These tables are suitable for both indoor and outdoor settings, with features such as rust resistance, UV protection, and weighted stability for Canadian climates. The versatile table designs cater to small intimate settings as well as large group gatherings, ensuring a seamless dining experience. The barstool collection offers a variety of designs to suit any bar setting. High backs, low backs, swivel seats, backless options, and upholstered choices provide flexibility and comfort. The collection includes both indoor and outdoor barstools, made with top-notch materials like stainless steel and faux leather to ensure durability and style. With options like the classic black Valencia or the vibrant red Sofia, the barstools are designed to meet different aesthetic preferences. The Industrial Barstool caters to those seeking a more rugged look, while the L Series Z and the luxurious Daniela offer a range of prices, starting at $79.99 and going up to $299.99. Vogue Decor Furniture emphasizes quality, comfort, and easy maintenance across its new line. The furniture is designed to be flexible for different spaces and is supported by excellent service from the company. The new launches include office chairs that blend style and comfort, ideal for long hours of work. Each piece of furniture is constructed to withstand the rigors of daily use, ensuring longevity and sustained aesthetics. For restaurant owners planning to open a chain of establishments or refurbish a large hotel dining room, Vogue Decor is equipped to handle large orders efficiently. The company works closely with clients to meet strict timelines, ensuring that the furniture stays within budget and is delivered to multiple locations throughout Canada. The seamless coordination of large-scale projects highlights Vogue Decor's commitment to customer satisfaction and operational excellence. Vogue Decor's new line of restaurant furniture is set to redefine dining spaces across Canada. By offering high-quality, stylish, and comfortable furniture, the company aims to create welcoming environments that enhance the overall dining experience. The attention to detail, durability, and design flexibility make Vogue Decor a top choice for wholesale restaurant furniture in the country. For more information about the new restaurant furniture line, contact Gary at Vogue Decor Inc. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/218249 SOURCE: Media Feature Interroll Holding AG / Key word(s): Half Year Results Solid performance in a slightly improving environment 02-Aug-2024 / 06:30 CET/CEST Release of an ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 LR The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. Sant'Antonino, Switzerland, August 2, 2024. Interroll's result rose by 8.5% to CHF 23.9 million. Order intake amounted to CHF 286.5 million and sales to CHF 247.4 million. Our numbers at a glance Interroll generated an order intake of CHF 286.5 million (-5.1% year-on-year, -1.0% in local currency) in the first half year 2024. Sales amounted to CHF 247.4 million (-3.5% year-on-year, +0.1% in local currency). The first half year 2024 was marked by a rebound in the product business compared to the second half year 2023 as the destocking phase ended. The gains in the product business are encouraging and partially mitigate the absence of bigger projects. In the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region, we achieved improvements for all our product groups. In the Americas region, the trend for products is moving in a positive direction and is steadily gaining momentum, reflecting increased market demand and positive customer reactions. In the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, we are seeing a diverse landscape with promising projects emerging in Australia and South Korea. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) were higher at CHF 41.0 million (previous year: CHF 39.9 million). EBITDA margin increased to 16.6% (previous year: 15.6%). Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) reached CHF 29.9 million, up by 4.0% compared to the previous year (CHF 28.7 million). EBIT margin increased to 12.1% (previous year: 11.2%). The result increased by 8.5% to CHF 23.9 million (previous year: CHF 22.0 million) and was positively impacted by the financial results and burdened by a higher tax ratio compared to the previous year. The result margin reached 9.7% (previous year: 8.6%). Gross investment amounted to CHF 8.5 million (previous year: CHF 17.1 million). Free cash flow decreased to CHF 11.1 million (previous year: CHF 60.0 million), mainly due to the change in net working capital. Updates from our regions The EMEA region generated an order intake of CHF 172.6 million, up by 17.0% compared to the previous year (CHF 147.5 million). Sales generated CHF 148.8 million, an increase of 6.1% compared to the previous year (CHF 140.2 million). The EMEA region continues to be our most important region with a 60% share of global sales. The order intake for the Americas region reached CHF 81.7 million, -30.0% compared to the previous year (CHF 116.7 million). Sales amounted to CHF 75.6 million, -1.0% less compared to the previous year (CHF 76.3 million). The Americas region continues to be our second most important region with 31% share of Global Sales. The APAC region generated a lower order intake of CHF 32.2 million compared to the previous year (CHF 37.7 million), which corresponds to a loss of -14.4%. The sales amounted to CHF 23.0 million, a decrease of -42.0% compared to the previous year (CHF 39.7 million). Sales by product Sales for the Rollers product group amounted to CHF 53.1 million, down by -2.4% compared to the previous year's figure of CHF 54.4 million. The order intake for Rollers amounted to CHF 53.2 million, up by+8.4% compared to the same period last year (CHF 49.0 million). Sales of the Drives product group amounted to CHF 93.5 million in the first half of 2024, which is an increase of +5.2% year-on-year compared to same period last year (CHF 88.8 million). The order intake for the Drives product group amounted to CHF 98.3 million, up by +12.4% compared to (CHF 87.5 million) in the same period last year. The Conveyors & Sorters product group generated sales of CHF 82.4 million in the first half of 2024, -12.7% less compared to previous year (CHF 94.3 million). Order Intake amounted to CHF 106.3 million, which had a negative development of -25.5% compared to the same period last year (CHF 142.6 million). For our Pallet Handling product group, Interroll generated sales of CHF 18.4 million, which is -1.4% down compared to last year (CHF 18.7 million). The order intake amounted to CHF 28.7 million, an increase of +26.4% compared to the previous year (CHF 22.8 million). Innovation At the LogiMAT trade fair (Germany) in March, we introduced our new, highly energy-efficient vertical small wheel sorter (MC-Vs). Featuring a small footprint and ensuring high throughput, this solution is suitable for applications and sectors in which careful handling and sorting of fragile items is required. Acquisition On July 31, 2024, Interroll signed a share purchase agreement to take over Interroll India Pvt. Ltd. in Bengaluru (Bangalore), India, retroactive as per April 1, 2024. The three current shareholders sell all their shares to the Interroll Group. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price. Interroll India Pvt. Ltd. acted for more than 10 years as independent agent of the Interroll Group. With this acquisition, Interroll will strengthen its market position in the Indian market. Outlook Looking ahead, we are encouraged by our worldwide resilient customer base. We continue to progress on the recovery journey. For the EMEA region, we are cautiously optimistic that the ongoing challenges in the project business will come to an end, following the rebound we are now seeing in product sales. In the Americas region, we also foresee continued growth in product sales with further opportunities in Canada and in Brazil. Looking at the APAC region, in general we predict a slower recovery. In South Korea, we see promising opportunities in the third-party logistics (3PL) segment. With our innovative product platforms and production capacities, we are very well positioned in our regions to meet future market demands and ready to seize opportunities when the market fully recovers. MILAN, Aug. 2, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Medical Technology and Devices (MTD) is pleased to announce the successful closing of the acquisition of Ypsomed's Pen Needles and Blood Glucose Monitoring Systems (BGM) businesses, a strategic acquisition initially announced at the end of March. This acquisition marks a major step forward in MTD's mission to provide superior diabetes and obesity care solutions on a global scale. Strengthening our position as the world's #2 player by increasing production capacity to over 2.5 billion pen needles With this acquisition, MTD strengthens its position as the clear number two in the global pen needles market. This strategic acquisition not only solidifies our leadership in diabetes care but also underscores our commitment to delivering cutting-edge solutions for both self-care and professional use. We will integrate Ypsomed's pen needles operations into our European production and distribution network, bringing our total production capacity to over 2.5 billion pen needles. An exclusive portfolio designed to comprehensively cover more patients, consumers and healthcare professionals The integration of Ypsomed's businesses brings a wealth of advanced technologies and trademarks to MTD's diabetes and obesity portfolio, complementing our current product offering, which includes the G34, the thinnest and shortest pen needle on the market. With this acquisition, MTD strengthens its unique positioning by being able to supply a complete range of pen needles with 3, 5, and 6 bevels, Click Technology for an easy and secure fit, and single and dual protection in safety pen needles. Additionally, we have recently launched Continuous Glucose Monitoring Systems (CGMs), with tenders won in Italy marking our entry into this segment this year. This exclusive diabetes care portfolio underscores our ongoing commitment to innovation in both professional and consumer health. It includes medical sharps like the Safety Blood Collection Needle, the Vet Catheter, and the new Passive Safety Needle, Pic Protecto. Additionally, our 2024 consumer launches feature the new Blood Pressure Monitoring Systems (BPMs), nebulizers, footcare products, and insect repellents. Reaching 3 billion new consumers by entering the Chinese and Indian markets The acquisition provides entry into strategic, high-growth markets such as China and India, while also enhancing our presence in established markets, including North America, Germany and France. This expansion is a pivotal step for MTD as we continue to expand our global reach and influence within the diabetes care industry. Investing in a cutting-edge, state-of-the-art production facility In line with its growth and continuous improvement strategy, MTD is implementing a substantial investment plan to establish the most competitive production facilities for pen needles and lancets in Europe. These investments aim to increase capacity and further enhance the performance, quality, and ESG credentials of our production operations. "The completion of this acquisition marks a transformative moment for MTD Group. By integrating Ypsomed's Pen Needles and Blood Glucose Monitoring businesses, we solidify our position as a global leader in diabetes care and establish ourselves as the second-largest producer of pen needles worldwide. This strategic move enhances our ability to deliver innovative, high-quality solutions to our customers and expands our reach into key markets. Our significant investments underscore our commitment to scaling our operations efficiently while maintaining the highest standards of quality. We are excited about the opportunities this acquisition presents and remain dedicated to advancing the future of diabetes care," said Charles Bouaziz, CEO of MTD Group. MTD was supported by Studio Legale LCA for the legal aspects, with Roberto de Bonis, Sara Consoli and Mario Niggeler. About MTD Group "Bring peace of mind by empowering everyone to be in control of their health, end to end, through intuitive monitoring, painless drug delivery, and easy-to-use solutions for everyday aches & pains." Medical Technology and Devices (MTD) is a consumer health group owning a portfolio of global brands with leading position across Diabetes, Medical Sharps, Wound Care, Heart Monitors, Thermometers & Nebulizers. MTD owns Pic Solution in EMEA/APAC & Droplet in North America, iconic brands with up to 40+ years history and 90% of consumer awareness. The product portfolio is distributed in more than 100 markets - reaching half of the global population - thanks to direct operations in Italy, US, France, Germany, India and reaching the rest of the world via a long-established network of distributors. MTD has an extensive R&D division, which is designing and scouting the most innovative technologies to meet the fast-changing needs of consumers and healthcare professionals. The production is carried out in a state-of-the-art production system with 4 production sites across Europe. The Group was formed in 2018 from the merger of Pikdare and HTL Strefa and is headquartered in Milan, Italy. The company is led by an international management team and has approximately 1,400 employees. www.mtdglobal.com Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2469174/4829787/MTD_Logo.jpg View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/mtd-group-completes-the-acquisition-of-ypsomeds-pen-needles-and-blood-glucose-monitoring-systems-and-announces-a-significant-investment-plan-for-its-european-production-sites-302212655.html NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES Q2 Metals Corp. (TSXV:QTWO)(OTCQB:QUEXF)(FSE:458) ("Q2" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has closed the first tranche (the "First Tranche") of the non-brokered private placement of units (the "Offering") of the Company as announced on July 10 and updated July 11, 2024. Under the First Tranche, the Company has issued: 1,142,857 flow-through units at a price of $0.35 per unit (the "FT Units") for total gross proceeds of $400,000, representing an upsize of 142,857 FT Units, with each unit consisting of one flow-through common share of Q2 (a "FT Share") and one half of one share purchase warrant (each whole warrant, a "Warrant"). Each Warrant will entitle the holder to acquire one additional non-flow-through common share of Q2 at a price of $0.50 per share for a period of two years; and 8,519,998 non-flow-through units at a price of $0.25 per unit (the "NFT Units") with each NFT Unit consisting of one non-flow-through common share of Q2 and one half of one Warrant, for total gross proceeds of $2,130,000. Gross proceeds from the issuance of the FT Units will be used to incur "Canadian exploration expenses" that qualify as "flow-through critical mineral mining expenditures," as such terms are defined in the Income Tax Act (Canada) (the "Tax Act"), on Q2's lithium projects in Quebec that the Company will renounce to the subscribers pursuant to the Tax Act with an effective date not later than December 31, 2024. Where applicable, gross proceeds from the sale of the FT Units from purchasers in Quebec will also qualify as "Canadian exploration expense" under the Taxation Act (Quebec) and qualify for inclusion in the "exploration base relating to certain Quebec exploration expenses" and the "exploration base relating to certain Quebec surface mining exploration expenses," under the Taxation Act (Quebec). Proceeds from the sale of the NFT Units will be used for general working capital. The securities issued pursuant to this First Tranche are subject to a hold period expiring on December 1, 2024 in accordance with applicable securities laws or the Exchange Hold Period under the policies of the TSXV. Aggregate finders' fees of $23,175 and 57,600 broker warrants were paid to arm's length finders in connection with the First Tranche closing of this non-brokered private placement, with each such broker warrant bearing the same terms as the Warrants. Closing of the charity flow-through unit ("CFT Unit") portion of the Offering is subject to certain customary conditions and is now expected to occur on or about August 8, 2024 (the "Second Tranche"). The Offering remains subject to receipt of acceptance by the TSX Venture Exchange ("TSXV"). The Company may pay finders' fees in accordance with the policies of the TSXV. All securities issued with respect to the Offering will be subject to a hold period of four months and one day in accordance with applicable securities laws or the Exchange Hold Period under the policies of the TSXV. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of any of the securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful, including any of the securities in the United States of America. The securities issuable pursuant to the Offering have not been, and will not be, registered under the U.S. Securities Act or any U.S. state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons, absent registration or any applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable U.S. state securities laws. About Q2 Metals Corp Q2 Metals is a Canadian mineral exploration company focused on unlocking its portfolio of lithium projects in the Eeyou Istchee James Bay region of Quebec, Canada, that includes both its 100-per-cent-owned Mia Lithium Property and the Cisco Lithium Property. The Cisco lithium property is located approximately 150 km north of Matagami, Que., and comprises 222 mineral claims and is 11,374 ha in size. The property has district-scale potential with an already identified mineralized zone and a discovery drill result of 115.4 metres of 1.40% lithium oxide (hole CS-23-05), cumulatively in five separate pegmatites. The Company's exploration advancement at its 8,668-hectare Mia lithium property is focused on the more than 10-kilometre-long Mia trend which is host to both the Mia 1 and Mia 2 lithium occurrences and 11 other mineralized zones along trend. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Alicia Milne President & CEO Alicia@Q2Metals.com Jason McBride Corporate Communications Jason@Q2Metals.com Telephone: 1 (800) 482-7560 E-mail: info@Q2metals.com Follow the Company: Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, "forward- looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian legislation. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: "believes", "expects", "anticipates", "intends", "estimates", "plans", "may", "should", "would", "will", "potential", "scheduled" or variations of such words and phrases and similar expressions, which, by their nature, refer to future events or results that may, could, would, might or will occur or be taken or achieved. Accordingly, all statements in this news release that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements and include statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations and orientations regarding the future including, without limitation, any statements or plans regard the geological prospects of the Company's properties and the future exploration endeavors of the Company. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on a number of material factors and assumptions. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this news release speak only as of the date of this news release or as of the date specified in such statement. Forward looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, the Offering, the focus of the Company's current and future exploration and drill programs, the scale, scope and location of future exploration and drilling activities, the Company's expectations in connection with the projects and exploration programs being met, the Company's objectives, goals or future plans, statements, exploration results, potential mineralization, the estimation of mineral resources, exploration and mine development plans, timing of the commencement of operations and estimates of market conditions. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include failure to obtain necessary approvals, variations in ore grade or recovery rates, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined, unsuccessful exploration results, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined, results of future resource estimates, future metal prices, availability of capital and financing on acceptable terms, general economic, market or business conditions, risks associated with regulatory changes, defects in title, availability of personnel, materials and equipment on a timely basis, accidents or equipment breakdowns, uninsured risks, delays in receiving government approvals, unanticipated environmental impacts on operations and costs to remedy same. Readers are cautioned that mineral exploration and development of mines is an inherently risky business and accordingly, the actual events may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Additional risk factors are discussed in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in the Company's Management Discussion and Analysis for its recently completed fiscal period, which is available under Company's SEDAR profile at www.sedarplus.ca. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Although the Company has attempted to identify important risks, uncertainties and factors which could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be others that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update this forward-looking information except as otherwise required by applicable law. Neither the TSX Venture 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: Q2 Metals Corp. View the original press release on accesswire.com The United States direct reduced iron (DRI) market is set to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.20% over the forecast period. North America as well as the Middle East and Africa Emerging as Top Contenders for Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) Trade. Increased demand for direct reduced iron in various applications, such as steel production and construction, is expected to drive the sales during the forecast period. NEWARK, Del, Aug. 2, 2024 /PRNewswire/ --The direct reduced iron (DRI) market is projected to experience substantial growth, with its value anticipated to increase from USD 28,195.90 million in 2024 to USD 60,013.60 million by 2034. This impressive expansion, marked by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.60% over the next decade, highlights the escalating demand and adoption of DRI in the steelmaking industry. Factors such as advancements in production technologies, rising emphasis on reducing carbon emissions, and increasing investments in steel infrastructure are driving this robust market growth. As industries seek more sustainable and efficient steel production methods, the DRI market is set to play a pivotal role in meeting global steel demands while aligning with environmental goals. Significant changes in the steel industry are pushing forward the demand for direct reduced iron. Presently, the steel industry is going through a pivotal shift toward lower-carbon production. This is raising the demand for alternative technologies like direct reduced iron. The production of direct reduced iron is projected to separate from steel production, as the global steel sector gradually decarbonizes. More iron ore is expected to be processed in places where renewable energy sources are available and where cheap green hydrogen can be produced. The resultant direct reduced iron is planned to be shipped to places with higher steel demand. Going forward, North America and the Middle East are assessed to become global leaders in DRI trade. Request Your Sample Report Now! https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-11635 How Demand for Iron & Steel to Shape the DRI Market Growth? Iron & steel industry is considered the backbone of a healthy economy, owing to its major contribution to the growth of any country's economy. The Iron & steel market is expected to grow at a significantly healthy rate in the coming years. This creates an immense opportunity for market players offering DRI, which act as an environment-friendly, cost-effective and economically feasible raw material for steel making. The iron & steel market is anticipated to grow significantly as compared to its previous trends of growth. However, this is anticipated to be a minor dip in the market, which will be overcome with precautionary measures and other appropriate remedies. This has the potential to create and improve opportunities for both new competitors and existing market players. A substantial increase in the iron and steel market is expected over the forecast period, which is supposed to drive DRI demand significantly. "Key players are investing in new establishments and technologies to propel their growth," Says Nikhil Kaitwade, Associate Vice President at Future Market Insights (FMI). Key Takeaways from the Direct Reduced Iron Market Report Direct reduced iron (DRI) market attained a valuation of USD 23,375.80 million in 2019. By 2023, the market attained a value of USD 26,470.50 million, expanding at a CAGR of 2.50% over the historical period. By form, the lumps segment is predicted to account for a value share of 97.60% in 2024. Based on the production process, the gas-based direct reduced iron is predicted to acquire a share of 71.40% in 2024. India and China are predicted to record a CAGR of 11.30% and 8.40%, respectively, over the forecast period. In North America, the United States is set to expand at a CAGR of 4.20% over the forecast period, whereas Canada is slated to register a CAGR of 4.60% during the same time. In Europe, Spain and France are in line to observe significant CAGRs of 5.60% and 5.30% over the forecast period. Country-wise Insights What is the Demand Outlook for Direct Reduced Iron in GCC Countries? According to FMI, GCC Countries are expected to account for a fair share of the global market. Over the forecast period, GCC Countries are expected to dominate the Middle East & Africa market with a significant value share in terms of consumption. Steel production in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is under pressure, owing primarily to a reduction in industrial output caused by Covid-19. However, with a global recovery and a slew of megaprojects on the frontier, the sector is poised for a brighter future. Saudi Arabia is expected to be the region's largest market due to higher steel consumption and the proposition of infrastructure projects. One of the major factors driving market growth in the GCC region is an increase in construction activity. What are the growth prospects of DRI in Russia? Growing steel industry is a positive sign for DRI market globally. Growing demand from end use sectors such as construction & infrastructure, automotive, aerospace, appliances and others sectors is a primary factor for the growth in steel industry over the coming years, which is expected to have a significant impact of the target market. Over the last few years, the construction industry has grown significantly. Furthermore, a rebound in residential construction is expected to fuel the construction industry, which is expected to have a significant impact on the target market. Growing consumption of steel in Russia and expanding construction sector are the driving factors for the country. Owing to these factors market is expected to witness increasing demand for DRI in the forecast period. New Developments in the Market In November 2023, JSW Steel Ltd., a prominent maker of alloy in India, announced plans to develop a green steel manufacturing facility by the year 2030. This is in response to the European Union's (EU's) Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). In August 2023, H2 Green Steel signed agreements with Rio Tinto for a flat reduction of iron ore pellets and hot briquetted iron in Sweden. Profile of Top Players Operating in Direct Reduced Iron Market ArcelorMittal ArcelorMittal S.A., based in Luxembourg City, is a multinational steel manufacturing corporation. The company develops smarter steels for people and the planet as the metal becomes an even more relevant component in manufacturing. Mobarakeh Steel Mobarakeh Steel is a private Iranian steel firm that is located 65 km southwest of Esfahan, close to Mobarakeh, Iran. It is a prominent steel entity in the MENA region and has a substantial complex operating in Iran. The company offers extensive services in specialized fields of the steel industry and provides them in all parts of Iran. Get in Touch with Our Sales Team to Secure Your Copy of the Report Now! https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/checkout/11635 Top Market Players in the Direct Reduced Iron Market ArcelorMittal Mobarakeh Steel Essar Steel Qatar Steel Hadeed SIDOR Khouzestan Steel Co. Jindal Steel & Power Gol-e-Gohar Nucor Others Market Segmentation of Direct Reduced Iron Bifurcation by Form: Lump Pellets By Production Process: Coal-based Gas-based Based on Application: Steel Making Construction Different Regional Markets are as Follows: North America Europe Asia Pacific Middle East and Africa Latin America Authored By 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. Have a Look at Related Research Reports of Chemicals & Materials The global iron oxide market size is estimated to be valued at around USD 2,629.4 million in 2023. Sales of iron oxide are projected to increase at a healthy CAGR of 4.1% from 2023 to 2033. The stainless steel market value is anticipated to reach a high of USD 215.89 billion by the year 2033. The global stainless steel foil market size is expected to reach USD 6.3 Billion in 2022 and USD 10.4 Billion in 2032. It is likely to exhibit growth at a CAGR of 6.2% in the forecast period from 2022 to 2032. The environmental catalysts market revenue is estimated to increase at a CAGR of 4.4% from 2022 to 2032, with a value of USD 38.57 billion in 2022. By 2032, the environmental catalysts market is expected to be worth USD 59.33 billion. The iron powder market is likely to register a CAGR of 5.2% during the forecast period and is anticipated to reach an iron powder market share of USD 10265.75 Million in 2032, from USD 6183.49 Million in 2022. The natural cinnamic aldehyde market growth is anticipated to be worth USD 1,060 million in 2023, reaching a value of about USD 1,060 million by 2033. Global sales are expected to witness a considerable CAGR of 3.3% between 2023 and 2033. The global ferrovanadium sales to reach a valuation of USD 5,776.5 Million in 2028 at a CAGR of 5.1%. The elastomeric coating market size is anticipated to reach USD 7874.8 million in 2024 and is expected to total USD 15760.5 million by 2034. The industry is projected to witness a CAGR of 7.2% during the forecast period from 2024 to 2034. The N-Propyl Acetate market size is projected to be worth at USD 440.2 million in 2023. The market is likely to reach USD 744.83 million by 2033. The market is further expected to surge at a CAGR of 5.40% during the forecast period 2023 to 2033. The global 2-EthylHexyl acetate sales is anticipated to witness a considerable CAGR of 4.6% during the period of 2022 and 2029. 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 ~400 analysts worldwide, FMI provides global, regional, and local expertise on diverse domains and industry trends across more than 110 countries. Contact Us: 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 Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1197648/3531122/FMI_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/direct-reduced-iron-market-set-to-soar-to-usd-60-013-60-million-by-2034-with-a-cagr-of-7-60--future-market-insights-inc-302213303.html BlackRock Throgmorton Trust Plc - Directorate Change PR Newswire LONDON, United Kingdom, August 02 BLACKROCK THROGMORTON TRUST PLC LEI: 5493003B7ETS1JEDPF59 Resignation of a Director BlackRock Throgmorton Trust plc ("the Company") announces that Mr Glen Suarez, a non-executive Director of the Company, has tendered his resignation and will step down from the Board with effect from 9 August 2024. Glen has advised the Board that due to the increasing demands of his other business commitments he can no longer give his role on the Board the time and focus it deserves. We thank him for the benefit of his experience and insight during his tenure and wish him well for the future. Mr K. Mayger For and on behalf of BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited Company Secretary 2 August 2024 Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - August 2, 2024) - Central Iron Ore Ltd. (TSXV: CIO) (the "Company") is pleased to announce that it will be conducting a rights offering (the "Rights Offering") to holders of its ordinary shares at the close of business on the record date of August 13, 2024 (the "Record Date"). Details of the Rights Offering Rights will be offered on the basis of one (1) right (each, a "Right") for each ordinary share of the Company held at the Record Date. Each Right will entitle the holder to subscribe for one unit (each, a "Unit") of the Company, upon payment of the subscription price of $0.05 per Unit. No fractional Units will be issued. The holder's Rights entitlement will be reduced to the next lowest whole number and no additional compensation will be paid. Each Unit will be comprised of one ordinary share (each, a "Share") in the capital of the Company and one Share purchase warrant (each, a "Warrant"). Each Warrant entitles the holder to acquire one Share at an exercise price of $0.08 per Share on or before April 30, 2029. The Warrants will not be listed for trading on any securities exchange, however, the Warrants will be transferable. The Company expects to raise gross proceeds of up to $1,211,862 from the Rights Offering and intends to use the net proceeds of the Rights Offering for contribution to the Company's South Darlot joint venture, drilling at the Company's British King Mine Area and for corporate and general working capital purposes. The Rights will not be listed for trading on any securities exchange, however, the Company confirms that the Rights will be transferable. All Rights will expire at 5:00 pm (Toronto time) on September 20, 2024 (the "Expiry Time"), after which time unexercised Rights will be void and of no value, subject to certain limitations set out in in the Company's rights offering circular August 2, 2024 (the "Rights Offering Circular"). The Rights Offering will be conducted in all provinces and territories of Canada, Australia, New Zealand or in any other place or jurisdiction in which it is lawful. Certain holders of ordinary shares in jurisdictions outside of Canada may be able to participate in the Rights Offering where they can establish that the transaction is exempt under applicable legislation. If you are a holder of ordinary shares in the capital of the Company and reside outside of Canada, Australia, New Zealand or in any other place or jurisdiction in which it is lawful, please review the Notice of Rights Offering, Rights Offering Circular and Notice to Ineligible Shareholders to determine your eligibility and the process and timing requirements to receive or exercise your Rights. The Company requests any ineligible shareholder interested in exercising their Rights to contact the company at their earliest convenience after the Rights are mailed out, which is expected to be on or after August 19, 2024. Details of the Rights Offering will be set out in the Rights Offering notice and the Rights Offering circular which will be available under the Company's profile at www.sedarplus.ca and on the company's website at www.centralironorelimited.com. The Rights Offering notice will be mailed to eligible shareholders on or about August 19, 2024. Following the mailing of the Rights Offering notice, an exercise form enclosed with a statement issued under Computershare Investor Services Inc.'s direct registration system (the "Rights Statement") will be mailed to each eligible registered shareholder of the Company as at the Record Date. Registered shareholders who wish to exercise their Rights must forward the completed Rights Statement, together with the applicable funds, to the rights agent, Computershare Investor Services Inc., on or before the Expiry Time. Shareholders who own their ordinary shares through an intermediary, such as a bank, trust company, securities dealer or broker, will receive materials and instructions through their intermediary. Completion of the Rights Offering is subject to regulatory final approval including approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. Neither the Rights being offered or the Shares or Warrants comprising the Units issuable upon exercise of the Rights have been or will be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be exercised, offered or sold, as applicable, in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements. This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy the securities of the Company. There shall be no offer or sale of these securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification of such securities under the laws of any such jurisdiction. The Company's directors and executive officers who own ordinary shares, as well as other insiders, are permitted, but not required to participate in the Rights Offering on the same terms and conditions applicable to all shareholders. Immediately before the Rights Offering, the Company has 24,237,248 Shares outstanding. Upon closing of the Rights Offering, and assuming all holders of Shares exercise the Rights in full, there will be 48,474,496 Shares Outstanding, on an undiluted basis. 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 IS NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities laws. Although the Company believes that such information is reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking information is typically identified by words such as: believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, postulate and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking information provided by the Company is not a guarantee of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking information as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to, the state of the financial markets for the Company's equity securities, the state of the market for iron ore or other minerals that may be produced generally, recent market volatility; variations in the nature, quality and quantity of any mineral deposits that may be located, the Company's ability to obtain any necessary permits, consents or authorizations required for its activities, to raise the necessary capital or to be fully able to implement its business strategies and other risks associated with the exploration and development of mineral properties. The reader is referred to the Company's disclosure documents for a more complete discussion of such risk factors and their potential effects, copies of which may be accessed through the Company's page on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/218630 SOURCE: Central Iron Ore Limited The August editions of Supply Chain Digital, Procurement Magazine & Manufacturing Digital include interviews with leading experts and executives from Thermo Fisher, PwC and Microsoft LONDON, Aug. 2, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- BizClik, the UK's fastest-growing publishing company, has published the latest editions of Supply Chain Digital, Procurement Magazine and Manufacturing Digital. These publications are highly regarded within the supply chain, logistics and manufacturing sectors for their in-depth reports and interviews with prominent figures in the respective industries. Supply Chain Digital This month's edition features an extensive lead interview with Thermo Fisher Scientific's Chris Shanahan, Alyssa Caddle and Matthew Yamatin who discuss reducing supply chain emissions through education, partnerships and sophisticated reporting. "Every time you come across a challenge, that's an opportunity to improve" - Chris Shanahan, VP Global Sustainability Supply Chain - Thermo Fisher Scientific The edition also contains extensive interviews with key thought leaders from Kinaxis, Target, Coupa and more, along with the Top 10 Logistics Companies. Procurement Magazine This month's edition features an extensive lead interview with Google's Global VP of Strategic Sourcing, Lynn Torrel. "As an executive, it's essential to prioritise, compartmentalise and multi-task". The edition also contains interviews with key thought leaders from Thermo Fisher, Coupa, Vanquis Banking Group and more, together with the Top 10 Digital Procurement Strategies. Manufacturing Digital This month's edition celebrates Mallika Srinivasan, Chairwoman & Managing Director of TAFE on how the organisation has shaped India's industrial and agricultural development. "We have been given an opportunity to serve the small and marginal farmers at this critical juncture". The edition also contains interviews with key thought leaders from Microsoft, Fujifilm and more. Plus the Top 10 Manufacturing Influencers. You can visit Supply Chain Digital, Procurement Magazine and Manufacturing Digital for daily news and analysis of the ever-changing supply chain, manufacturing and logistics industries. 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/ View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/bizclik-media-launches-august-editions-of-supply-chain-digital-procurement-magazine--manufacturing-digital-302213342.html CHICAGO, Aug. 2, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The gelatin market is estimated at USD 4.0 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach USD 5.6 billion by 2029, at a CAGR of 6.9% from 2024 to 2029 according to a report published by MarketsandMarkets. The gelatin market has witnessed remarkable growth in recent years, driven by a confluence of factors, including rising consumer health consciousness and increasing demand for nutritive ingredients. This gelatin is extracted from plant sources and animal sources. The market expansion is bolstered by significant advancements in food technology, enabling the production of gelatin that is closely mixed with all the food & beverage applications thus broadening their appeal to a broader consumer base. Download PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=850 Browse in-depth TOC on "Gelatin Market" 150 - Tables 70 - Figures 350 - Pages The Bovine source is projected to hold a significant share within the source sector of the gelatin market. The bovine segment has a significant share in the gelatin market. The gelatin is extracted from skins, bones from the bovine. The gelatin extracted from the bovine has been used in the wide range of applications such as food & beverages, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics industry. In august 2022, The JBS S.A inaugurated a collagen and gelatin production facility from the bovine skin with the investment of USD 77.45 million. The gelatin produced in this unit has food and pharmaceutical uses, both of which cater to the growing consumer demand for health and wellness products. This production unit has a capacity of 6000 tonnes of collagen & gelatin annually from the bovine skins. The companies are trying to meet the rising demand for the bovine gelatin by increasing their production. Pharmaceutical is estimated to be the fastest application segment in the gelatin market during the forecasted period 2024-2029. A growing number of pharmaceutical applications-such as hard and soft capsules, tablet coating, granulation, surgical sponges, tableting, microencapsulation, and encapsulation-are expected to drive the fastest growth in the gelatin market. Due to its good compatibility with human tissue, Gelatin in sponge form is used as a hemostatic agent in surgeries. Gelatin is also an ideal ingredient in making blood plasma substitutes. Having no toxicity and its ability to be easily absorbed by the body, Gelatin is an ideal substance to use in medicinal and nutritional preparations. The companies are also trying to meet the rising demand for gelatin products in the pharma industry for instance, in October 2022, PB Leiner (Belgium) extended the gelwoRx Dsolve pharmaceutical portfolio with three new products-Dsolve B, Dsolve P, and Dsolve xTRA. Dsolve P (pig skin) and Dsolve B (beef hide) are specially developed to reduce crosslinking and fast dissolution of soft caps. Request Sample Pages: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestsampleNew.asp?id=850 North America is expected to hold a substantial portion of the gelatin market. The key players in the North American gelatin market are the US, Canada, and Mexico. The market is expected to grow significantly due to increasing health concerns, the extensive pork and beef industries, and rising consumption of ready-to-eat and bakery products. According to the Census Bureau's County Business Patterns, there were approximately 39,646 food and beverage processing facilities in the US in 2020. It is expected that the US's growing food processing industry would increase demand for gelatin, especially for fortification and as a preservative to cut down on food waste. The Gelatin Manufacturers Institute of America (GMIA) regulates gelatin production in North America. Its member companies include Nitta Gelatin (Japan), Weishardt (France), Gelita (Germany), PB Leiner (Belgium), and Rousselot (Netherlands). According to the Arthritis Foundation (US), arthritis is the leading cause of disability among adults in the US. It is anticipated that by 2040, over 78 million people in the US will have arthritis. Since gelatin is used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and brittle bones, the market is expected to grow significantly during the forecast period. Key Market Players in this include Darling Ingredients (US), Tessenderlo Group (Belgium), GELITA AG (Germany), Nitta Gelatin Inc. (Japan), Lapi Gelatine S.p.a. (Italy), India Gelatine & Chemicals Ltd. (India), Narmada Gelatines Limited (India), Nippi. Inc. (Japan), Weishardt (France), Trobas Gelatine B.V. (Netherlands), Sterling Biotech Ltd (India), Roxlor (US), Suheung (South Korea), Ewald-Gelatin GmbH (Germany), Geltech Co., Ltd (Korea). Get 10% Free Customization on this Report: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestCustomizationNew.asp?id=850 Browse Adjacent Reports @ Food and Beverage Market Research Reports & Consulting Related Reports: Collagen Market by Product Type, Applications (Nutritional Products, Food & Beverages Products, Pharmaceuticals Products, Cosmetics & Personal care Products, textile), Source, Form, Type, Extraction process and Region - Global Forecast to 2030 Collagen Peptides Market by Source (Bovine, Porcine, Marine & Poultry), Application (Food & Beverages, Nutritional Products, Cosmetics & Personal Care Products, Pharmaceuticals), Form (Dry, Liquid) and Region - Global Forecast to 2028 Marine Collagen Market by Type (Type I, Type III), Application (Nutraceuticals, Cosmetic, Medical), Source (Skin, scales, and muscles, Bones & tendons), Animal and Region - Trends and Global Forecast to 2026 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. Rohan Salgarkar 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/Gelatin-Market.asp Visit Our Website: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ Content Source: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/PressReleases/gelatin.asp Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1951202/4609423/MarketsandMarkets.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/gelatin-market-worth-5-6-billion-by-2029--exclusive-report-by-marketsandmarkets-302213267.html Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - August 2, 2024) - IAMGOLD Corporation (NYSE: IAG) (TSX: IMG) ("IAMGOLD" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that the Cote Gold Mine ("Cote Gold" or "Cote") has reached commercial production. Cote Gold is located in Ontario, Canada and is operated as a joint venture between IAMGOLD, as the operator, and Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Ltd. ("Sumitomo"). Commercial production is defined as the achievement of reaching a minimum of 30 consecutive days of operations during which the mill operated at an average of 60% of nameplate throughput of 36,000 tpd. "I would like to commend our teams at Cote Gold who have come together to achieve another great milestone as we progress and ramp up what we believe will be one of Canada's largest gold mines and a model for modern mining in Canada," said Renaud Adams, President and Chief Executive Officer of IAMGOLD. "Since achieving the first pour of gold on March 31, 2024, our teams have spent the last four months methodically and iteratively testing and ramping up all facets of the mine. This process has required remarkable commitment, ingenuity and teamwork to bring all the systems online together to achieve this milestone." "With commercial production behind us we continue to focus on improving plant availability towards our goal of Cote exiting the year at 90% of nameplate throughput. Further, in May we completed our equity financing which has positioned us well to repurchase the 9.7% interest in Cote this November and return to 70% ownership thereby gaining more exposure to this foundational and keystone asset for the benefit of all our stakeholders." The ramp up of the plant continues to progress, with all major equipment demonstrating the capability to operate at or above design levels. After the initial pour, focus early in the second quarter was on testing the processing circuits to handle nameplate loads. The primary components of the overall plant responded well achieving at or above nameplate throughput, though availability of the dry-side of the processing facilities was limited, in particular in the crushing and screening circuits. The Company is planning a multi-day shutdown in September to address and mitigate the impact of traditional wear and tear on availability of the circuits, in support of the goal to ramp up throughput to 90% by the end of the year. IAMGOLD will be reporting its second quarter 2024 operating and financial results after market hours on Thursday, August 8, 2024, followed by a conference call with senior management to discuss the operating performance and financial results on Friday, August 9, 2024, at 8:30 a.m. (Eastern Time). Details of the conference call are available on the company's website at www.iamgold.com. About IAMGOLD IAMGOLD is an intermediate gold producer and developer based in Canada with operating mines in North America and West Africa. The Company has commenced production at the large-scale, long life Cote Gold Mine in partnership with Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. Ltd., which is expected to be among the largest gold mines in Canada. In addition, the Company has an established portfolio of early stage and advanced exploration projects within highly prospective mining districts. IAMGOLD employs approximately 3,700 people and is committed to maintaining its culture of accountable mining through high standards of Environmental, Social and Governance practices, including its commitment to Zero Harm, in every aspect of its business. IAMGOLD is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: IAG) and the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: IMG) and is one of the companies on the Jantzi Social Index, a socially screened market capitalization-weighted consisting of companies which pass a set of broadly based environmental, social and governance rating criteria. All material information on IAMGOLD can be found at http://www.sedarplus.ca or at www.sec.gov. Si vous desirez obtenir la version francaise de ce communique, veuillez consulter le www.iamgold.com/French/accueil/default.aspx. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/218633 SOURCE: IAMGOLD Corporation Changing environments across key industrial sectors contributes to challenging quarter but outlook remains positive Algoma Central Corporation (TSX: ALC) ("Algoma", the "Company") today reported its results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2024. Algoma reported second quarter revenues of $180,968, an 11% decrease compared to the same period in 2023. Net earnings for the 2024 second quarter were $17,464 compared to net earnings of $33,144 for the same period in 2023. All amounts reported below are in thousands of Canadian dollars, except for per share data and where the context dictates otherwise. "Algoma encountered a challenging second quarter, but there are encouraging indications that volumes and margins will improve in the second half of the year," said Gregg Ruhl, President and CEO of Algoma Central Corporation. "The Domestic Dry-Bulk segment is facing lowered salt volumes due to a string of mild winters, and a reduction in demand for construction materials. Looking ahead, we see potential for a large grain crop in 2024, and domestic iron ore volumes are expected to increase, leading to the deployment of three additional vessels that are currently in temporary lay-up. Our international fleets, including our ocean self-unloaders, have been performing well with rates holding steady. As we approach our 125th anniversary on August 11th, I am reminded of the strength, resiliency, and longevity of this company. Through the peaks and valleys, Algoma consistently succeeds and maintains its reputation as the marine carrier of choice," concluded Mr. Ruhl. Financial Highlights: Second Quarter 2024 Compared to Second Quarter 2023 Domestic Dry-Bulk segment revenue decreased 18% to $103,931 compared to $126,584 in 2023, as lower volumes drove a 21% decrease in revenue days. Operating earnings decreased 51% to $15,924 compared to $32,806 in 2023. Revenue for Product Tankers increased 20% to $33,600 compared to $28,046 in 2023, driven by higher rates on new vessels and an 8% increase in revenue days. The segment had an operating loss of $1,604 compared to earnings of $1,078 in 2023, reflecting higher costs to prepare the fleet for full deployment in the second half of 2024, including increased costs to bring one vessel into Canadian service and additional crew onboarding and training. Ocean Self-Unloaders segment revenue decreased 9% to $42,818 compared to $47,120. Revenue for 2024 has returned to normal levels after 2023 revenues reflected a higher pro-rata share of the Pool as a result of unplanned outages affecting non-Algoma-owned vessels. Operating earnings decreased 21% to $6,361 compared to $8,003 in 2023. Global Short Sea Shipping segment equity earnings increased 19% to $6,156 compared to $5,155 for the prior year. Higher earnings were driven by steady rates and an increase in vessels in the cement fleet. Earnings for 2024 include a $812 gain on the sale of a vessel. During the first quarter of 2023, the Algoma Hansa and the Algonorth were sold, resulting in a $4,588 gain that is reflected in the 2023 year-to-date earnings. Consolidated Statement of Earnings Three Months Ended Six Months Ended For the periods ended June 30 2024 2023 2024 2023 (unaudited, in thousands of dollars, except per share data) Revenue 180,968 202,406 290,182 314,010 Operating expenses (136,740 (138,997 (245,738 (256,557 Selling, general and administrative expenses (10,182 (10,715 (21,823 (21,102 Depreciation and amortization (18,122 (16,495 (35,250 (32,491 Operating earnings (loss) 15,924 36,199 (12,629 3,860 Interest expense (5,227 (5,123 (9,886 (10,248 Interest income 581 573 1,489 1,538 Gain (loss) on sale of assets 57 (123 421 4,613 Foreign exchange gain (loss) (291 3,619 (168 3,989 11,044 35,145 (20,773 3,752 Income tax recovery (expense) (606 (7,747 10,407 1,717 Net earnings from investments in joint ventures 7,026 5,746 10,577 8,035 Net earnings 17,464 33,144 211 13,504 Basic earnings per share 0.44 0.86 0.01 0.35 Diluted earnings per share 0.44 0.79 0.01 0.35 EBITDA The Company uses EBITDA as a measure of the cash generating capacity of its businesses. The following table provides a reconciliation of net earnings in accordance with GAAP to the non-GAAP EBITDA measure for the three and six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2023 and presented herein: Three Months Ended Six Months Ended For the periods ended June 30 2024 2023 2024 2023 Net earnings 17,464 33,144 211 13,504 Depreciation and amortization 23,616 21,201 45,946 42,148 Interest and tax recovery 8,434 14,289 2,676 10,232 Foreign exchange (gain) loss 322 (3,553 489 (3,906 Net (gain) loss on sale of assets (869 123 (1,218 (4,613 EBITDA(1) 48,967 65,204 48,104 57,365 Select Financial Performance by Business Segment Three Months Ended Six Months Ended For the periods ended June 30 2024 2023 2024 2023 Domestic Dry-Bulk Revenue 103,931 126,584 135,005 161,083 Operating loss 15,924 32,806 (19,692 (838 Product Tankers Revenue 33,600 28,046 67,646 60,128 Operating earnings (1,604 1,078 2,373 2,223 Ocean Self-Unloaders Revenue 42,818 47,120 86,018 91,505 Operating earnings 6,361 8,003 14,717 12,956 Corporate and Other Revenue 619 656 1,513 1,294 Operating loss (4,757 (5,688 (10,027 (10,481 The MD&A for the three and six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2023 includes further details. Full results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2023 can be found on the Company's website at www.algonet.com/investor-relations and on SEDAR at www.sedarplus.ca. 2024 Business Outlook(2) Looking ahead in the Domestic Dry-Bulk segment, we expect a continued soft demand for de-icing salt for the balance of the year. Weaker prices for export iron ore and construction raw materials are also expected to continue to constrain cargo volumes. There are positive indicators that domestic iron ore volumes will improve and a strong seasonal increase in grain shipments is expected due to improved soil moisture levels creating the potential for a large 2024 grain crop, leading to the deployment of three additional vessels that are currently in temporary lay-up. In the Product Tanker segment, we expect steady customer demand in 2024, supporting strong vessel utilization for those vessels trading under Canadian flag. In January, the Company acquired two 2009-built, 16,600 dwt product tankers from Norway's Knutsen OAS Shipping. After completing its bareboat charter, the first vessel has finished a dry-docking and is expected to join the Company's Canadian fleet as the Algosolis by the end of July. The second vessel will enter dry-dock in August and once concluded, will be deployed in Europe in the FureBear joint venture, where it will be renamed Fure Spear, expanding that fleet to three vessels. We are scheduled to take delivery of our second FureBear newbuild in August and are anticipating a continued strong rate environment for these tankers. In the Ocean Self-Unloaders segment, vessel utilization is expected to improve for the second half of 2024 with substantially fewer dry-dockings compared to 2023. Volumes are expected to improve modestly for the remainder of the year. Two out of the three newbuild kamsarmax-based ocean self-unloader orders are scheduled to begin construction this year. In our Global Short Sea Shipping segment, we anticipate continued steady earnings from the cement fleet, as these assets are primarily employed on longer-term time charter contracts. The handy-size and mini-bulker fleets are expected to perform well for the remainder of the year and we do not foresee any negative impact on volumes and utilization from ongoing global economic and geopolitical issues. Normal Course Issuer Bid Effective March 21, 2024, the Company renewed its normal course issuer bid (the "NCIB") with the intention to purchase, through the facilities of the TSX, up to 1,975,857 of its Common Shares ("Shares") representing approximately 5% of the 39,517,144 Shares which were issued and outstanding as at the close of business on March 7, 2024. Under the 2024 NCIB, no Shares were purchased and cancelled in the period ended June 30, 2024. Cash Dividends The Company's Board of Directors authorized payment of a quarterly dividend to shareholders of $0.19 per common share. The dividend will be paid on September 3, 2024 to shareholders of record on August 20, 2024. Notes (1) Use of Non-GAAP Measures The Company uses several financial measures to assess its performance including earnings before interest, income taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA), free cash flow, return on equity, and adjusted performance measures. Some of these measures are not calculated in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), which are based on International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), are not defined by GAAP, and do not have standardized meanings that would ensure consistency and comparability among companies using these measures. From Management's perspective, these non-GAAP measures are useful measures of performance as they provide readers with a better understanding of how management assesses performance. Further information on Non-GAAP measures please refer to page 2 in the Company's Management's Discussion and Analysis for the three and six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2023. (2) Forward Looking Statements Algoma Central Corporation's public communications often include written or oral forward-looking statements. Statements of this type are included in this document and may be included in other filings with Canadian securities regulators or in other communications. All such statements are made pursuant to the safe harbour provisions of any applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements may involve, but are not limited to, comments with respect to our objectives and priorities for 2024 and beyond, our strategies or future actions, our targets, expectations for our financial condition or share price and the results of or outlook for our operations or for the Canadian, U.S. and global economies. The words "may", "will", "would", "should", "could", "expects", "plans", "intends", "trends", "indications", "anticipates", "believes", "estimates", "predicts", "likely" or "potential" or the negative or other variations of these words or other comparable words or phrases, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. By their nature, forward-looking statements require us to make assumptions and are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties. There is significant risk that predictions, forecasts, conclusions or projections will not prove to be accurate, that our assumptions may not be correct and that actual results may differ materially from such predictions, forecasts, conclusions or projections. We caution readers of this document not to place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements as a number of factors could cause actual future results, conditions, actions or events to differ materially from the targets, expectations, estimates or intentions expressed in the forward-looking statements. Algoma Central Corporation is a global provider of marine transportation that owns and operates dry and liquid bulk carriers, serving markets throughout the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway and internationally. Algoma is aiming to reach a carbon emissions reduction target of 40% by 2030 and net zero by 2050 across all business units with fuel efficient vessels, innovative technology, and alternate fuels. Algoma truly is Your Marine Carrier of Choice. Learn more at algonet.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240802906731/en/ Contacts: Gregg A. Ruhl President CEO 905-687-7890 Peter D. Winkley E.V.P. Chief Financial Officer 905-687-7897 Second Quarter Highlights* Diluted EPS for the Quarter of $1.33, Down 15 percent, primarily due to the impairment of intangible assets recognized in the Digital reporting unit Adjusted Diluted EPS for the Quarter of $2.15, Up 21 percent, which ties the quarterly record from the first quarter of 2024 Record Net Revenue for the Quarter of $513.8 million, Up 10 percent Increases Organic Total Net Revenue Growth 2 Range for 2024 to 6 to 8 percent, from 5 to 7 percent; Anticipates Lower End of Data and Access Solutions Organic Net Revenue Growth Target 2 of 7 to 10 percent Reaffirms 2024 Adjusted Operating Expense Guidance2 of $795 to $805 million CHICAGO, Aug. 2, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (Cboe: CBOE) today reported financial results for the second quarter of 2024. "Cboe reported another strong quarter with record net revenue of $514 million, diluted EPS of $1.33, and adjusted diluted EPS1 of $2.15, up a robust 21% from the second quarter of 2023," said Fredric Tomczyk, Cboe Global Markets Chief Executive Officer. "The second quarter results illustrate the durability of the Cboe business model with year-to-date net revenue increasing by a strong 8% and adjusted diluted EPS1 coming in 17% higher as compared to first half 2023 levels. I am incredibly pleased with the progress we continue to make as we work through our strategic review, the early output of which is evidenced by our solid expense management trends, improved year-over-year EBITDA margins, and additive capital allocation actions with $90 million of share repurchases during the second quarter and a total of $180 million for the first half of the year. Each component of our exchange ecosystem performed well during the second quarter, and we are well positioned for the second half of the year." "Cboe reported strong 10% year-over-year net revenue growth in the second quarter as each category of our business posted solid year-over-year trends," said Jill Griebenow, Cboe Global Markets Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer. "Cash and Spot Markets performance was robust with net revenues growing 15% during the second quarter of 2024. Derivative trends were also solid, up 11% year-over-year, and Data and Access Solutions delivered 5% year-over-year net revenue growth. Notably, adjusted EBITDA margins1 reached 67% through the first half of 2024, up more than two percentage points as compared to the first half of 2023, and we returned nearly $300 million in capital to shareholders in the form of share repurchases and dividends. Moving forward, we anticipate organic total net revenue growth2 to finish in the 6-8% range, up from our prior guidance of the higher end of 5-7%. We are reaffirming our Data and Access Solutions organic net revenue growth2 range of 7-10%, but anticipate finishing at the lower end of the guidance range. Additionally, we are reaffirming our full year adjusted operating expense guidance2 range of $795 to $805 million. We have produced strong results for the first half of 2024 and look forward to delivering durable returns for shareholders in the quarters ahead." *All comparisons are second quarter 2024 compared to the same period in 2023. (1)A full reconciliation of our non-GAAP results to our GAAP ("Generally Accepted Accounting Principles") results is included in the attached tables. See "Non-GAAP Information" in the accompanying financial tables. (2)Specific quantifications of the amounts that would be required to reconcile the company's organic net revenue growth guidance and adjusted operating expenses guidance are not available. The company believes that there is uncertainty and unpredictability with respect to certain of its GAAP measures, primarily related to acquisition-related revenues and costs that would be required to reconcile to GAAP revenues less cost of revenues, GAAP operating expenses and GAAP effective tax rate, which preclude the company from providing accurate guidance on certain forward-looking GAAP to non-GAAP reconciliations. The company believes that providing estimates of the amounts that would be required to reconcile the range of the company's organic net revenue growth guidance and adjusted operating expenses would imply a degree of precision that would be confusing or misleading to investors for the reasons identified above. Consolidated Second Quarter Results -Table 1 Table 1 below presents summary selected unaudited condensed consolidated financial information for the company as reported and on an adjusted basis for the three months ended June 30, 2024 and 2023. Table 1 Consolidated Second Quarter Results 2Q24 2Q23 ($ in millions except per share) 2Q24 2Q23 Change Adjusted1 Adjusted1 Change Total Revenues Less Cost of Revenues $ 513.8 $ 467.1 10 % $ 513.8 $ 467.1 10 % Total Operating Expenses $ 303.7 $ 222.3 37 % $ 197.1 $ 192.3 2 % Operating Income $ 210.1 $ 244.8 (14) % $ 316.7 $ 274.8 15 % Operating Margin % 40.9 % 52.4 % (11.5) pp 61.6 % 58.8 % 2.8 pp Net Income Allocated to Common Stockholders $ 139.7 $ 167.0 (16) % $ 226.2 $ 188.7 20 % Diluted Earnings Per Share $ 1.33 $ 1.57 (15) % $ 2.15 $ 1.78 21 % EBITDA1 $ 242.3 $ 294.7 (18) % $ 340.7 $ 293.3 16 % EBITDA Margin %1 47.2 % 63.1 % (15.9) pp 66.3 % 62.8 % 3.5 pp Total revenues less cost of revenues (referred to as "net revenue 2 ") of $513.8 million increased 10 percent, compared to $467.1 million in the prior-year period, a result of increases in cash and spot markets, derivatives markets, and data and access solutions net revenue. ") of $513.8 million increased 10 percent, compared to $467.1 million in the prior-year period, a result of increases in cash and spot markets, derivatives markets, and data and access solutions net revenue. Total operating expenses were $303.7 million versus $222.3 million in the second quarter of 2023, an increase of $81.4 million, primarily related to the impairment of intangible assets recognized in the Digital reporting unit. Adjusted operating expenses 1 of $197.1 million increased 2 percent compared to $192.3 million in the second quarter of 2023. This increase was primarily due to higher compensation and benefits and professional fees and outside services, partially offset by a decline in travel and promotional expenses. of $197.1 million increased 2 percent compared to $192.3 million in the second quarter of 2023. This increase was primarily due to higher compensation and benefits and professional fees and outside services, partially offset by a decline in travel and promotional expenses. The effective tax rate for the second quarter of 2024 was 30.8 percent as compared with 30.6 percent in the second quarter of 2023. The higher effective tax rate in 2024 is primarily due to the valuation allowance associated with the impairment of the Globacap investment. The effective tax rate on adjusted earnings 1 was 29.5 percent, down 0.2 basis points when compared with 29.7 percent in last year's second quarter. was 29.5 percent, down 0.2 basis points when compared with 29.7 percent in last year's second quarter. Diluted EPS for the second quarter of 2024 decreased 15 percent to $1.33 compared to the second quarter of 2023. Adjusted diluted EPS1 of $2.15 increased 21 percent compared to 2023 second quarter results. Business Segment Information: Table 2 Total Revenues Less Cost of Revenues by Business Segment (in millions) 2Q24 2Q23 Change Options $ 306.7 $ 283.2 8 % North American Equities 98.3 90.8 8 % Europe and Asia Pacific 54.3 47.3 15 % Futures 34.8 29.2 19 % Global FX 19.8 17.8 11 % Digital (0.1) (1.2) * % Total $ 513.8 $ 467.1 10 % (1)A full reconciliation of our non-GAAP results to our GAAP results is included in the attached tables. See "Non-GAAP Information" in the accompanying financial tables. (2)See the attached tables on page 10 for "Net Revenue by Revenue Caption." *Not meaningful Discussion of Results by Business Segment: Options: Options net revenue of $306.7 million was up $23.5 million, or 8 percent, from the second quarter of 2023. Net transaction and clearing fees 1 increased primarily as a result of a 9 percent increase in index options trading volumes versus the second quarter of 2023. Access and capacity fees and market data fees were 3 percent higher than the second quarter 2023. increased primarily as a result of a 9 percent increase in index options trading volumes versus the second quarter of 2023. Access and capacity fees and market data fees were 3 percent higher than the second quarter 2023. Net transaction and clearing fees 1 increased $27.3 million, or 11 percent, reflecting a 1 percent increase in total options average daily volume ("ADV") and a 9 percent increase in total options RPC compared to the second quarter 2023. The increase in total options RPC was due to a mix shift, with index options representing a higher percentage of total options volume. increased $27.3 million, or 11 percent, reflecting a 1 percent increase in total options average daily volume ("ADV") and a 9 percent increase in total options RPC compared to the second quarter 2023. The increase in total options RPC was due to a mix shift, with index options representing a higher percentage of total options volume. Cboe's Options exchanges had total market share of 31.2 percent for the second quarter of 2024 compared to 33.3 percent in the second quarter of 2023, a result of lower multi-list market share as compared to the second quarter of 2023. North American (N.A.) Equities: N.A. Equities record net revenue of $98.3 million increased $7.5 million, or 8 percent versus the second quarter of 2023, reflecting higher net transaction and clearing fees 1 , proprietary market data fees, and access and capacity fees. , proprietary market data fees, and access and capacity fees. Net transaction and clearing fees 1 increased by $7.0 million, or 25 percent, compared to the second quarter of 2023. The increase was driven by stronger U.S. exchange and off-exchange net capture rates, as well as stronger volumes and market share in Canadian Equities as compared to the second quarter of 2023. increased by $7.0 million, or 25 percent, compared to the second quarter of 2023. The increase was driven by stronger U.S. exchange and off-exchange net capture rates, as well as stronger volumes and market share in Canadian Equities as compared to the second quarter of 2023. Cboe's U.S. Equities exchanges had market share of 11.4 percent for the second quarter of 2024 compared to 12.7 percent in the second quarter of 2023 given higher off-exchange and closing auction share. Cboe's U.S. Equities off-exchange market share was 17.8 percent, down from 19.9 percent in the second quarter of 2023 as overall industry alternative trading systems ("ATS") market share declined as a percentage of off-exchange share. Canadian Equities market share rose to 15.0 percent as compared to 14.5 percent in the second quarter of 2023. Europe and Asia Pacific (APAC): Europe and APAC net revenue of $54.3 million increased by 15 percent compared to the second quarter of 2023, reflecting growth in transaction and non-transaction revenues. On a constant currency basis 2 , net revenues were $55.2 million, up 17 percent on a year-over-year basis. European Equities average daily notional value ("ADNV") traded on Cboe European Equities was 9.6 billion, up 4 percent compared to the second quarter of 2023 given a 10 percent increase in industry market volumes, partially offset by lower market share. Japanese Equities ADNV was 71 percent higher and Australian Equities ADNV was 12 percent higher than the second quarter of 2023. , net revenues were $55.2 million, up 17 percent on a year-over-year basis. European Equities average daily notional value ("ADNV") traded on Cboe European Equities was 9.6 billion, up 4 percent compared to the second quarter of 2023 given a 10 percent increase in industry market volumes, partially offset by lower market share. Japanese Equities ADNV was 71 percent higher and Australian Equities ADNV was 12 percent higher than the second quarter of 2023. For the second quarter of 2024, Cboe European Equities had 22.5 percent market share, down from 23.8 percent in the second quarter of 2023. Total market share was negatively impacted by elevated closing auction activity on listing venues and lower lit book market share. Cboe European Equities net capture rate increased 9 percent given a mix shift to higher capture products. Cboe Australia had 20.8 percent market share for the second quarter of 2024, up from 18.2 percent in the second quarter of 2023. Cboe Japan grew market share to 5.5 percent in the second quarter of 2024 from 4.1 percent in the second quarter of 2023. Futures: Futures net revenue of $34.8 million increased $5.6 million compared to the second quarter of 2023 due to an increase in net transaction and clearing fees 1 . . Net transaction and clearing fees1 increased $5.7 million, reflecting a 28 percent increase in ADV during the quarter. Global FX: Global FX record net revenue of $19.8 million increased 11 percent, primarily due to higher net transaction and clearing fees 1 . ADNV traded on the Cboe FX platform was $47.7 billion for the quarter, up 12 percent compared to last year's second quarter, and net capture rate per one million dollars traded was $2.69 for the quarter, up 1 percent compared to $2.66 in the second quarter of 2023. . ADNV traded on the Cboe FX platform was $47.7 billion for the quarter, up 12 percent compared to last year's second quarter, and net capture rate per one million dollars traded was $2.69 for the quarter, up 1 percent compared to $2.66 in the second quarter of 2023. Cboe FX market share was 20.2 percent for the quarter compared to 19.5 percent in last year's second quarter. Digital: Cboe announced the realignment of the Cboe Digital asset business on April 25, 2024. Cboe plans to transition digital asset derivatives trading and clearing into existing derivatives and clearing business lines, pending regulatory review, and has wound down trading on the Cboe Digital spot digital asset trading market. The Digital segment recorded an impairment of intangible assets of $81.0 million related to the Cboe Digital spot market wind down in the second quarter of 2024. (1)See the attached tables on page 10 for "Net Transaction and Clearing Fees by Business Segment." (2)A full reconciliation of our non-GAAP results to our GAAP results is included in the attached tables. See "Non-GAAP Information" in the accompanying financial tables. 2024 Fiscal Year Financial Guidance Cboe provided guidance for the 2024 fiscal year as noted below. Organic total net revenue growth 1 is expected to be in the range of 6 to 8 percentage points, up from previous guidance calling for the higher end of 5 to 7 percentage points in 2024. is expected to be in the range of 6 to 8 percentage points, up from previous guidance calling for the higher end of 5 to 7 percentage points in 2024. Anticipates lower end of organic net revenue 1 growth range from Data and Access Solutions of 7 to 10 percentage points in 2024. growth range from Data and Access Solutions of 7 to 10 percentage points in 2024. Reaffirms adjusted operating expenses 1 in 2024 are expected to be in the range of $795 to $805 million. The guidance excludes the expected amortization of acquired intangible assets of $92 million; the company reflects the exclusion of this amount in its non-GAAP reconciliation. in 2024 are expected to be in the range of $795 to $805 million. The guidance excludes the expected amortization of acquired intangible assets of $92 million; the company reflects the exclusion of this amount in its non-GAAP reconciliation. Reaffirms depreciation and amortization expense for 2024 is expected to be in the range of $43 to $47 million, excluding the expected amortization of acquired intangible assets. Reaffirms minority investments are expected to contribute a $37 to $43 million benefit in 2024 to non-operating (expenses) income. Anticipates that $33 to $37 million of the benefit will come in the earnings on investments line and $4 to $6 million through the other (expense) income, net line. Reaffirms the effective tax rate on adjusted earnings 1 for the full year 2024 is expected to be in the range of 28.5 to 30.5 percent. Significant changes in trading volume, expenses, tax laws or rates and other items could materially impact this expectation. for the full year 2024 is expected to be in the range of 28.5 to 30.5 percent. Significant changes in trading volume, expenses, tax laws or rates and other items could materially impact this expectation. Reaffirms capital expenditures for 2024 are expected to be in the range of $51 to $57 million. (1)Specific quantifications of the amounts that would be required to reconcile the company's organic and inorganic growth guidance, adjusted operating expenses guidance, annualized adjusted operating expenses guidance, and the effective tax rate on adjusted earnings guidance are not available. Acquisitions are considered organic after 12 months of closing. The company believes that there is uncertainty and unpredictability with respect to certain of its GAAP measures, primarily related to acquisition-related revenues and costs that would be required to reconcile to GAAP revenues less cost of revenues, GAAP operating expenses and GAAP effective tax rate, which preclude the company from providing accurate guidance on certain forward-looking GAAP to non-GAAP reconciliations. The company believes that providing estimates of the amounts that would be required to reconcile the range of the company's organic growth, adjusted operating expenses, annualized adjusted operating expenses, and the effective tax rate on adjusted earnings would imply a degree of precision that would be confusing or misleading to investors for the reasons identified above. Capital Management At June 30, 2024, the company had cash and cash equivalents of $614.6 million and adjusted cash2 of $594.5 million. Total debt as of June 30, 2024 was $1,440.1 million. The company paid cash dividends of $58.2 million, or $0.55 per share, during the second quarter of 2024 and utilized $90.4 million to repurchase approximately 514 thousand shares of its common stock under its share repurchase program at an average price of $175.76 per share. As of June 30, 2024, the company had approximately $204.4 million of availability remaining under its existing share repurchase authorizations. Earnings Conference Call Executives of Cboe Global Markets will host a conference call to review its second-quarter financial results today, August 2, 2024, at 8:30 a.m. ET/7:30 a.m. CT. The conference call and any accompanying slides will be publicly available via live webcast from the Investor Relations section of the company's website at www.cboe.com under Events & Presentations. Participants may also listen via telephone by dialing (800) 715-9871 (toll-free) or (646) 307-1963 (toll) and using the Conference ID 2619514. Telephone participants should place calls 10 minutes prior to the start of the call. The webcast will be archived on the company's website for replay. (2)A full reconciliation of our non-GAAP results to our GAAP results is included in the attached tables. See "Non-GAAP Information" in the accompanying financial tables. About Cboe Global Markets Cboe Global Markets (Cboe: CBOE), the world's leading derivatives and securities exchange network, delivers cutting-edge trading, clearing and investment solutions to people around the world. Cboe provides trading solutions and products in multiple asset classes, including equities, derivatives, and FX, across North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific. Above all, Cboe is committed to building a trusted, inclusive global marketplace that enables people to pursue a sustainable financial future. To learn more about the Exchange for the World Stage, visit www.cboe.com. Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward-Looking Information This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. You can identify these statements by forward-looking words such as "may," "might," "should," "expect," "plan," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential" or "continue," and the negative of these terms and other comparable terminology. All statements that reflect our expectations, assumptions or projections about the future other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements, which are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions about us, may include projections of our future financial performance based on our growth strategies and anticipated trends in our business. These statements are only predictions based on our current expectations and projections about future events. There are important factors that could cause our actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. We operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks and uncertainties emerge from time to time, and it is not possible to predict all risks and uncertainties, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. Some factors that could cause actual results to differ include: the loss of our right to exclusively list and trade certain index options and futures products; economic, political and market conditions; compliance with legal and regulatory obligations; price competition and consolidation in our industry; decreases in trading or clearing volumes, market data fees or a shift in the mix of products traded on our exchanges; legislative or regulatory changes or changes in tax regimes; our ability to protect our systems and communication networks from security vulnerabilities and breaches; our ability to attract and retain skilled management and other personnel, increasing competition by foreign and domestic entities; our dependence on and exposure to risk from third parties; global expansion of operations; factors that impact the quality and integrity of our and other applicable indices; our ability to manage our growth and strategic acquisitions or alliances effectively; our ability to operate our business without violating the intellectual property rights of others and the costs associated with protecting our intellectual property rights; our ability to minimize the risks, including our credit, counterparty investment, and default risks, associated with operating a European clearinghouse; our ability to accommodate trading and clearing volume and transaction traffic, including significant increases, without failure or degradation of performance of our systems; misconduct by those who use our markets or our products or for whom we clear transactions; challenges to our use of open source software code; our ability to meet our compliance obligations, including managing potential conflicts between our regulatory responsibilities and our for-profit status; our ability to maintain BIDS Trading as an independently managed and operated trading venue, separate from and not integrated with our registered national securities exchanges; damage to our reputation; the ability of our compliance and risk management methods to effectively monitor and manage our risks; restrictions imposed by our debt obligations and our ability to make payments on or refinance our debt obligations; our ability to maintain an investment grade credit rating; impairment of our goodwill, long-lived assets, investments or intangible assets; the impacts of pandemics; the accuracy of our estimates and expectations; litigation risks and other liabilities; risks relating to digital assets, including winding down the Cboe Digital spot market and transitioning digital asset futures contracts to CFE, operating a digital assets futures clearinghouse, cybercrime, changes in digital asset regulation, and fluctuations in digital asset prices. More detailed information about factors that may affect our actual results to differ may be found in our filings with the SEC, including in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 and other filings made from time to time with the SEC. We do not undertake, and we expressly disclaim, any duty to update any forward-looking statement whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. The condensed consolidated statements of income and balance sheets are unaudited and subject to revision. Cboe Media Contacts: Analyst Contact: Angela Tu Tim Cave Kenneth Hill, CFA (646) 856-8734 +44 (0) 7593 506 719 (312) 786-7559 atu@cboe.com tcave@cboe.com khill@cboe.com CBOE-F Trademarks: Cboe, Cboe Global Markets, Cboe Volatility Index, Cboe Clear, Cboe Datashop, BIDS Trading, BZX, BYX, Cboe Clear, Cboe Digital, EDGX, EDGA, MATCHNow, and VIX are registered trademarks of Cboe Global Markets, Inc. and its subsidiaries. All other trademarks and service marks are the property of their respective owners. Cboe Global Markets, Inc. Key Performance Statistics by Business Segment 2Q 2024 1Q 2024 4Q 2023 3Q 2023 2Q 2023 Options Total industry ADV (in thousands) 46,129 47,452 44,410 43,411 42,964 Total Company Options ADV (in thousands) 14,384 14,833 14,896 14,592 14,306 Multi-listed options 10,367 10,744 10,725 10,848 10,622 Index options 4,017 4,089 4,172 3,743 3,683 Total Options market share 31.2 % 31.3 % 33.5 % 33.6 % 33.3 % Multi-listed options 24.6 % 24.8 % 26.7 % 27.4 % 27.1 % Total Options RPC: $ 0.295 $ 0.299 $ 0.297 $ 0.270 $ 0.271 Multi-listed options $ 0.062 $ 0.064 $ 0.060 $ 0.055 $ 0.061 Index options $ 0.898 $ 0.915 $ 0.908 $ 0.894 $ 0.877 North American Equities U.S. Equities - Exchange: Total industry ADV (shares in billions) 11.8 11.8 11.2 10.4 10.7 Market share % 11.4 % 12.8 % 13.0 % 12.7 % 12.7 % Net capture (per 100 touched shares) $ 0.027 $ 0.019 $ 0.013 $ 0.022 $ 0.021 U.S. Equities - Off-Exchange: ADV (touched shares, in millions) 74.7 82.0 76.1 73.8 78.7 Off-Exchange ATS Block Market Share % (reported on a one-month lag) 17.8 % 17.6 % 18.4 % 19.9 % 19.9 % Net capture (per 100 touched shares) $ 0.136 $ 0.132 $ 0.137 $ 0.125 $ 0.122 Canadian Equities: ADV (matched shares, in millions) 150.6 146.3 141.8 127.5 124.2 Total market share % 15.0 % 15.3 % 15.3 % 15.2 % 14.5 % Net capture (per 10,000 shares, in Canadian Dollars) $ 4.046 $ 3.997 $ 3.905 $ 3.976 $ 4.055 Europe and Asia Pacific European Equities: Total industry ADNV (Euros - in billions) 42.6 41.8 37.7 34.3 38.7 Market share % 22.5 % 23.7 % 23.9 % 23.2 % 23.8 % Net capture (per matched notional value (bps), in Euros) 0.251 0.249 0.233 0.232 0.230 Cboe Clear Europe: Trades cleared (in thousands) 299,019.3 294,325.7 281,938.1 255,152.3 275,519.8 Fee per trade cleared (in Euros) 0.008 0.008 0.010 0.010 0.009 Net settlement volume (shares in thousands) 2,764.0 2,524.6 2,511.6 2,469.5 2,402.0 Net fee per settlement (in Euros) 1.038 1.072 0.899 0.927 0.887 Australian Equities: ADNV (AUD - in billions) $ 0.8 $ 0.8 $ 0.7 $ 0.7 $ 0.7 Market share - Continuous 20.8 % 20.4 % 20.3 % 17.9 % 18.2 % Net capture (per matched notional value (bps), in Australian Dollars) $ 0.155 $ 0.156 $ 0.157 $ 0.155 $ 0.160 Japanese Equities: ADNV (JPY - in billions) 315.2 315.9 190.2 148.7 184.3 Market share - Lit Continuous 5.5 % 5.0 % 4.0 % 3.3 % 4.1 % Net capture (per matched notional value (bps), in Yen) 0.229 0.227 0.252 0.257 0.256 Futures ADV (in thousands) 253.6 220.0 233.4 230.0 197.4 RPC $ 1.757 $ 1.749 $ 1.729 $ 1.753 $ 1.826 Global FX Spot market share % 20.2 % 20.3 % 21.3 % 20.2 % 19.5 % ADNV ($ - in billions) $ 47.7 $ 45.3 $ 47.0 $ 44.4 $ 42.5 Net capture (per one million dollars traded) $ 2.69 $ 2.62 $ 2.60 $ 2.64 $ 2.66 ADV = average daily volume; ADNV = average daily notional value. RPC, average revenue per contract, for options and futures represents total net transaction fees recognized for the period divided by total contracts traded during the period. Touched volume represents the total number of shares of equity securities and ETFs internally matched on our exchanges or routed to and executed on an external market center. Matched volume represents the total number of shares of equity securities and ETFs executed on our exchanges. U.S. Equities - Exchange, "net capture per 100 touched shares" refers to transaction fees less liquidity payments and routing and clearing costs divided by the product of one-hundredth ADV of touched shares on BZX, BYX, EDGX and EDGA and the number of trading days. U.S. Equities - Off-Exchange data reflects BIDS Trading. For U.S. Equities - Off-Exchange, "net capture per 100 touched shares" refers to transaction fees less order and execution management system (OMS/EMS) fees and clearing costs divided by the product of one-hundredth ADV of touched shares on BIDS Trading and the number of trading days for the period. Canadian Equities, "net capture per 10,000 shares" refers to transaction fees divided by the product of one-ten thousandth ADV of shares for MATCHNow and Cboe Canada and the number of trading days. Total market share represents MATCHNow and Cboe Canada volume divided by the total volume of the Canadian Equities market. As of January 1, 2024, the Cboe Canada and MATCHNow entities have been amalgamated into Cboe Canada Inc. European Equities, "net capture per matched notional value" refers to transaction fees less liquidity payments in Euros divided by the product of ADNV in Euros of shares matched on Cboe Europe Equities and the number of trading days. "Trades cleared" refers to the total number of non-interoperable trades cleared, "Fee per trade cleared" refers to clearing fees divided by number of non-interoperable trades cleared, "Net settlement volume" refers to the total number of settlements executed after netting, and "Net fee per settlement" refers to settlement fees less direct costs incurred to settle divided by the number of settlements executed after netting. Asia Pacific data reflects the acquisition of Cboe Asia Pacific. Australian Equities, "net capture per matched notional value" refers to transaction fees less liquidity payments in Australian dollars divided by the product of ADNV in Australian dollars of shares matched on Cboe Australia and the number of Australian Equities trading days. Japanese Equities, "net capture per matched notional value" refers to transaction fees less liquidity payments in Japanese Yen divided by the product of ADNV in Japanese Yen of shares matched on Cboe Japan and the number of Japanese Equities trading days. Global FX, "net capture per one million dollars traded" refers to transaction fees less liquidity payments, if any, divided by the Spot and SEF products of one-thousandth of ADNV traded on the Cboe FX Markets and the number of trading days, divided by two, which represents the buyer and seller that are both charged on the transaction. Market Share represents Cboe FX volume divided by the total volume of publicly reporting spot FX venues (Cboe FX, EBS, Refinitiv, and Euronext FX). Average transaction fees per contract can be affected by various factors, including exchange fee rates, volume-based discounts and transaction mix by contract type and product type. Cboe Global Markets, Inc. and Subsidiaries Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income (Unaudited) Three and Six Months Ended June 30, 2024 and 2023 Three Months Ended June 30, Six Months Ended June 30, (in millions, except per share amounts) 2024 2023 2024 2023 Revenues: Cash and spot markets $ 386.4 $ 341.3 $ 767.3 $ 748.3 Data and access solutions 142.1 135.3 282.3 264.7 Derivatives markets 445.5 431.2 881.6 883.0 Total Revenues 974.0 907.8 1,931.2 1,896.0 Cost of Revenues: Liquidity payments 307.0 337.4 645.8 709.2 Routing and clearing 16.6 20.8 32.6 44.8 Section 31 fees 77.7 34.5 119.8 109.4 Royalty fees and other cost of revenues 58.9 48.0 117.1 94.1 Total Cost of Revenues 460.2 440.7 915.3 957.5 Revenues Less Cost of Revenues 513.8 467.1 1,015.9 938.5 Operating Expenses: Compensation and benefits 116.1 106.5 231.4 216.9 Depreciation and amortization 31.8 39.8 69.1 81.2 Technology support services 24.6 28.3 48.8 50.5 Professional fees and outside services 25.8 20.4 47.3 44.3 Travel and promotional expenses 9.3 13.5 16.8 19.7 Facilities costs 6.1 6.2 12.6 13.8 Acquisition-related costs 0.6 0.7 1.2 7.1 Impairment of intangible assets 81.0 - 81.0 - Other expenses 8.4 6.9 15.2 12.3 Total Operating Expenses 303.7 222.3 523.4 445.8 Operating Income 210.1 244.8 492.5 492.7 Non-operating (Expenses) Income: Interest expense (12.8) (16.7) (25.8) (33.8) Interest income 4.6 2.8 8.7 4.8 Earnings on investments 14.2 9.3 28.2 24.6 Other (expense) income, net (13.1) 1.6 (8.5) 1.7 Total Non-operating (Expenses) Income (7.1) (3.0) 2.6 (2.7) Income Before Income Tax Provision 203.0 241.8 495.1 490.0 Income tax provision 62.6 74.0 145.2 148.8 Net Income 140.4 167.8 349.9 341.2 Net income allocated to participating securities (0.7) (0.8) (1.9) (1.6) Net Income Allocated to Common Stockholders $ 139.7 $ 167.0 $ 348.0 $ 339.6 Net Income Per Share Allocated to Common Stockholders: Basic earnings per share $ 1.33 $ 1.58 $ 3.30 $ 3.21 Diluted earnings per share 1.33 1.57 3.29 3.20 Weighted average shares used in computing income per share: Basic 105.1 105.7 105.4 105.8 Diluted 105.4 106.1 105.8 106.1 Cboe Global Markets, Inc. and Subsidiaries Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (Unaudited) June 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023 June 30, December 31, (in millions) 2024 2023 Assets Current Assets: Cash and cash equivalents $ 614.6 $ 543.2 Financial investments 83.7 57.5 Accounts receivable, net 372.7 337.3 Margin deposits, clearing funds, and interoperability funds 2,728.8 848.8 Digital assets - safeguarded assets 6.9 51.3 Income taxes receivable 34.9 74.5 Other current assets 57.9 66.7 Total Current Assets 3,899.5 1,979.3 Investments 359.5 345.3 Property and equipment, net 115.1 109.2 Property held for sale - 8.7 Operating lease right of use assets 115.3 136.6 Goodwill 3,132.9 3,140.6 Intangible assets, net 1,424.7 1,561.5 Other assets, net 208.6 206.3 Total Assets $ 9,255.6 $ 7,487.5 Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity Current Liabilities: Accounts payable and accrued liabilities $ 290.9 $ 412.7 Section 31 fees payable 120.6 51.9 Deferred revenue 9.9 5.9 Margin deposits, clearing funds, and interoperability funds 2,728.8 848.8 Income taxes payable - 1.0 Digital assets - safeguarded liabilities 6.9 51.3 Current portion of contingent consideration liabilities 1.8 11.8 Total Current Liabilities 3,158.9 1,383.4 Long-term debt 1,440.1 1,439.2 Non-current unrecognized tax benefits 270.9 243.8 Deferred income taxes 194.7 217.8 Non-current operating lease liabilities 126.3 150.8 Other non-current liabilities 43.0 67.5 Total Liabilities 5,233.9 3,502.5 Stockholders' Equity: Preferred stock - - Common stock 1.1 1.1 Treasury stock at cost (217.4) (10.5) Additional paid-in capital 1,506.0 1,478.6 Retained earnings 2,758.4 2,525.2 Accumulated other comprehensive loss, net (26.4) (9.4) Total Stockholders' Equity 4,021.7 3,985.0 Total Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity $ 9,255.6 $ 7,487.5 Table 3 Net Transaction and Clearing Fees by Business Segment Consolidated Options N.A. Equities Europe and APAC Futures Global FX Digital Three Months Ended June 30, 2024 and 2023 June 30, June 30, June 30, June 30, June 30, June 30, June 30, (in millions) 2024 2023 2024 2023 2024 2023 2024 2023 2024 2023 2024 2023 2024 2023 Transaction and clearing fees $ 697.6 $ 685.7 $ 385.9 $ 384.3 $ 227.2 $ 229.4 $ 38.9 $ 35.6 $ 28.1 $ 22.4 $ 17.1 $ 15.0 $ 0.4 $ (1.0) Liquidity payments (307.0) (337.4) (114.2) (135.8) (184.4) (193.1) (7.9) (8.1) - - - - (0.5) (0.4) Routing and clearing (16.6) (20.8) (4.0) (8.1) (7.5) (8.0) (4.6) (4.4) - - (0.5) (0.3) - - Net transaction and clearing fees $ 374.0 $ 327.5 $ 267.7 $ 240.4 $ 35.3 $ 28.3 $ 26.4 $ 23.1 $ 28.1 $ 22.4 $ 16.6 $ 14.7 $ (0.1) $ (1.4) Table 4 Net Revenue by Revenue Caption Cash and Spot Markets Data and Access Solutions Derivatives Markets Total Three Months Ended Three Months Ended Three Months Ended Three Months Ended Three Months Ended June 30, 2024 and 2023 June 30, June 30, June 30, June 30, (in millions) 2024 2023 2024 2023 2024 2023 2024 2023 Transaction and clearing fees $ 283.6 $ 279.0 $ - $ - $ 414.0 $ 406.7 $ 697.6 $ 685.7 Access and capacity fees - - 90.5 86.9 - - 90.5 86.9 Market data fees 14.6 17.7 50.9 47.7 8.2 8.1 73.7 73.5 Regulatory fees 63.2 28.7 - - 22.7 15.7 85.9 44.4 Other revenue 25.0 15.9 0.7 0.7 0.6 0.7 26.3 17.3 Total revenues $ 386.4 $ 341.3 $ 142.1 $ 135.3 $ 445.5 $ 431.2 $ 974.0 $ 907.8 Liquidity payments $ 192.0 $ 201.0 $ - $ - $ 115.0 $ 136.4 $ 307.0 $ 337.4 Routing and clearing fees 12.6 12.7 - - 4.0 8.1 16.6 20.8 Section 31 fees 63.1 28.7 - - 14.6 5.8 77.7 34.5 Royalty fees and other cost of revenues 15.0 8.6 2.5 2.3 41.4 37.1 58.9 48.0 Total cost of revenues $ 282.7 $ 251.0 $ 2.5 $ 2.3 $ 175.0 $ 187.4 $ 460.2 $ 440.7 Revenues less cost of revenues (net revenue) $ 103.7 $ 90.3 $ 139.6 $ 133.0 $ 270.5 $ 243.8 $ 513.8 $ 467.1 Non-GAAP Information In addition to disclosing results determined in accordance with GAAP, Cboe Global Markets has disclosed certain non-GAAP measures of operating performance. These measures are not in accordance with, or a substitute for, GAAP, and may be different from or inconsistent with non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies. The non-GAAP measures provided in this press release include adjusted operating expenses, adjusted operating income, adjusted operating margin, adjusted net income allocated to common stockholders, adjusted diluted earnings per share, effective tax rate on adjusted earnings, adjusted cash, net revenues in constant currency, EBITDA, EBITDA margin, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA margin. Management believes that the non-GAAP financial measures presented in this press release provide additional and comparative information to assess trends in our core operations and a means to evaluate period-to-period comparisons. Non-GAAP financial measures disclosed by management are provided as additional information to investors in order to provide them with an alternative method for assessing our financial condition and operating results. Amortization expense of acquired intangible assets: We amortize intangible assets acquired in connection with various acquisitions. Amortization of intangible assets is inconsistent in amount and frequency and is significantly affected by the timing and size of our acquisitions. As such, if intangible asset amortization is included in performance measures, it is more difficult to assess the day-to-day operating performance of the businesses, the relative operating performance of the businesses between periods and the earnings power of the company. Therefore, we believe performance measures excluding intangible asset amortization expense provide investors with an additional basis for comparison across accounting periods. Acquisition-related costs: From time to time, we have pursued acquisitions, which have resulted in expenses which would not otherwise have been incurred in the normal course of the company's business operations. These expenses include integration costs, as well as legal, due diligence, impairment charges, and other third-party transaction costs. The frequency and the amount of such expenses vary significantly based on the size, timing and complexity of the transaction. Accordingly, we exclude these costs for purposes of calculating non-GAAP measures which provide an additional analysis of Cboe's ongoing operating performance or comparisons in Cboe's performance between periods. The tables below show the reconciliation of each financial measure from GAAP to non-GAAP. The non-GAAP financial measures exclude the impact of those items detailed below and are referred to as adjusted financial measures. Reconciliation of GAAP and Non-GAAP Information Three Months Ended Six Months Ended Table 5 June 30, June 30, (in millions, except per share amounts) 2024 2023 2024 2023 Reconciliation of Net Income Allocated to Common Stockholders to Non-GAAP (As shown on Table 1) Net income allocated to common stockholders $ 139.7 $ 167.0 $ 348.0 $ 339.6 Non-GAAP adjustments Acquisition-related costs (1) 0.6 0.7 1.2 7.1 Amortization of acquired intangible assets (2) 21.2 29.3 47.4 60.2 Gain on Cboe Digital non-recourse notes and warrants wind down (3) (2.0) - (2.4) - Change in contingent consideration (4) 3.0 - 3.0 - Impairment of intangible assets (5) 81.0 - 81.0 - Impairment of investment (6) 16.0 - 16.0 - Costs related to Cboe Digital wind down (7) 0.8 - 0.8 - Gain on sale of property held for sale (8) (1.0) - (1.0) - Income from investment (9) - (2.1) - (2.1) Total Non-GAAP adjustments 119.6 27.9 146.0 65.2 Income tax expense related to the items above (32.7) (6.8) (39.6) (16.3) Tax reserves (10) (4.0) 0.7 (4.0) 2.2 Valuation allowances (11) 4.1 - 4.1 - Net income allocated to participating securities - effect on reconciling items (0.5) (0.1) (0.6) (0.3) Adjusted earnings $ 226.2 $ 188.7 $ 453.9 $ 390.4 Reconciliation of Diluted EPS to Non-GAAP Diluted earnings per common share $ 1.33 $ 1.57 $ 3.29 $ 3.20 Per share impact of non-GAAP adjustments noted above 0.82 0.21 1.01 0.48 Adjusted diluted earnings per common share $ 2.15 $ 1.78 $ 4.30 $ 3.68 Reconciliation of Operating Margin to Non-GAAP Adjusted revenue less cost of revenue $ 513.8 $ 467.1 $ 1,015.9 $ 938.5 Operating expenses (12) $ 303.7 $ 222.3 $ 523.4 $ 445.8 Non-GAAP adjustments noted above 106.6 30.0 133.4 67.3 Adjusted operating expenses $ 197.1 $ 192.3 $ 390.0 $ 378.5 Operating income $ 210.1 $ 244.8 $ 492.5 $ 492.7 Non-GAAP adjustments noted above 106.6 30.0 133.4 67.3 Adjusted operating income $ 316.7 $ 274.8 $ 625.9 $ 560.0 Adjusted operating margin (13) 61.6 % 58.8 % 61.6 % 59.7 % Reconciliation of Income Tax Rate to Non-GAAP Income before income taxes 203.0 241.8 495.1 490.0 Non-GAAP adjustments noted above 119.6 27.9 146.0 65.2 Adjusted income before income taxes $ 322.6 $ 269.7 $ 641.1 $ 555.2 Income tax expense 62.6 74.0 145.2 148.8 Non-GAAP adjustments noted above 32.6 6.1 39.5 14.1 Adjusted income tax expense $ 95.2 $ 80.1 $ 184.7 $ 162.9 Adjusted income tax rate 29.5 % 29.7 % 28.8 % 29.3 % (1) This amount includes ongoing acquisition-related costs primarily from the Company's Cboe Digital, Cboe Canada, and Cboe Asia Pacific acquisitions, which is included in acquisition-related costs on the condensed consolidated statements of income. (2) This amount represents the amortization of acquired intangible assets related to the Company's acquisitions, which is included in depreciation and amortization on the condensed consolidated statements of income. (3) This amount represents the revaluation and the gain associated with the wind down of the Cboe Digital non-recourse notes and warrants, which is included in other (expense) income, net on the condensed consolidated statements of income, as well as the contra-revenue that was reversed as a result of the wind down of the syndication, which is included in transaction and clearing fees in the condensed consolidated statements of income. (4) This amount represents the loss related to contingent consideration liabilities achieved related to the acquisition of Cboe Asia Pacific, which is included in other expenses on the condensed consolidated statements of income. (5) This amount represents the impairment of intangible assets related to the Cboe Digital wind down, which is included in impairment of intangible assets on the condensed consolidated statements of income. (6) This amount represents the impairment of investment related to the Company's minority investment in Globacap Technology Limited, which is included in other (expense) income, net on the condensed consolidated statements of income. (7) This amount represents certain wind down costs related to Cboe Digital, which are included in compensation and benefits on the condensed consolidated statements of income. (8) This amount represents the gain on the sale of the Company's former headquarters, which is included in other (expense) income, net on the condensed consolidated statements of income. (9) This amount represents the dividend from the Company's minority ownership of Vest Group Inc., which is included in other (expense) income, net on the condensed consolidated statements of income. In 2024, the Company determined the dividend to be a recurring event and therefore has been excluded from the non-GAAP adjustments in 2024 and going forward. (10) This amount represents the tax reserves related to Section 199 matters. (11) This amount represents the valuation allowance related to the impairment of the Company's minority investment in Globacap Technology Limited. (12) The company sponsors deferred compensation plans held in a trust. The expenses or income related to the deferred compensation plans are included in "Compensation and benefits" ($1.4 million and $2.0 million in expense for the three months ended June 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively, and $0.1 million and $5.2 million in expense for the six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively), and are directly offset by deferred compensation income, expenses and dividends included within "Other income, net" ($1.4 million and $2.0 million in income, expense and dividends in the three months ended June 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively, and $0.1 million and $5.2 million in income, expense and dividends in the six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively), on the condensed consolidated statements of income. The deferred compensation plans' expenses are not excluded from "adjusted operating expenses" and do not have an impact on "Income before income taxes." (13) Adjusted operating margin represents adjusted operating income divided by adjusted revenue less cost of revenue. EBITDA Reconciliations EBITDA (earnings before interest, income taxes, depreciation and amortization) and Adjusted EBITDA are widely used non-GAAP financial measures of operating performance. EBITDA margin represents EBITDA divided by revenues less cost of revenues (net revenue). It is presented as supplemental information that the company believes is useful to investors to evaluate its results because it excludes certain items that are not directly related to the company's core operating performance. EBITDA is calculated by adding back to net income interest expense, income tax expense, depreciation and amortization. Adjusted EBITDA is calculated by adding back to EBITDA acquisition-related costs, change in contingent consideration, impairment of intangible assets, impairment of investment, costs related to the Cboe Digital wind down, gain on sale of property held for sale, gain on Cboe Digital non-recourse notes and warrants wind down, and income from investment. EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered as substitutes either for net income, as an indicator of the company's operating performance, or for cash flow, as a measure of the company's liquidity. In addition, because EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA may not be calculated identically by all companies, the presentation here may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures of other companies. Adjusted EBITDA margin represents Adjusted EBITDA divided by net revenue. Table 6 Three Months Ended Six Months Ended (in millions, except percentages) June 30, June 30, Reconciliation of Net Income Allocated to Common Stockholders to EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA (Per Table 1) 2024 2023 2024 2023 Net income allocated to common stockholders $ 139.7 $ 167.0 $ 348.0 $ 339.6 Interest expense, net 8.2 13.9 17.1 29.0 Income tax provision 62.6 74.0 145.2 148.8 Depreciation and amortization 31.8 39.8 69.1 81.2 EBITDA $ 242.3 $ 294.7 $ 579.4 $ 598.6 EBITDA Margin 47.2 % 63.1 % 57.0 % 63.8 % Non-GAAP adjustments not included in above line items Acquisition-related costs 0.6 0.7 1.2 7.1 Change in contingent consideration 3.0 - 3.0 - Impairment of intangible assets 81.0 - 81.0 - Impairment of investment 16.0 - 16.0 - Costs related to Cboe Digital wind down 0.8 - 0.8 - Gain on sale of property held for sale (1.0) - (1.0) - Gain on Cboe Digital non-recourse notes and warrants wind down (2.0) - (2.4) - Income from investment - (2.1) - (2.1) Adjusted EBITDA $ 340.7 $ 293.3 $ 678.0 $ 603.6 Adjusted EBITDA Margin 66.3 % 62.8 % 66.7 % 64.3 % Table 7 (in millions) June 30, December 31, Reconciliation of Cash and Cash Equivalents to Adjusted Cash 2024 2023 Cash and cash equivalents $ 614.6 $ 543.2 Financial investments 83.7 57.5 Less deferred compensation plan assets (36.6) (36.7) Less cash collected for Section 31 Fees (67.2) (30.5) Adjusted Cash $ 594.5 $ 533.5 Table 8 (in millions) Reconciliation of GAAP Net Revenues to Net Revenues in Constant Currency - Three and Six Months Ended June 30, 2024 and 2023 Three Months Ended, Six Months Ended, June 30, June 30, 2024 2023 2024 2023 Europe and Asia Pacific net revenues $ 54.3 $ 47.3 $ 108.4 $ 96.6 Constant currency adjustment 0.9 0.5 0.2 3.9 Europe and Asia Pacific net revenues in constant currency1 $ 55.2 $ 47.8 $ 108.6 $ 100.5 (1)Net revenues in constant currency is calculated by converting the current period GAAP net revenues in local currency using the foreign currency exchange rates that were in effect during the previous comparable period. Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/622233/Cboe_GM_New_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/cboe-global-markets-reports-results-for-second-quarter-2024-302213136.html ISELIN, NJ / ACCESSWIRE / August 2, 2024 / Shah Enterprise, under the leadership of CEO Imran Shah, announces the launch of Shah Petroleum, an innovative platform designed to enhance security and combat fraud in petroleum transactions. Available on both iOS and Android, the Shah Petroleum mobile application introduces a robust, user-friendly environment for buyers and sellers. Imran Shah, the driving force behind Shah Enterprise, has strategically positioned Shah Petroleum to address prevalent industry issues. The app leverages advanced technology to ensure every transaction is secure, trustworthy, and efficient. To guarantee high-quality petroleum products, Shah Petroleum has secured contracts with renowned refineries such as BP, Shell, Socar, and Aramco. These partnerships emphasize Shah Petroleum's commitment to delivering superior products and maintaining high standards. Enhancing the app's security features, Shah Petroleum has partnered with Plaid and Clear to implement comprehensive Know Your Customer (KYC) verification processes. This collaboration allows for thorough verification of company and buyer identities, including passports and selfie pictures, adding an extra layer of security. Plaid's banking verification simplifies and secures the Proof of Funds (POF) process, eliminating the need for traditional, cumbersome methods like Bank Comfort Letters (BCL), MT199, or Ready, Willing, and Able (RWA) letters. This innovative approach not only saves time but also mitigates financial risks, offering users peace of mind. Imran Shah highlights the significance of this partnership: "We are proud to be the first in the petroleum industry to integrate Plaid's secure banking verification system. This groundbreaking solution streamlines the transaction process, making it more efficient and secure for our users." The Shah Petroleum mobile app is designed for ease of use and is set to be available for download by August 20th, 2024. This app aims to revolutionize the purchasing process, providing a seamless and hassle-free user experience.Shah Petroleum is committed to leading the way in innovation within the petroleum industry. By continuously integrating advanced technologies and establishing secure, efficient processes, Shah Petroleum positions itself as a trusted name in the sector. Stay connected with Shah Petroleum and join the revolution in secure petroleum transactions. Follow Shah Petroleum on social media to stay updated on the latest developments and innovations. Media Contact Organization: Shah Enterprise NJ Contact Person: Imran Shah Website: https://www.shahpetroleum.com Email: info@shahpetroleum.com City: Newark State: New Jersey Country: United States SOURCE: Shah Enterprise NJ View the original press release on accesswire.com First High-School Education Group Announces Receipt of Preliminary Non-Binding "Going Private" Proposal First High-School Education Group Co., Ltd. ("First High-School Education Group" or the "Company") (OTCQB:FHSEY), an education service provider primarily focusing on high schools in Western China, today announced that its board of directors (the "Board") has received a preliminary non-binding proposal letter (the "Proposal") dated August 2, 2024 from Mr. Shaowei Zhang, its founder, chairman of the Board and chief executive officer, Ms. Yu Wu, and Spring River Greater China Fund (collectively, the "Buyer Group") proposing to acquire all of the outstanding Class A ordinary shares of the Company (the "Shares"), including Class A Shares represented by American depositary shares (the "ADSs," each representing three Class A ordinary shares) that are not already owned by the members of the Buyer Group for a purchase price of US$0.05 per Share, or US$0.15 per ADS, in cash in a going private transaction (the "Proposed Transaction"), subject to certain conditions. The price represents (1) a premium of approximately 354.5% to the closing price of the ADS on August 1, 2024, the last trading day prior to the date of the Proposal, and (2) a premium of approximately 269.3% and 320.7% to the volume-weighted average price of the ADSs during the last seven and 30 trading days, respectively. A copy of the Proposal is attached hereto as Annex A . The Board intends to form a special committee consisting of independent and disinterested directors to consider the Proposal. The Board expects that the special committee will retain independent advisors, including independent financial and legal advisors, to assist it in this process. The Board cautions the Company's shareholders and others considering trading the Company's securities that the Board has just received the Proposal and has not had an opportunity to carefully review and evaluate the Proposal or make any decision with respect to the Company's response to the Proposal. There can be no assurance that any definitive offer will be made, that any definitive agreement will be executed relating to the Proposed Transaction or that this or any other transaction will be approved or consummated. The Company does not undertake any obligation to provide any updates with respect to this or any other transaction, except as required under applicable law. About First High-School Education Group First High-School Education Group is an education service provider primarily focusing on high schools in Western China. The Company aspires to become a leader and innovator of private high school education in China, with the focuses on a comprehensive education management integrating education information consulting, education research project development, education talent management, education technology management, education service management, and general vocational integration development services. For more information, please visit https://ir.diyi.top/. Safe Harbor Statement Statements in this press release about future expectations, plans and prospects, as well as any other statements regarding matters that are not historical facts, may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements relating to the expected trading commencement and closing dates. The words "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "target," "will," "would" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including: the uncertainties related to market conditions and the completion of the public offering on the anticipated terms or at all, and other factors discussed in the "Risk Factors" section of the preliminary prospectus filed with the SEC. Any forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date hereof, and the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. For Investor and Media Inquiries Please Contact: First High-School Education Group Tommy Zhou Chief Financial Officer E-mail: tommyzhou@dygz.com Customer Service E-mail: FHS_info@dygz.com Phone: 010-62555966 (9:30-12:00, 13:30-16:00 CST) Annex A August 2, 2024 Board of Directors (the " Board ") First High-School Education Group Co., Ltd. (the " Company ") No. 1-1, Tiyuan Road, Xishan District Kunming, Yunnan Province 650228 People's Republic of China Dear Members of the Board: Mr. Shaowei Zhang, founder, chairman of the Board and chief executive officer of the Company, Ms. Yu Wu, and Spring River Greater China Fund (the " Buyer Group ", " we " or " us ") are pleased to submit this preliminary non-binding proposal (" Proposal ") in a going private transaction (the " Acquisition "). We have entered into a consortium agreement dated as of the date hereof pursuant to which we have agreed to work with each other exclusively with respect to the Acquisition. We believe that our Proposal provides an attractive opportunity for the Company's shareholders. Our Proposal include the following key terms: 1. Purchase Price . The proposed consideration payable for each ordinary share of the Company for the Acquisition is US$0.05 in cash, or US$0.15 in cash for each American Depositary Share of the Company (an " ADS ", representing three Class A ordinary shares of the Company) (in each case other than those ADSs or ordinary shares of the Company that are held by the members of the Buyer Group or rolled over in connection with the proposed Acquisition). Our proposal represents a premium of approximately 354.5% to the closing price on the last trading day prior to the date of this proposal, and a premium of approximately 269.3% and 320.7% to the volume-weighted average price during the last 7 and 30 trading days, respectively. 2. Financing . We are confident that we can timely secure adequate financing to consummate the Acquisition. 3. Due Diligence . We will conduct customary due diligence on the Company on an expedited basis. We respectfully request that the Board accommodate our due diligence request. 4. Process . We expect that the Board will establish a special committee comprised of independent and disinterested directors of the Company (the " Special Committee "), who will consider our Proposal, be exclusively authorized to negotiate the proposed Acquisition with us, and make a recommendation to the Board. 5. Definitive Agreements . We stand ready to negotiate and finalize definitive agreements relating to the Acquisition (the " Definitive Agreements ") expeditiously. These documents will provide for customary and appropriate representations, warranties, covenants and conditions for transactions of this type. 6. Confidentiality . We trust you will agree that it is in our best interests to keep our discussions with respect to the Acquisition strictly confidential (unless otherwise required by law) until we have executed the Definitive Agreements or terminated our discussions. We expect to timely file one or more Schedule 13D and/or amendments to disclose information related to the Proposal and the Acquisition as required by the securities laws. 7. No Binding Commitment . This letter constitutes only our preliminary indication of interest and does not constitute any binding offer, agreement or commitment with respect to the Acquisition, which will only result from the execution of the Definitive Agreements and subject to the terms and conditions therein. In conclusion, we look forward to working with you to successfully complete the Acquisition. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions regarding our Proposal. ***** Sincerely /s/ Shaowei Zhang Shaowei Zhang Sincerely /s/ Yu Wu Yu Wu Sincerely Spring River Greater China Fund /s/ Pengwei Luo Pengwei Luo Director SOURCE: First High-School Education Group Co., Ltd. View the original press release on accesswire.com MORRUMBENE, Mozambique, Aug. 2, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- LONGi, a solar technology manufacturer, and Senergia, a Swedish solar energy wholesaler, have teamed up with the non-profit "Project Vita" to donate a solar-powered freshwater system to a maternity clinic in Linga Linga, Mozambique. This initiative involves constructing a water tower and installing LONGi solar panels to power a water pump filling a water tank, providing freshwater to the clinic. The project, completed in May 2024, has already benefited 58 newborns. Michel Olofsson, Project Vita's founder, emphasized the importance of hygiene in maternity clinics, noting the partnership's role in addressing the lack of fresh, running water in rural Africa, which is crucial for reducing maternal and infant mortality. Anton Obrink, Senergia's project manager, highlighted Mozambique's severe lack of electricity access, 99% of Linga Linga's population living without it. He stressed the importance of direct, impactful aid in such impoverished regions. Daniel Ong, Head of Marketing for LONGi Europe, praised the project's significant impact, citing solar energy as a transformative force for rural areas in Africa. He emphasized the reliability and efficiency of the solar modules used, even in challenging climates. Collaborative Efforts with Local Communities Project Vita ensured close collaboration with local authorities and community members to determine and implement the best solutions. The maternity clinic's construction marked a significant milestone for Linga Linga, where women previously faced arduous journeys to the nearest health facility. The clinic now offers antenatal and postnatal care, significantly improving healthcare. Impact of Simple Off-Grid Energy Solutions The solar-powered freshwater system is crucial for reducing infection risks during childbirth and improving daily operations. Despite global declines in maternal mortality, Africa still faces high rates. Michel Olofsson affirmed the life-saving impact of such installations. Read more: https://www.longi.com/eu/news/solar-partners-aid-africa-newborns-mothers-with-solar-freshwater/ - Picture is available at AP - Contact: Nadine Butow nadinebuetow@longi.com +49(0)69-5800780080 View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/solar-partners-aid-newborns-and-mothers-in-africa-with-solar-powered-freshwater-solution-302213399.html TORONTO, Aug. 02, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Goliath Resources Limited (TSX-V: GOT) (OTCQB: GOTRF) (FSE: B4IF) (the "Company" or "Goliath") is pleased to report that based on positive drilling success early in the 2024 drill program has led to the early exercise of 2,393,097 common share purchase warrants ("Warrants") primarily from Strategic Investors for proceeds of $1,822,814. These Warrants were all set to expire starting March 25, 2025 and the balance over the course of the year until December 29, 2025 with strike prices up to $0.92 each. There is still over $9,000,000 of warrants that are in the money with an average strike price of $0.63 based on yesterdays close. About Goliath Resources Limited Goliath Resources is an explorer of precious metals projects in the prolific Golden Triangle of northwestern British Columbia. All of its projects are in world class geological settings and geopolitical safe jurisdictions amenable to mining in Canada. Goliath is a member and active supporter of CASERM which is an organization that represents a collaborative venture between Colorado School of Mines and Virginia Tech. Goliath's key strategic cornerstone shareholders include Crescat Capital, Mr. Rob McEwen and Mr. Eric Sprott. The Company's flagship discovery is the Surebet at its 100% controlled Golddigger Property. The Property covers an area of 66,608 hectares (164,592 acres) and is in the world class geological setting of the Eskay Rift, within 3 kilometers of the Red Line in the Golden Triangle of British Columbia. This area and proximity have hosted some of Canada's greatest mines that include Eskay Creek, Premier and Snip. Other significant and well known deposits in the Golden Triangle include Brucejack, Copper Canyon, Galore Creek, Granduc, KSM, Red Chris, and Schaft Creek. Goliath controls 56 kilometers of the Red Line which is a geologic contact between Triassic age Stuhini rocks and Jurassic age Hazelton rocks used as key markers when exploring for gold-copper-silver mineralization. For more information please contact: Goliath Resources Limited Mr. Roger Rosmus Founder and CEO Tel: +1-416-488-2887 roger@goliathresources.com www.goliathresourcesltd.com Other Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange), nor the OTCQB Venture Market accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Certain statements contained in this press release constitute forward-looking information. These statements relate to future events or future performance. The use of any of the words "could", "intend", "expect", "believe", "will", "projected", "estimated" and similar expressions and statements relating to matters that are not historical facts are intended to identify forward-looking information and are based on Goliath's current belief or assumptions as to the outcome and timing of such future events. Actual future results may differ materially. In particular, this release contains forward-looking information relating to, among other things, the ability of the Company to complete financings and its ability to build value for its shareholders as it develops its mining properties. Various assumptions or factors are typically applied in drawing conclusions or making the forecasts or projections set out in forward-looking information. Those assumptions and factors are based on information currently available to Goliath. Although such statements are based on management's reasonable assumptions, there can be no assurance that the proposed transactions will occur, or that if the proposed transactions do occur, will be completed on the terms described above. The forward-looking information contained in this release is made as of the date hereof and Goliath is not obligated to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws. Because of the risks, uncertainties and assumptions contained herein, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The foregoing statements expressly qualify any forward-looking information contained herein. This announcement does not constitute an offer, invitation, or recommendation to subscribe for or purchase any securities and neither this announcement nor anything contained in it shall form the basis of any contract or commitment. In particular, this announcement does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, securities in the United States, or in any other jurisdiction in which such an offer would be illegal. The securities referred to herein have not been and will not be will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to or for the account or benefit of a U.S. person (as defined in Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act) unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available. NOT FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES OR FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER OF THE SECURITIES DESCRIBED HEREIN The August editions of Sustainability & Energy Digital Magazines include interviews with leading experts and executives from Huawei, Thermo Fisher, Dassault Systemes and more. LONDON, Aug. 2, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- BizClik, the UK's fastest-growing publishing company, has published the latest editions of Sustainability & Energy Digital Magazines. These publications are highly regarded within the sustainability, energy and ESG sectors for their in-depth reports and interviews with prominent figures in the respective industries. Sustainability Magazine This month's edition features special feature with the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team on being at the forefront of technology, innovation and sustainability while competing at the peak of motorsport. "Being part of the issue is not meaningful, being part of the solution is." - Sir Lewis Hamilton The edition also contains interviews with key thought leaders from Thermo Fisher Scientific, Dell and FujiFilm along with the Top 10 Sustainability Influencers. You can visit Sustainability Magazine for daily news and analysis of the ever-changing sustainable industry. Energy Digital Magazine The August Edition features an extensive lead interview with Jenna Brown, Head of Uber for Business UK, who talks about the company's positive contribution to the energy space. "When you have access to data, you can make smarter and more informed decisions." The edition also includes interviews with key thought leaders from Huawei, Ampace and Duke Energy along with the Top 10 Smart Cities. You can visit Energy Digital Magazine for daily news and analysis for the ever-changing energy 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/ Contact Details:editorial@bizclikmedia.com View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/bizclik-media-launches-the-august-editions-of-sustainability--energy-digital-magazines-302213413.html Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - August 2, 2024) - American Aires Inc. (CSE: WIFI) (OTCQB: AAIRF) ("Aires" or the "Company"), a pioneer in cutting-edge technology designed to protect against electromagnetic radiation (EMF) and optimize human health announced the results of voting at its 2024 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders held on August 1, 2024. A total of 27,836,832 common shares were voted in connection with the meeting, representing approximately 30.32% of the issued and outstanding common shares of the company. Shareholders voted as follows: Motion Voted For % Voted For Votes Withheld % Votes Withheld Appointment of directors Dimitry Serov 27,515,366 99.81% 52,875 0.19% Josh Bruni 27,515,366 99.81% 52,875 0.19% Jamie Cochran 27,543,251 99.91% 24,990 0.09% Drew Green 27,515,495 99.81% 52,746 0.19% Andrew Michrowski 27,543,380 99.91% 24,861 0.09% Appointment of AGT Partners as auditors 27,720,543 99.58% 116,289 0.42% Approval of Advance Notice Policy 27,514,205 99.80% 0 0.00% In addition, the Company is pleased to announce it has entered into a Partnership agreement with MK Barber, Inc., a Nevada corporation ("MKB") for Maycee Barber, (the "Parntersnip Agreement") pursuant to which MKB will collaborate with the Company to create content and grant to the Company the non-exclusive, worldwide right to use the Athlete's name, image, and likeness (collectively, "NIL Rights") in connection with the advertisement, promotion, and sale of the Company's products to consumers. The term of the Partnership Agreement began on July 1, 2024 and shall continue until the completion of the Project, upon which MKB will be entitled to a fixed fee of $68,413, which will be satisfied though the issuance of common shares of the Company, subject to the acceptance of the Canadian Securities Exchange. The Company will issue another press release upon the completion of the Project and the issuance of the common shares to MKB. NIL rights shall expire on December 31, 2025. The Athlete will also promote the Company's products and services on their social media accounts on an ongoing basis as well as grant the Company a non-exclusive right to meta permission-based whitelisting rights for the use of the Athlete's social media content for paid promotion by the Company. This portion of the Partnership will be compensated via monthly retainer paid in cash. About American Aires Inc. American Aires Inc. is a Canadian-based nanotechnology company committed to enhancing well-being and environmental safety through science-led innovation, education, and advocacy. The company has developed a proprietary silicon-based resonator that protect against the harmful effects of electromagnetic radiation (EMR). Aires' Lifetune products target EMR emitted by consumer electronic devices such as cellphones, computers, baby monitors, and Wi-Fi, including the more powerful and rapidly expanding high-speed 5G networks. Aires is listed on the CSE under the ticker 'WIFI' and on the OTCQB under the symbol 'AAIRF'. Learn more at www.investors.airestech.com/. On behalf of the board of directors Certain information set forth in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements regarding future financial position, business strategy, use of proceeds, corporate vision, proposed acquisitions, partnerships, joint ventures and strategic alliances and co-operations, budgets, cost and plans and objectives of or involving the Company. Such forward-looking information reflects management's current beliefs and is based on information currently available to management. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "predicts", "intends", "targets", "aims", "anticipates" or "believes" or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases or may be identified by statements to the effect that certain actions "may", "could", "should", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. A number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors may cause the actual results or performance to materially differ from any future results or performance expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the control of the Company including, but not limited to, the impact of general economic conditions, industry conditions and dependence upon regulatory approvals. Certain material assumptions regarding such forward-looking statements may be discussed in this news release and the Company's annual and quarterly management's discussion and analysis filed at www.sedar.com. Readers are cautioned that the assumptions used in the preparation of such information, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements. The Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by securities laws. No securities regulatory authority has either approved or disapproved of the contents of this news release. The Shares have not been, nor will they be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or any state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States, or to or for the account or benefit of any person in the United States, absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any common shares in the United States, or in any other jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. We seek safe harbour. Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/218634 SOURCE: American Aires Inc. With 25% off flights to Iceland, Copenhagen, Paris, London, Amsterdam, Berlin, and Dublin, travelers can make this fall one to remember PLAY, a low-cost airline operating flights between the United States and Europe, today announced a fall travel deal of 25% off flights to Iceland, Copenhagen, Paris, London, Amsterdam, Berlin, and Dublin. As the end of summer nears, PLAY is encouraging travelers to book a shoulder season getaway, so they have something to look forward to this fall. Travelers can take advantage of this unbeatable deal now through August 9, 2024. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240802218870/en/ PLAY's flight deal enables travelers to book a shoulder season getaway to Europe to look forward to when summer ends. (Photo: Business Wire) There is nothing quite like Europe in the fall. As temperatures start to cool off and crowds disperse, travelers can take advantage of 25% off PLAY flights to explore some of the continent's most popular destinations without breaking the bank on airfare. Whether they want to book a trip to shop and eat around Paris in the midst of sweater weather, take in the fall foliage in London, or explore the exhibits at Copenhagen's famous museums, PLAY's deal enables travelers to allocate more of their budget to the experiences that will make their trip memorable. The best part about shoulder season: It marks the start of peak Northern Lights season in Iceland! Long, dark nights take over Iceland during the fall, making it the best time for travelers to have a chance at experiencing the beauty of the famous Northern Lights. And this shoulder season, PLAY is making it even more accessible for travelers to check the Northern Lights off of their bucket list with its unbeatable deal combined with the airline's new stayover option. When booking a fall getaway with PLAY, travelers have the option to extend their layover in Iceland on the way to or from other European destinations, the perfect time to catch a glimpse of the Northern Lights. "Shoulder season is one of the best times to explore Europe," said PLAY CEO Einar Orn Olafsson. "This fall, PLAY wants travelers to take advantage of affordable flights, cooler temperatures, and lighter crowds so they can truly enjoy the activities and experiences that will make their European getaway memorable. With 25% off flights, travelers can kick off their fall travel planning before summer comes to an end, giving themselves something to look forward to as temperatures cool off." PLAY's shoulder season deal runs today through August 9, 2024, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time. It's valid for one-way flights on roundtrip bookings to Iceland, Copenhagen, Paris, London, Amsterdam, Berlin, and Dublin between August and December 2024. Price is not inclusive of all mandatory taxes, fees, and carrier charges. Restrictions and baggage fees apply, additional details of this promotion can be found here. Learn more about PLAY or book a flight here. About PLAY PLAY is a low-cost airline operating flights between Iceland and Europe, and North America as of 2022. Founded in Reykjavik in 2019 by a management team with significant experience in the aviation industry, the company operates flights on new Airbus A321NEO and A320NEO aircraft, offering streamlined, no-frills service that allows travelers to pay less and "play more." Safety comes first for PLAY. On-time performance, simplicity, happiness and low prices are the airline's core principles. The airline seeks to enable passengers to see the world, but not without considering its environmental impact. PLAY is being developed with sustainability initiatives and benchmarks in place to track and reduce fuel consumption, offset carbon emissions, and limit waste. Learn more or book a flight at www.flyplay.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240802218870/en/ Contacts: U.S. Press Laura Shubel BIG FISH PR for PLAY 617-713-3800 play@bigfishpr.com Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - August 2, 2024) - Goldrea Resources Corp. (CSE: GOR) (FSE: GOJ1) (OTC Pink: GORAF) is pleased to announce that the Company has signed LOI's to acquire a 50% interest in nine mineral claims (514ha.) that cover multiple gold prospects adjoining the Company's Cannonball Project. As noted in the Company's March 4, 2024 press release, the Cannonball Project, now covering a total of 5,478 ha., straddles the projected northeast extension of a district scale, structural corridor (reported by Seabridge Gold on December 14, 2023) connecting three advanced porphyry targets; Snip North, Bronson Slope and Quartz Rise. The Seabridge press release further stated that these prospects are similar to the cluster of porphyry systems defined at their KSM project, located approximately fifty kilometers to the southeast, and Seabridge is currently conducting a $12 million follow up drilling program on the Iskut Project involving three drill rigs. The LOI's, signed July 30, 2024, include an agreement with Tana Resources to acquire a 50% interest in 443.20 ha. referred to as the Double T Property and an agreement with Garibaldi Resources Corp. to add one tenure (70.90ha) to the existing King Property Joint Venture. To acquire the 50% interest, Goldrea must incur $550,000 in exploration expenditures and pay $190,000 to the underlying vendor and issue a total of 750,000 shares by October 31, 2025. Goldrea's exploration work since 2020 has confirmed the Cannonball Project hosts multiple porphyry copper-gold and vein type copper-gold prospects which are described in the Company's March 4 press release. The new prospects include the King-Mist Zone; a series of exposed quartz veins containing high gold values over an area of approximately 500 square meters, the Rumble Creek Prospect (According to BC Ministry of Mines Minfile records indicate gold values up to 47 g/t gold were reported in the 1980's.), and the North Zone which is a skarn type, polymetallic prospect that exhibits high silver values. Independent consultants retained by Tana Resources have recommended drilling at the King-Mist Zone and the North Zone and all of the new prospects are located within the projected extension of the structural corridor reported by Seabridge. Recent studies by Goldrea's consultants provide confirmation that the underlying rock units are the same age as the rocks that host the world class deposits that have been discovered throughout the Golden Triangle. To view the recent studies and technical maps prepared by Goldrea's consultants click this link: https://goldrea.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/jan-19-tech-memo.pdf Jim Elbert commented that: "Seabridge Gold's ongoing work on their Iskut Project and recognition that the Cannonball Project straddles the same structural corridor were major milestones in 2023. The $12 million drill program Seabridge allocated for drilling during 2024 demonstrates the importance of this new porphyry district. The new acquisitions give Goldrea effective control of all of the advanced copper gold prospects with historic drilling/geophysics adjoining the Iskut Project." Carl von Einsiedel (P. Geo.), is a non-independent Qualified Person within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101 Standards, and has prepared, reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information included in this press release. The CSE has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release may contain "forward-looking statements", which are statements about the future based on current expectations or beliefs. For this purpose, statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements by their nature involve risks and uncertainties and there can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate or true. Investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements except as required by law. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/218603 SOURCE: Goldrea Resources Corp. Baku, Azerbaijan--(Newsfile Corp. - August 2, 2024) - Bridging culinary cultures and business excellence, Al-Baladi Holding Group and Green Capital Management have announced a major investment agreement in Baku on July 25, 2024, marking a significant expansion for two of Qatar's most beloved food and beverage brands: Go Crispy and Tea Time. Photo courtesy of Al-Baladi Holding (From Left to Right: Mr. Hany Al Sayyadi, CEO of Al-Baladi Holding Group, Mr. Mohammed Bin Abdullah Al-Attiyah, Chairman of Al-Baladi Holding Group, Mr. Adnan Ahmed Zadeh, Chairman and Shareholder of Green Capital Management, Mr. Khayal Jibov, Shareholder of Green Capital Management) The theme of the event, "From Qatar to the World," embodies a bold vision to introduce Qatar's culinary icons to global audiences, starting with Azerbaijan. A Strategic Partnership Unveiled The signing ceremony featured distinguished figures from both organizations, including Mr. Mohammed Bin Abdullah Al-Attiyah, Chairman of Al-Baladi Holding Group, and Mr. Adnan Ahmed Zadeh, Chairman and Shareholder of Green Capital Management. They were joined by other key Attendees, Mr. Hany Al Sayyadi, CEO of Al-Baladi Holding Group, and Mr. Khayal Jibov, Shareholder of Green Capital Management. This historic agreement marks the beginning of a strategic partnership aimed at expanding the Go Crispy and Tea Time brands internationally. Over the next two years, this collaboration will see the opening of 405 new branches across 27 countries, setting the stage for a significant global footprint. Go Crispy: Redefining Fast Food Launched by Chef Hessa Al-Sulaiti in 2017, Go Crispy is setting new standards in the fast-food industry with its focus on fresh, high-quality ingredients. Chef Hessa's vision was to create a halal fried chicken that combines flavor with health-conscious practices, eliminating artificial additives and preservatives. The brand's rapid expansion-from its first branch in 2019 to 12 locations in Qatar and a planned 4 branches in Uzbekistan by the end of 2024-demonstrates its success and potential. The introduction of Go Crispy in Azerbaijan promises to bring its innovative and high-quality fast food to a new audience. Tea Time: A Tradition of Excellence Tea Time, established in 1998 is celebrated for its authentic Karak tea and diverse menu. Combining traditional tea culture with a modern cafe experience, Tea Time has become a staple in Qatar, beloved by all demographics. The brand's expansion into Azerbaijan marks a significant step in its global journey. With its distinctive concept and commitment to quality, Tea Time aims to share the rich flavors of Qatari tea culture with a broader audience. Looking Ahead The partnership between Al-Baladi Holding Group and Green Capital Management represents a significant milestone in the internationalization of Go Crispy and Tea Time. By bringing these brands to new markets, the collaboration not only highlights Qatar's innovative culinary scene but also fosters a cultural exchange through the universal appeal of food and drink. This strategic expansion is a testament to the growing global recognition of Qatari brands and their ability to compete on the world stage. About Al-Baladi Holding Founded in 1989, Al-Baladi Holding Group has established itself as a pillar of corporate excellence in Qatar. With a rich heritage rooted in family values and integrity, the group has built a stellar reputation for delivering high-quality products and services that meet the evolving needs of the local community. Their commitment to exceptional customer experiences spans diverse industries, underscoring their role as a leading conglomerate in Qatar. Al-Baladi Holding Group's business sectors include e-commerce services, retail, travel agencies, IT solutions companies, distribution, farming, jewelry shops, mobile markets, food and beverage sectors, and international business activities. Contact information: Name: Marynold Macalma Company: Ajwan Group Email: asst.operation@ajwan.group Website: https://baladiholding.com/ To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/218123 SOURCE: Baden Bower EQS-News: PlusPlus Capital Financial S.a.r.l. / Key word(s): Legal Matter PLUSPLUS CAPITAL publishes summons of the Luxembourg District Court concerning the judicial reorganisation procedure PlusPus Capital Financial S.a r.l. 02.08.2024 / 15:55 CET/CEST The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. PLUSPLUS CAPITAL publishes summons of the Luxembourg District Court concerning the judicial reorganisation procedure PlusPus Capital Financial S.a r.l. Tallinn, Estonia, 2 August 2024. PlusPlus Capital ("PPC"), a leading pan-Baltic and Finnish technology-driven receivables management group, publishes summons of the Luxembourg District Court concerning the judicial reorganisation procedure PlusPus Capital Financial SARL (I-202410014). GRAND DUCHY OF LUXEMBOURG LUXEMBOURG DISTRICT COURT COMMERCIAL COURT PlusPlus Capital Financial SARL 1, rue Jean Piret L-2350 Luxembourg Luxembourg Luxembourg, 17 July 2024 SUMMONS TO APPEAR BEFORE THE COMMERCIAL COURT Concerns: judicial reorganisation procedure PlusPus Capital Financial SARL (I-202410014) Dear Sir/Madam In accordance with articles 13, 38, 40, 48 and others of the Law of 7 August 2023 on the preservation of businesses and the modernisation of bankruptcy law, the commercial court informs you : that the reorganisation plan filed with the court registry on 16 July 2024 is being examined and that creditors may consult it at the court registry ; pursuant to the judgment of 12 April 2024, the hearing to vote on the reorganisation plan has been set for 6 August 2024 . The hearing will be held at 16.00 CEST in room CO.1.01 at the tribunal d'arrondissement de et a Luxembourg, Cite Judiciaire, Batiment CO, 7, rue du Saint Esprit, 1st floor; has . in at the tribunal d'arrondissement de et a Luxembourg, Cite Judiciaire, Batiment CO, 7, rue du Saint Esprit, 1st floor; that the creditors will be able to make their observations on the proposed plan either in writing or orally at the hearing; that only ordinary and extraordinary secured creditors whose rights are affected by the plan may take part in the vote; A copy of this notice was sent by the Registrar's Office on the date hereof. Yours sincerely Emmanuelle BAUER Registrar XVth Chamber Postal address: TRIBUNAL DE COMMERCE Cite Judiciaire L-2080 Luxembourg Telephone: 47 59 81 -2771 /-2741 tal.chambre15@ustice.etat.lu 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 02.08.2024 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 Ethiopian Americans Decide Meyer is Right for Delaware CLAYMONT, DE / ACCESSWIRE / August 2, 2024 / The American-Ethiopian Public Affairs Committee (AEPAC) has unanimously voted to endorse Matt Meyer in his bid to become Delaware's next Governor. AEPAC Logo Eagle holding Ethiopian tricolor "Like Matt, we believe leadership matters. Given his life's journey, from serving as the founder of a small business in Kenya to working as a diplomat in a war zone to teaching grade school math in our state's classrooms, we are certain Matt Meyer is the right leader for Delaware and its growing Ethiopian American Community. He has earned our enthusiastic support," said Mesfin Tegenu, AEPAC's executive chairman. Other AEPAC leaders pointed to Meyer's business experience in Africa as having been key in gaining the group's support. "Africa is home to 20 of the world's fastest-growing economies. Matt's experience uniquely qualifies him to position Delaware as a leading trade partner with this booming continent," said AEPAC secretary Youm Fessaha. The mission of the American-Ethiopian Public Affairs Committee (AEPAC) is to strengthen and foster the U.S.-Ethiopia relationship, enhance both countries' security interests, as well as advance democracy, respect for human rights and free market entrepreneurship in Ethiopia. Learn more at aepact.org. Contact Information Christopher Drumm Consultant cpchristopher@drummanddaughters.com 2153707874 SOURCE: American Ethiopian Public Affairs Committee View the original press release on newswire.com. Facial injectables are substances that are injected into facial tissues to enhance facial features, reduce wrinkles, restore volume, or improve overall appearance. These substances often provide temporary or semi-permanent effects and are utilized to address signs of aging or achieve specific esthetic goals. WILMINGTON, Del., Aug. 2, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- As per Transparency Market Research (TMR), a leading global market research company, rise in cosmetic surgeries across the world is projected to propel the facial injectables market growth at a whopping 12.0% CAGR from 2023 to 2031. Penetration of Social Media Responsible for Bright Facial Injectables Market Outlook Facial injectables are commonly used on nasolabial folds, cheekbones, and lips. For instance, dynamic wrinkles caused by different movements are minimized by injecting botulinum toxin, often known as Botox, into the face's muscles. Rise in popularity of social media is a key factor fostering market expansion. A large percentage of the population that opts for cosmetic procedures that involve facial injectables consults an online source. This tech savvy population, primarily the younger generation, is often exposed to information regarding such procedures on platforms such as Instagram and Facebook. Additionally, celebrity influencers are driving market progress. Request a PDF Sample of this Report Now! https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=1779 Facial Injectables Market Key Insights Growth in elderly population augmenting market dynamics Launch of new products by leading players augmenting market statistics Robust Demand for Facial Injectables Among Elderly Population Boosting Facial Injectables Market Value Dermal fillers often consist of hyaluronic acid, polylactic acid, or calcium hydroxylapatite; Botox is a neurotoxic protein. These treatments, which are administered by medical professionals, provide immediate results that usually last a few months to a year. Growth in the elderly population and increase in popularity of cosmetic operations among the aging people are likely to propel the expansion of the facial injectables landscape. A recent WHO report stated that one in six people in the world will be aged 60 years or above by 2030. The global population of people aged 60 years and older will double (2.1 billion) by 2050. The number of persons aged 80 years or older is expected to triple between 2020 and 2050 to reach 426 million. Efforts by Key Players to Launch Injectables that Cater to Facial and Body Treatments Augmenting Facial Injectables Market Development Prominent companies in the global facial injectables market are striving to create sophisticated fillers with enhanced characteristics. In order to meet the needs and preferences of individual patients, they are introducing injectables with improved qualities, such as improved safety profiles, greater integration with tissues, and longer-lasting benefits. In July 2024, the U.S. FDA approved a new indication for the anti-wrinkle injectable, which was first introduced in 2011 to treat moderate to severe wrinkles between the glabellar lines. This expansion makes the neurotoxin the only one that can simultaneously treat crow's feet and the upper forehead lines. Facial Injectables Market Regional Insights North America was the leading contributor to the market share in 2022. The region is expected to maintain its dominance during the forecast period. Growth in number of people opting for esthetic procedures to enhance physical appearances, surge in technological advancements, presence of well-established healthcare facilities, and significant presence of advanced medical spas and cosmetic surgery centers are propelling market development in the region. According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, cosmetic surgery procedures rose by 19.0% in 2022 as compared to that in 2019. Procedures related on the body, including liposuction, tummy tuck (abdominoplasty), and arm and lower body lifts dominated, with a 25% rise and 576,485 procedures in total in 2022. Facial Injectables Market Report Scope: Report Coverage Details Forecast Period? 2023-2031 Base Year? 2017-2021 Size in 2023 US$ 13.5 Bn Forecast (Value) in 2034 US$ 37.1 Bn Growth Rate (CAGR) 12.0 % No. of Pages 150 Pages Segments covered By Product Type, By Application, By Region, By End-user Unlock Growth Potential in Your Industry! Download PDF Brochure: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=1779 Leading Players in Facial Injectables Industry Allergan, Inc., Ipsen (Mayroy SA), Merz Pharma, Suneva Medical, Inc., Medytox, Inc., Sinclair Pharma, Bloomage BioTechnology, Anika Therapeutics, Inc., Prollenium Medical Technologies, and Galderma are the prominent companies functioning in the global facial injectables landscape. Key Strategies Adopted by Facial Injectables Market Players Prominent players are collaborating with numerous biotech companies, research institutes, and esthetics companies in order to develop cutting-edge injectables. They are also collaborating strategically with cosmetic surgeons and dermatologists to improve clinical acceptance and develop products based on expert input. Such partnerships are likely to ensure the highest levels of efficacy and safety. In May 2023, Evolus, Inc. a performance beauty company that focuses on developing an esthetic portfolio, announced that it had signed a definitive agreement with Symatese to serve as the exclusive distributor for four distinct dermal fillers in late-stage development in the U.K. and Europe. The fillers are expected to receive regulatory clearances in the second half of 2024 and go on sale under the brand name ESTYME Fillers in 2025. This is the second deal Symatese and the company had reached; the first granted exclusive distribution rights to the same product line in the U.S, where it will be marketed in 2025 under the Evolysse brand. Facial Injectables Market Segmentation Product Type Collagen Hyaluronic Acid (HA) Botulinum Toxin Type A Calcium Hydroxylapatite (CaHA) Polymethylmethacrylate Beads (PMMA Microspheres) Poly-L-Lactic Acid (PLLA) Others (Polyalkylimide) Application Facial Line Correction Lip Augmentation Acne Scar Treatment Face Lift Lipoatrophy Treatment Others (Earlobe Rejuvenation) End-user Hospitals Dermatology Clinics Others (Beauty Clinics) Buy this Premium Research Report: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/checkout.php?rep_id=1779